Portmarnock Golf Club: A championship Irish links minutes from the Dublin Airport
COUNTY DUBLIN, Ireland -- Every golf trip launching out of Dublin Airport should start at Portmarnock Golf Club.
Portmarnock, ranked among the top 50 clubs in the world, is just minutes from the airport. Golfers can stay at the nearby Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links (which has a solid links of its own) and explore downtown Dublin.
The Championship Course at Portmarnock, while tough enough to host 13 Irish Opens in the modern era, is somewhat forgiving to groggy Americans fresh off of a red-eye flight. The club keeps the fescue at a manageable length, and there are only a couple blind shots along the way. The flat ground is walkable, and the dunes aren't too formidable.
Plenty of wind and deep pot bunkers defend par on the exposed site on Dublin Bay. Ireland's Eye, a rock formation off of the coast, watches over a pair of beachfront holes -- the short par-4 fourth on Portmarnock G.C.'s nine-hole course (sometimes called the yellow nine) and the famous 15th on the Championship Course, a par 3 among the best holes in Ireland (see "St. Patrick's Day delight: Picking the 18 best golf holes in Ireland").
A round at Portmarnock will set the table for what is sure to be a memorable golf vacation no matter where you go next.