Monday, April 23, 2018 – PORTMARNOCK GOLF CLUB – CANADA CUP DAY

The first round at Portmarnock is a fun round. We will all throw in 10 Euros and all players will play their own ball, for their specific team, Ireland, Scotland or Canada. The winners will win the inaugural CANADA CUP, donated by Seetal Golf Tours as a show of appreciation for us coming to Ireland to celebrate the 20^th anniversary. The top 10 golfers low net scores will count for each team. The team with the best low net will win the money and likely will be charged with buying the losers a drink. After golf, we will have lunch (included) in the Clubhouse. Team Pictures will be taken at Portmarnock as we will all be there at the same time.

SPECIAL NOTE: We have a lunch organized for our group at Portmarmock, but just a quick reminder to bring shoes with you. You will not be allowed in the Clubhouse with golf shoes or sneakers.

Within a picturesque curve of coastline, 10 miles to the north of Dublin City, Portmarnock Golf Club sits majestically on a narrow tongue of shallow duneland. And as a measure of its enduring quality, it remains one of the most respected venues in world golf.   No other Irish course has been graced by so many distinguished players.  The club has a rich history encompassing a broad sweep of significant events. It is where Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead successfully followed its serpentine route through classic linksland on their way to victory in the 1960 Canada Cup. And it is where another generation of Americans, including Phil Mickelson and David Duval, secured a memorable Walker Cup triumph in 1991.  These events, along with 19 stagings of the European Tour’s Irish Open Championship, reflect the quality of a searching examination across the link’s twenty-seven holes.   http://www.portmarnockgolfclub .ie/

Portmarnock General Visitor Information

• Mobile phones are not allowed on the Links with discreet use permitted in the car park.
• Dress code is smart casual attire is essential on the Links and in the Clubhouse. Denims, tracksuits, vest type tee shirts are not acceptable. Collared sports shirts and tailored shorts only with white socks above ankle height are permitted on the links but not the dining areas. Headwear including visors is not permitted in the clubhouse. A Jacket is required in the Members’ Bar and the main dining room.
• Golf shoes must be worn on the links and is permitted only in the locker room of the Club.
• Care of the links Please replace divots. The use of seeded/sand from bags to fill divot marks is compulsory. Please take a black bag from the rack at the starting tee before play and use as required during your round. Rake bunkers after play and replace rakes outside bunkers at front left or right.
• Slow play Three balls should complete the course in 3 hours 30 minutes and four balls should complete in four hours. A course Ranger is employed to monitor the pace of play and is authorized to issue instructions as appropriate. Please facilitate him by following instructions.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018 – ENNISCRONE GOLF CLUB

The first round of the Ross Cup will be held at Enniscrone with the two-man scramble.  Each team will choose two-man teams for the first 48 golfers, however there will be six players who cannot partake in the scramble event, as the numbers do not allow for this to work. Therefore the three remaining players will go out in a threesome and play singles matches, and compete for two points against one player from each of the two teams.  On Day one,  Ryan Harrington, Jim Batchelor and Albert Elkaim will play three singles matches. All other players will play the Scramble. Tee times start at 11:40 AM, every 10 minutes or faster if we are able..

The buses will be set up so that the players teeing off first will be on the first bus to leave the hotel, so if your tee time is between 11:40 AM and 12:50 PM, you will leave on the first bus. If you are teeing off between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM, you will go on the second bus. This will take place each day, so keep tabs on this each day.

Enniscrone is among the finest and most challenging of traditional Irish links golf courses and offers 27 holes on 400 acres of magnificent links land, featuring the par 73 Dunes Championship Links Course. The Dunes is one of Ireland’s top-ranked championship links courses; voted “Best in Connacht” by Golfers Guide to Ireland; repeatedly a top-15 links course in Golf Digest’s review of Irish golf courses and a perennial Top-100 UK course from Golf World. A “must play” as described by American golf novelist Tom Coyne.  The club will celebrate one hundred years of golf at Enniscrone in 2018.  http://www.enniscronegolf.com/

Enniscrone General Visitor Information

Metal and soft spikes are allowed, repair ball marks, and replace or fill divots with mixed soil and seed found in carry bags at the 1st tee. Mobile phones are not allowed on the course with discreet use allowed in the clubhouse and parking lot. Players are expected to wear an acceptable standard of golfing attire when playing The Dunes or Scurmore courses. Stay with the group in front.  The Club reserves the right to refuse access to the Clubhouse or Course to anyone dressed inappropriately.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 – CONNEMARA GOLF CLUB

The Second Round of the Ross Cup will be held at Connemara Golf Club.  The format will be two-man Better Ball.  Each team will play two player teams for the first 48 golfers; however there will be three players who cannot partake in the Better Ball event.  The three remaining players will go out in threesomes, Ben King, Dave Chestnut and Gilbert Campeau will play singles matches against each other in the  threesome This game plays off the lowest ball in the foursome for the Best Ball and the net stroke difference on the Singles Matches. Tee times start at 10:28 AM, every 10 minutes or faster if we can go faster.

The buses will be set up so that the players teeing off first will be on the first bus to leave the hotel.  So if your tee time is between 10:28 AM and 11:32 AM, you will leave on the first bus. If you are teeing off between 11:40 AM and 12:12 PM please take the second bus.

Voted Best Links Course in Connaught 2016 by Golfers Guide to Ireland, this 27 holes Championship Links course situated along the majestic west coast of Connemara, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and 12 Bens Mountain range was designed by Eddie Hackett and opened in June 1973. Connemara Championship Golf Links, the only links course in Co. Galway, is nestled between the scenic splendour of the 12 Bens mountain range and the rugged Atlantic Ocean. This beautiful isolated links course, founded in 1973 and designed by Eddie Hackett lies to the West of Clifden along the Wild Atlantic Ways signature discovery point of Derrigimla Bog and Mannin Bay Blueway. From the testing dog leg opening hole through to the breathtaking back 9, the course is a test for all levels. In 2000 an additional 9 holes were unveiled to add a further dimension to the exhilarating Connemara golfing experience.   http://www.connemaragolflinks. com/

When playing Connemara you are always mesmerized by the landscape around you, whether it’s Slyne Head Lighthouse, the 12 Bens Mountains, the Atlantic Ocean or Grainne O’Malleys Castle, there is something special on every hole.

 

Thursday, April 26, 2018 – CARNE GOLF CLUB

The third round of the Ross Cup will take place at Carne Golf Club.  The format will be two man Better Ball.  Each team will play two player teams for the first 48 golfers; however there will be three players who cannot partake in the Better Ball event. The three remaining players will go out in a threesome and play singles matches, and compete for two points against one player from each of the two teams. The threesome will be a new player TBA, Brendan Garvey and Mike Lothian Tee times start at 9:48 AM.

Carne in North Mayo on the West Coast of Ireland lies in magnificent unspoiled sand dunes overlooking Blacksod Bay and the wild Atlantic Ocean near the town of Belmullet. Discover Erris in North Mayo an area that is famed the world over for its golf course and white sandy Atlantic beaches that stretch for miles. Carne Golf Links was the last links course to be designed by the late Eddie Hackett and is believed by many who have played it to be his greatest design. Carne is now rated as the 10th best course in Ireland and amongst the Top 50 in Britain and Ireland.

The development of Carne Golf Links has caused little disturbance to this wild and ancient landscape. Tees and greens occurred naturally and very little earth moving was involved in the course construction. There are some breathtaking views over the Atlantic and the legendary islands of Inis Glóire and Inis Géidhe.  http://www.carnegolflinks.com/

“In any string of words I might pen over the rest of my life, I might never write a more true sentence than this: Carne is absolutely brilliant. Front nine, back nine, every hole, every hill, every inch of the place is simply special.”

– Tom Coyne (Author of ‘A Course Called Ireland’)

Friday, April 27, 2018 – SLIGO GOLF CLUB

For the last round of the tournament, we head to County Sligo, Rosses Point, one of the most famous links courses in Ireland. The format is Singles Matches, where a player from each team will go head to head with the best score of the two as the winner of the hole, going hole by hole with handicaps.  All 51 golfers will play singles matches.  Three golfers at the end of the group, one on each team,  will play two singles matches each. Golfers have been matched to players of similar ability in mostly all cases with few exceptions, so movement here will likely not happen. Tee times start at 10:00 AM and continue through to 12:10 PM. Once the golf concludes, we will award the trophy, take team pictures and have plenty of Guinness as we watch as the golfers finish on the 18th hole.

Bus Trip Information: The first bus will arrive on Friday morning to take golfers to County Sligo Golf Club departing the hotel at 7:45 AM in the morning.  The drive to County Sligo is just over one and a half hours so make sure you are on time and ready to go. The second bus will leave the hotel at 8:45 AM, again direct to the golf course for those in the later tee times. Everyone must have their luggage ready about 45 minutes prior to departure as we are not returning to Westport. It would also be important to not mix the luggage so maybe aim to have the luggage loaded on the first coach before those on the second coach gather their luggage for boarding. Otherwise luggage will get mixed up and cause confusion.

The ladies bus will arrive at Sligo Golf Club by 3 PM. Once the golf is concluded, the buses will depart for Dublin and the Malahide Hotel for the last two nights of the trip. This drive is close to 3 and a half hours, so it is likely there will be a lots of guys and gals sleeping on this trip back to Dublin, but once we get into the city, we can check in and head for the Temple Bar district.

Our picturesque and challenging championship links is over 100 years old and is recognized as one of Ireland’s greatest courses. The club is the home of the famous West of Ireland Open amateur championship played since 1923. The course boasts one of the most scenic locations in Ireland perched on cliffs that tower over three expansive beaches overlooking the Atlantic. The panoramic mountain and ocean views are spectacular but they pale in comparison to the stunning scenery provided by Benbulben.  Besides the great views, the golf course offers an excellent challenge. The traditional links layout, designed by Harry Colt, utilizes the natural contours of the dune-covered landscape rather than moving large amounts of earth during its design. The end result is a course filled with dramatic undulations, elevated tees, and raised plateau greens.  http://www.countysligogolfclub.ie/