Donegal Appreciation Post

[ajgoodal.704]

I've been wanting to start one of these since my return from Donegal a year ago, but never got around to it.  Just a simple thread where those who have experienced the joy of golfing in the Northwest Corner of Ireland can post pictures of their adventures and share the love.  Our journey in 2024 included Donegal Golf Club (Murvagh), Portsalon Golf Club and the Old Tom Morris Links and Sandy Hills Links at Rosapenna while staying at the Station House Hotel in Letterkenny.  It was an incredible few days and I've been itching to get back every day since to tackle St. Patrick's Links and Ballyliffin.  Hopefully we'll be back in the next year or two.  

 

Welcome to Murvagh! 

 

 

 

Donegal #5 - Valley of Tears

 

Donegal Bay

 

Donegal #13 - Tullycullion

 

Donegal #17 - Souterrain

 

Donegal #18 - Barnesmore

 

Portsalon #2 - Strand

 

Portsalon #5 - Kerr's

 

Portsalon #6 - Killavee

 

 

 

Portsalon #14 - Matterhorn

 

Sandy Hills #3 

 

Sandy Hills #6 

 

Sandy Hills #10

 

Sandy Hills #16

 

Old Tom Morris #16

Edited July 11 by ajgoodal.704

[jvincent]

6 hours ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

I've been wanting to start one of these since my return from Donegal a year ago, but never got around to it.  Just a simple thread where those who have experienced the joy of golfing in the Northwest Corner of Ireland can post pictures of their adventures and share the love.  Our journey in 2024 included Donegal Golf Club (Murvagh), Portsalon Golf Club and the Old Tom Morris Links and Sandy Hills Links at Rosapenna while staying at the Station House Hotel in Letterkenny.  It was an incredible few days and I've been itching to get back every day since to tackle St. Patrick's Links and Ballyliffin.  Hopefully we'll be back in the next year or two.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our group played that itinerary last year as well, except we also played Narin & Portnoo, St Patricks and both Ballyliffin courses.

 

The second hole at Portsalon is one of the best par 4's around.

 

And the Valley of Tears might be one of the best names for a hole ever.

[Greg_egg]

Played Donegal a few months ago. Beautiful course. The drive into the club is one of the best you'll find.

[hammergolf]

In my opinion one if the best itineraries in Ireland is Carne, Enniscrone, Strandhill, Ross’s Point, and Donegal. Not to mention it’s half the price of most other itineraries and not too much driving.

Edited July 11 by hammergolf

[jvincent]

4 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

In my opinion one if the best itineraries in Ireland is Carne, Enniscrone, Strandhill, Ross’s Point, and Donegal. Not to mention it’s half the price of most other itineraries and not too much driving.

 

Sligo (aka Rosses Point) is my second favourite golf course in Ireland after Lahinch. We'll see how my rankings change after next year's trip to NI.

[hammergolf]

26 minutes ago, jvincent said:

 

Sligo (aka Rosses Point) is my second favourite golf course in Ireland after Lahinch. We'll see how my rankings change after next year's trip to NI.

It’s a great one for sure! The finish is as tough as there is in golf.

[Chanceman]

Yeah we loved that corner of Ireland esp Ballyliffin and Murvagh.  If I go again maybe next year I would want to play Ballyliffin Old, St Patrick’s and Cruitt island. Maybe 2 others up there - which ones? I can’t decide.

[ajgoodal.704]

16 hours ago, jvincent said:

 

Our group played that itinerary last year as well, except we also played Narin & Portnoo, St Patricks and both Ballyliffin courses.

 

The second hole at Portsalon is one of the best par 4's around.

 

And the Valley of Tears might be one of the best names for a hole ever.

There are some really memorable holes on those courses.  I'll never forget the Valley of Tears.  Straight into the wind, I ended up short in that front bunker that sits 10-15 feet below the green.  Hit one of the best bunker shots of my life to about 3 feet and missed the putt.  Murvagh is one of those courses that would get better with each additional play.  There were a few holes where I took the wrong line and would love to go back and redo.  On the same trip we played Carne twice and that was a great decision.  Being able to maneuver around the course with a little bit more knowledge made for a fun second day.  

[ajgoodal.704]

13 hours ago, hammergolf said:

In my opinion one if the best itineraries in Ireland is Carne, Enniscrone, Strandhill, Ross’s Point, and Donegal. Not to mention it’s half the price of most other itineraries and not too much driving.

Agreed.  Throw in the multiple round discounts that several of those courses have and its no contest.  After I get to Ballyliffin and the Portrush area, I'll be heading back for those and Connemara.  

[El Gringo]

7 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Yeah we loved that corner of Ireland esp Ballyliffin and Murvagh.  If I go again maybe next year I would want to play Ballyliffin Old, St Patrick’s and Cruitt island. Maybe 2 others up there - which ones? I can’t decide.

Make time for Otway.

 

 

[El Gringo]

16 hours ago, jvincent said:

 

Our group played that itinerary last year as well, except we also played Narin & Portnoo, St Patricks and both Ballyliffin courses.

 

The second hole at Portsalon is one of the best par 4's around.

 

And the Valley of Tears might be one of the best names for a hole ever.

The opener is a cracking hole!

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

Agreed.  Throw in the multiple round discounts that several of those courses have and its no contest.  After I get to Ballyliffin and the Portrush area, I'll be heading back for those and Connemara.  

True, the multi round deal at Enniscrone and Carne are great deals. 

[ajgoodal.704]

21 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

True, the multi round deal at Enniscrone and Carne are great deals. 

Strandhill and Donegal have them as well.  

[hammergolf]

10 minutes ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

Strandhill and Donegal have them as well.  

Yep, in fact, that’s probably going to be my groups next trip in 2027. Rent a house in Coolaney for a week and play the following:

Carne twice

Enniscone twice

Donegal twice

Rosses Point

 

Be hard pressed to find a better collection of courses, or a better value. 

Edited July 11 by hammergolf

[ajgoodal.704]

I might need to change the name of this thread to the Mayo/Sligo/Donegal Appreciation Post.  🙂 

[hammergolf]

8 hours ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

I might need to change the name of this thread to the Mayo/Sligo/Donegal Appreciation Post.  🙂 

There’s so much golf there and it’s a shame that most people go to SW Ireland and never make it there.

[Chanceman]

1 hour ago, hammergolf said:

There’s so much golf there and it’s a shame that most people go to SW Ireland and never make it there.

I know it’s a little further south but Connemara is a good add-on to the NW group. It’s tough as nails.

Mulranny is also a terrific 9 holer nearer Carne. Windswept and bleak but awesome.

 

[ajgoodal.704]

On 7/10/2025 at 5:11 PM, jvincent said:

 

Our group played that itinerary last year as well, except we also played Narin & Portnoo, St Patricks and both Ballyliffin courses.

 

The second hole at Portsalon is one of the best par 4's around.

 

And the Valley of Tears might be one of the best names for a hole ever.

What did you think of Narin & Portnoo?  Trying to decide whether to add that to my next trip.  

[hammergolf]

46 minutes ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

What did you think of Narin & Portnoo?  Trying to decide whether to add that to my next trip.  

I’ve played it twice, and I like it. It’s starts out a bit a slow, but from #6 on it’s really good. One interesting thing is the amount of short par 3s and less than expected green side bunkers. Imho it’s definitely worth playing. The stretch on the water from #6 to #10 is a really good and #16 is a great hole along the beach. 

Edited July 14 by hammergolf

[ajgoodal.704]

I'm allowing myself three 300e or more links rounds for the next trip.  Definitely going Glashedy and St. Patrick's.  Trying to decide on the third round.  

[jvincent]

1 hour ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

What did you think of Narin & Portnoo?  Trying to decide whether to add that to my next trip.  

 

I agree with @hammergolf. The first few holes are a bit meh, but then it gets really interesting. I think it starts to pick up on #5, but the stretch from #6 to #10 is really spectacular.

 

We played it in a pretty steady 2-3 club wind and it was exercise in flighting your ball on a few of the holes. 15 in particular was dead into the wind for us and anything in the air was dead.

 

Definitely worth a play.

 

 

[jvincent]

6 minutes ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

I'm allowing myself three 300e or more links rounds for the next trip.  Definitely going Glashedy and St. Patrick's.  Trying to decide on the third round.  

 

Assuming they still have the option, do the 36-hole package at Ballyliffin. Play Glashedy first and the Old in the afternoon. It was a pretty good deal when we were there.

[ajgoodal.704]

3 minutes ago, jvincent said:

 

Assuming they still have the option, do the 36-hole package at Ballyliffin. Play Glashedy first and the Old in the afternoon. It was a pretty good deal when we were there.

That was one option I was considering for an extra round day.  The other was St. Patrick's in the morning and Sandy Hills in the afternoon.  

[El Gringo]

1 hour ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

That was one option I was considering for an extra round day.  The other was St. Patrick's in the morning and Sandy Hills in the afternoon.  

That would be a brutal walk!

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, jvincent said:

 

I agree with @hammergolf. The first few holes are a bit meh, but then it gets really interesting. I think it starts to pick up on #5, but the stretch from #6 to #10 is really spectacular.

 

We played it in a pretty steady 2-3 club wind and it was exercise in flighting your ball on a few of the holes. 15 in particular was dead into the wind for us and anything in the air was dead.

 

Definitely worth a play.

 

 

Fist time we played it the weather wasn’t bad, the second round was really bad but we had a blast battling. The video is from #9 tee….. In the words of Carl Spackler “I don’t think the heavy stuff is coming for a while”….

[ajgoodal.704]

42 minutes ago, El Gringo said:

That would be a brutal walk!

It would.  Definitely getting a buggy the afternoon round at Sandy Hills.  

[Dan13]

This is a great thread. Planning our foursomes trip for next Aug. First trip to Ireland after two to Scotland. Based on cost and availability ended up in the Donegal region. Wanted to limit the driving but hard to avoid. Plan is to fly to Dublin and just do the long drive on arrival day. Then shouldn’t be too bad. Here is the current plan.

 

Sun - May try and play Donegal on arrival day if they have afternoon times available day if. 
Mon - Narin & Portnoo

Tu/wed/th - Rosapena (Stay and Play)

Fri - Port Salon

Sat - Ballylifin 

 

Still researching the lodging and food. So spread out compared to Fife area in Scotland. 

 

 

Edited July 19 by Dan13
Typo

[jvincent]

We stayed in a nice AirBnB in Downings when we went. Price compared to staying at the hotel was a no brainer and we all had our own bedrooms. If you get 3-day ticket at Rosapenna it will almost certainly be cheaper.

 

It's a bit of a  drive to Ballyliffin, but that's always going to be the case unless you change locations.

[El Gringo]

6 hours ago, Dan13 said:

This is a great thread. Planning our foursomes trip for next Aug. First trip to Ireland after two to Scotland. Based on cost and availability ended up in the Donegal region. Wanted to limit the driving but hard to avoid. Plan is to fly to Dublin and just do the long drive on arrival day. Then shouldn’t be too bad. Here is the current plan.

 

Sun - May try and play Donegal on arrival day if they have afternoon times available day if. 
Mon - Narin & Portnoo

Tu/wed/th - Rosapena (Stay and Play)

Fri - Port Salon

Sat - Ballylifin 

 

Still researching the lodging and food. So spread out compared to Fife area in Scotland. 

 

 

Seems a shame to drive practically past Cruit and not play it. Find the time. As always, find the time to play Otway. 

[Dan13]

13 hours ago, El Gringo said:

Seems a shame to drive practically past Cruit and not play it. Find the time. As always, find the time to play Otway. 

A spectacular 9 late on arrival day sounds great just have to drive the extra hour. Will consider. 
 

I started the planning trying to minimize the driving but other than the stay at Rosapena will be doing a fair bit of it. I’ve driven in Edinburgh and in Inverness Scotland. Thinking it’s got to be similar.