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WILD SIDEThe northern and western links of throw golfers into some of the island’s most unforgettable terrain

By Jason Lusk, IRELAND AND NORTHERN IRELAND

here’s the craic?” “Find the craic.” “Listen for the craic.” “Sit back and enjoy the craic.” “Good craic.” “WWith no direct American English equivalent, the Irish word craic means good times, the laughs, the music. Pronounced “crack,” it comes up in almost every conversation and is the lure for most travelers to the island in search of food, drink and fun. Sometimes it can be a little misplaced, though. For golfers looking for the craic, it’s not about pubs and hotels and traditional Irish music – those are all nice side benefits. For the links-afflicted, it’s all about the sand hills. Ocean views. Ups and downs, twists and turns. Naturally wrinkled ground. Blind approaches. Bounding fairways. Punch shots. Fifty-yard putts. Deep bunkers. Tall native grasses. Links golf at its wildest. It’s as different to American parkland golf as is driving on the left side of the road – similar in theory, but distinct enough to grab your attention and not let go.

DAVID CANNON/GETTY IMAGES DAVID PICTURED: Belmullet Golf Club, also known as Carne

38 GOLFWEEK JULY 2019 + FOR MORE GOLF NEWS, VISIT GOLFWEEK.COM 39 The wildness is key. Irish golf in general has left to vacation. But we’re catching up since the peace County Louth Golf Club (Baltray) the defined fairway edges and extreme manicuring process has kicked in.” to its American counterparts. Here there are tiny The return of the British Open (ahem ... the Open Course designer: white flowers blooming in fairways, cattle and Championship in these parts) in July to Royal Tom Simpson (1938) sheep watching from beside the greens and nearly Portrush for the first time since 1951 has waved vertical climbs and drops that no architect could a spotlight across the links in the north and west This course is a fantastic recreate with machinery. The best Irish holes of Ireland. Recent Irish Opens at courses such as example of old-school links simply were found in their extreme landscapes and , Portstewart (2017), Royal County Down filled with interesting shots over didn’t require much help to become beautiful. (2015), Royal Portrush (2012) and County Louth wrinkled terrain that is less For decades, Americans in search of such holes (2009) have helped shift some focus from the extreme and a bit more forgiving have flocked to the southwest coast of Ireland southwest. tee-to-green than several and famed links such as Waterville, Tralee and “When we started out 30 years ago, the courses COURTESY OF NORTH AND WEST LINKS/L.C. LAMBRECHT other courses on this trip. The Ballybunion. Players return again and again in our neck of the woods generally weren’t known,” firm ground rolls and pitches, to that region, teeing it up on familiar courses said John McLaughlin, CEO of the golf-booking requiring thought on how best with familiar tour operators. It’s relatively tidy company North and West Coast Links Golf Ireland. to approach the well-contoured and those courses belong on any bucket list, but “A lot of tour operators that were featuring Ireland, greens. The dunes grasses are not players who consistently fly into Shannon Airport when you looked at their maps, they didn’t have overly punitive. Nos. 12-15 dive and head southwest are missing a lot of great holes, any courses listed from Lahinch (on the western into 40-foot shoreline dunes stunning dunes, ocean vistas and – often – coast) to Royal Portrush (in the far north). and are the most stimulating less-touristy spots. We had a long few years of education to help us holes on the course. “You hear the typical story, ‘I’ve been to Ireland promote the area.” seven times, all to the southwest. I haven’t been Instead of flying into Shannon, there’s great north yet,’ ” said John Farren, general manager links opportunities for those who fly into Dublin PAR/LENGTH: 72; 7,031 YARDS of Ballyliffin Golf Club, the northernmost links in and head north, then west. That’s exactly what I Ireland and host to the 2018 Irish Open. “We would did in May and June, embarking on my own for be slightly different than the southwest, which an aggressive schedule of nine courses in seven would be probably 30 years farther down the road days before joining up with my family in search as far as tourism. They’ve had a 30-year advantage of the more traditional craic. McLaughlin and his because of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, when North and West staff arranged for me to see many this part of the world was just not a desirable place of the most prominent links stretching from Dublin

IRISH HOSPITALITY offered a glimpse of soccer (ahem ... football) mayhem with and Rosses Point, to name a few of the top links courses Hopping more than 1,100 miles around the north a televised European Cup game that brought dozens of local nearby, the four-star Mount Falcon offers 32 rooms and a and west of Ireland on a 12-day mad dash for golf fans into the pub. Want an authentic Irish experience? Watch gourmet restaurant in the main building that was built in and craic, I didn’t require much from a hotel – at a football game with the locals. 1876. The luxury, family-owned least until my wife and young daughter joined me Just a few minutes’ drive from property is known for salmon for the last several days. Ballyliffin Golf Club in , The pub at Ballyliffin TownHouse fishing on the River Moy and its A bed, decent food – water pressure in the shower the TownHouse is a four-star birds-of-prey program. Along with was a nice bonus. Each of the eight hotels in which boutique hotel that was renovated a driving range, the estate also I stayed was more than sufficient for an itinerant in 2014. The lobby features letters features 45 cabins suitable for golfer, but three properties – reaching from the of appreciation from Rory McIlroy groups of golfers. east coast of the island to the west – stood out for after his stay during the 2018 Irish The old charms have been hospitality that would encourage Americans to Open. The family-run hotel is a retained in the original building, climb onto a 787 for the trans-Atlantic flight. Mount Falcon Estate perfect stop for golfers, with no with artwork and furnishings n I spent my first night in the Slieve Donard need to leave the building between selected by owner Alan Maloney. Resort and Spa in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. The arrival and departure but with a The Irishman is the type who keeps hotel is adjacent to Royal County Down, which some consider like a castle. Many of the 180 rooms feature views of the quaint town ready for exploring on the tour buses full, quick with the best course in the world. My schedule didn’t grant me beach and the Mountains of Mourne. The scale of the foot for those who have energy to stories and jokes and always ready time to play the famed links – my one regret of the trip. But property offers a quiet respite for golfers who have an early spare. Rooms are luxury-appointed to chat up a guest. His character there is nothing to regret about staying at the Slieve Donard. tee time. and offer views of the town or a is reflected throughout his hotel, Perched above the Irish Sea with a view of the mountain n The staff at the Ballyliffin TownHouse Hotel washed this long look down to the North Atlantic. with rooms that feature full modern amenities with timeless for which it was named, the Slieve Donard is a thoroughly golfer’s rain-soaked laundry (a greater luxury than you might n Driving into the Mount Falcon Estate near Ballina offers accoutrements such as hardwood floors, clawfoot tubs and modernized Victorian hotel that, to a weary traveler, looked imagine), fed me pizza and Guinness in a great pub, and the sensation of driving onto the set for an Irish version of bay windows overlooking the grounds. Downton Abbey. Within an easy drive to Carne, Enniscrone - Jason Lusk

40 GOLFWEEK JULY 2019 + FOR MORE GOLF NEWS, VISIT GOLFWEEK.COM 41 3 5 4 2 6

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Royal Portrush Dunluce Links

Course designer: Harry Colt (1929); Martin Ebert (2016) Big and bold, the Dunluce Links is a worthy home to this year’s British NINE COURSES, SEVEN DAYS Open. Largely devoid of the blind shots found at many links, Dunluce presents penal rough and deep, revetted bunkers. The course winds through the dunes and wonderfully uneven terrain, and there isn’t a pushover hole or respite for struggling players. The contours of the greens 1. County Louth Golf Club (Baltray) 5. Ballyliffin Golf Club Links are not extreme for a major-championship course. No. 16 (236-yard, uphill Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland Ballyliffin, County , Ireland par 3 with a steep chasm short-right of the green) and No. 17 (408-yard par 4 that falls left off the fairway into some of the toughest terrain) 2. Royal Portrush Dunluce Links 6. Golf Club could very well decide the British Open. Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Portsalon, , Ireland Ireland 7. Donegal Golf Club (Murvaugh) PAR/LENGTH: 72; 7,317 YARDS (71; 7,344 YARDS FOR THE OPEN) COURTESY OF NORTH AND WEST LINKS 3. Portstewart Golf Club Murvaugh, County Donegal, Ireland Portstewart, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland 8. Enniscrone Golf Club to Belmullet in the far northwestern Let it blow. played Baltray every week for a year, you prelude to every round in which I was Enniscrone, County Sligo, Ireland 4. Castlerock Golf Club Mussenden Course reaches, crossing into Northern Ireland First up, County Louth Golf Club, also might not have the exact same shot twice. paired with locals. Castlerock, County Londonderry, 9. Belmullet Golf Club (Carne) for three rounds before driving back into known as Baltray, about an hour north My hosts kept the jokes flowing, a perfect That’s one of the greatest differences in Northern Ireland Belmullet, County Mayo, Ireland the Republic for more golf. of Dublin. The club’s general manager, Ireland and the United States, where first Liam Murphy, hooked me up with a tee boxes tend to be a bit more guarded. ... set of rental clubs, a trolley and three These Irish courses along the north and members: Peter, Peter and Patrick west typically see more member play Day 1 did not go as planned. The (who didn’t really want me to use their than from international guests, and After driving over the border into buses in the parking lot weren’t going to airline lost my clubs and, I learned later, last names). In their 60s and entirely time and again I would wander up to the Northern Ireland and a night in the over- be a deterrent. broke one of my drivers. No golf shoes comfortable keeping the ball beneath the clubhouse or first tee alone, only to be the-top-luxurious Slieve Donard Resort Royal Portrush is getting much of – both pairs were packed in the golf wind on their home course, the Peters paired with members who treated me as and Spa, where I moved quickly through the attention this summer, as should be travel bag ... dumb mistake. I blew out a and Patrick began a brisk tour that if I had grown up down the lane. the lobby at check-in so as not to leave a expected for an Open host. The covered tire on my rental Skoda while dodging showed that, at any age, the Irish tend to Finishing in squishy street shoes and puddle of rainwater on the elegant tile, I front walkway and pro shop were full a speeding box truck on a tiny country play fast. having taken more strokes than I care hopped into the car for a two-hour ride of international golfers, all trying road. The rain flew in sideways on wind Baltray was a treat, highlighted by to admit, I was ready for more. I was through Belfast up to Royal Portrush. I to check the box before the major that not only was felt, but was heard. a four-hole stretch into and alongside The author headed up the coast, with a big left turn had been looking forward to this round championship. The crowds weren’t a None of that mattered. This is Ireland. towering dunes on the back nine. If you at Portrush around the top of the island. for months. The traffic, rain and tour turnoff, but it certainly was different than GOLFWEEK/JASON LUSK

44 GOLFWEEK JULY 2019 + FOR MORE GOLF NEWS, VISIT GOLFWEEK.COM 45 Portstewart Golf Club Strand Course

Course designer: A.G. Gow (1907); Willie Park (1920); Des Griffin (1990) The Strand offers an incredible early stretch. The opening par 4, with the North Atlantic just to the right but not in play, shoots downhill and doglegs right among towering dunes. No. 2 requires a tee shot through massive, jagged dunes to reach a partially obscured fairway. The rest of the front nine cavorts up, down and around the dunes. The back nine along the River Bann is flatter and less dramatic, but still a great challenge in the breezes across more traditional linksland. PAR/LENGTH: 72, 7,118 YARDS

semi-blind fairway that doglegs hard left around a dune before dropping to a flat spot below, daring players to take the aggressive line. After a few big numbers at Portrush, I opted to play it safe down the middle. Then I perfectly pull-hooked my driver, caught a hidden slope into the lower fairway and shaved 50 yards off my approach shot. Always better to be lucky than good – this was one of my favorite holes of the trip. Then I was off to Castlerock, where COURTESY OF NORTH AND WEST LINKS I had the front nine to myself as the weather chased off the members. With fewer vertical liftoffs but plenty of the quaintness of Baltray. to do anything more than hack many the clubhouse never tasted better. It one of the most invigorating tee shots wrinkled ground and native grasses, But the course ... wow, the course. shots back to the fairway. Several holes, was a short drive to the Adelphi in Ireland – or anywhere else for that Castlerock’s Mussenden course started Starting from the first tee to the 18th especially the par-4 fifth alongside the Portrush, where I hit the bed like the matter. Hitting from atop a bluff where strong in the dunes before descending green beneath the great yellow Open Atlantic with a cliffside view of the tired old man I clearly am becoming. the clubhouse is perched, the fairway into less extreme terrain for several scoreboard, Portrush’s Dunluce Links Giants Causeway and Dunluce Castle, At least my clubs and shoes finally waits below, curving rightward into the holes, then returning to the dunes for flowed like roiling sandy waves. Clearly dare a player to take an aggressive line arrived. Eighteen holes each day had dunes to a green unseen from the tee. Nos. 7 onward. the most testing of the courses I would off the tee. Don’t be a sucker, take the been more than enough the first two Portstewart’s front nine was a thrill The Mussenden course was totally play in Ireland, there wasn’t a dirty trick straight path – if only I had listened to days, and I was looking at 36 the next ride, and it didn’t hurt that I was hitting playable, which is often golf-speak for on the property. It’s all right in front of my own advice. It should be great fun day with heavy rain forecasted. it well with my own clubs after two days being able to find a ball in the rough. you, as Tiger Woods probably will say in this month watching the world’s best But if you can’t get up the energy to to warm up – shame I was playing alone. And that’s not a knock – a course doesn’t July. But seeing the trouble and avoiding navigate those challenges. tackle the front nine at Portstewart, then At the risk of sounding corny, I was have to be punishing to be fun. At 6,506 it in the oceanic winds are two very I played with a Canadian father/son you probably should find another sport. inspired by the dunes on the front nine. yards from the middle tees, the course different things. duo and a South African anesthesiologist Standing on the first box of the A rain shelter Nos. 2-8 were added after the club didn’t require big drives but it sure Thick native rough fortified by a who had played every course on the Strand Course the next morning, I was at Portstewart acquired property in 1981, and each hole invited them. Despite the heavy rain, the wet spring didn’t always hide a golf Open rota, and after the rain and wind confronted with rain drops, strong could be a postcard. closing holes were a joy as I tried (and ball at Portrush, but good luck trying and missed putts, the fish and chips in winds, ocean views, towering dunes and The eighth plays downhill to a somehow succeeded, despite having GOLFWEEK/JASON LUSK

46 GOLFWEEK JULY 2019 + FOR MORE GOLF NEWS, VISIT GOLFWEEK.COM 47 Ballyliffin Golf Club Glashedy Links

Designers: Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock (1995) With the club already operating what’s now known as the Old Course, the Glashedy Links to practically drag myself up the evil, blind hill looked like a moonscape. was built atop a stunning 80-foot dune and offers on No. 15) to keep my afternoon score short A co-worker had told me he preferred the frequent views of the ocean. The middle of the of 80 whacks. Old Links. That day the older 18 was open front is a frequently cited favorite stretch for As with Baltray and Portstewart, I might have only to members, so I can’t provide an opinion players who love extreme dunes golf, playing up been the only American out there in the rain, on which layout is best. But if the Old Links is and down the hills, dropping back to standard and there’s a special feeling in that realization. better than Glashedy, it must indeed be truly grade at the ninth. The back begins through tall These northern courses away from Portrush special, because Glashedy was an incredible native grasses before again ascending the dune had an unrushed feel, presenting a chance to march into and out of the dunes. Up, down, for several holes. Glashedy features some of the discover something new. I live near Orlando, for round and round we went. These are the types most severe revetted bunkers of this trip. God’s sake, so any chance to visit a spot with a of dunes that nature constructed as if the goal less-touristy vibe is welcome. was to attract roving golfers looking for modern After a drive south to the Bishop’s Gate Hotel links thrills. Especially after Ballyliffin’s turn PAR/LENGTH: 72; 7,462 YARDS in Londonderry followed by another hour hosting the Irish Open, the tour-bus crowds in the car north to Ballyliffin the next day, frequent the two courses, which are more than I was confronted with an incredible ocean ready to provide a can’t-miss experience. view and two courses on opposite ends of the “We’ve seen about a 25-, 30-percent uplift modern/classic spectrum. The club’s Old Links in visitor bookings since the Irish Open,” said lives up to billing, playing across rollicking links Farren, Ballyliffin’s GM. “When you look at the ground that is anything but flat but that aerial pictures, it’s a bit of a lunar landscape doesn’t climb into the mountainous dunes. that we have here. ... Because of the constantly The club’s newer Glashedy Course, meanwhile, changing climate and the constantly changing

Castlerock Golf Club Mussenden Course

Course designers: Ben Sayers (1908); Harry several blind shots – especially the uphill tee Colt (consultant, 1930); Martin Hawtree (2018) shot to an unseen fairway on the par-5 15th This classic links starts in the town and flows – the Mussenden Links presents a variety of out to the River Bann on the front nine, leaving interesting shots. The course seems entirely the dunes for a few holes before returning comfortable on the rolling land, offering to steeper terrain on the back. Quirky with a lovely stroll.

PAR/LENGTH: 73; 6,805 YARDS COURTESY OF NORTH AND WEST LINKS

48 GOLFWEEK JULY 2019 + FOR MORE GOLF NEWS, VISIT GOLFWEEK.COM 49 Portsalon Golf Club

Designers: Charles Thompson (1891); Pat Ruddy (2000) The opening tee shot offers a beautiful view of the crescent beach on , and from there the holes dive into the dunes with hardly a flat spot to be found. The front nine plays tight along the beach with some of the most unforgiving rough of this trip, while the more-forgiving back nine is farther from the water with great panoramas as the routing zigs and zags slightly up a hill.

COURTESY OF NORTH AND WEST LINKS PAR/LENGTH: 72, 7,038 YARDS

light, you never get tired of being out it’s worth the walk to the par-3 fifth, half-hour drive to Mount Falcon Estate there. No two days are the same.” which kicks off a stretch of heaving and its immaculate grounds, where After a night in the picture-book dunes. The wider fairways adjacent to I would unpack for two nights in an Ballyliffin TownHouse, it was on to the sandy hills challenge players to take immersive country environment that Portsalon and Donegal. It would be a a rip with driver – great fun. Not even makes it difficult to leave in search of day that covered more than 100 miles the 40-mph winds and stinging rains more golf. My feet were shot after so by car and more than 12 miles on foot, over the final three holes chased us in. many miles – my iPhone registered as starting in the rain before the sun broke At Enniscrone, another classic that many as 100 flights of stairs climbed into free, only to finish in what might best be has reworked its routing to take and out of the dunes some days. But it described as a monsoon. advantage of towering Portsalon is decidedly old school dunesland, the thrill ride and sits alongside one of the most started with the uphill idyllic crescent beaches in the world. approach to No. 1, with holes The ground rumbles without ever darting among sandy hills tall going vertical, with parallel holes that enough to cast long shadows slowly rise into the back nine. The sun across the fairways. The back appeared just in time for my tee shot on nine, with its ocean views, No. 2, where players must drive across a was a blast with several tidal stream alongside the beach – one blind shots over dunes to cut of the prettiest shots in the north. Of the serious yardage off approach eight other courses I played in Ireland, shots. Playing alongside two none had holes as intimate with the members, a father/son duo, shoreline as Portsalon. And none played I was advised where to hit it tighter with tall grasses so close to the amid a chorus of laughs fairways, whispering to stubborn players and stories. to leave driver in the bag. From Enniscrone it was a Donegal, also known as Murvaugh, took a little while longer to stretch its legs into the dunes, with several parkland-style holes on the front as the RIGHT: The all-clear bell after No. 2 at Castlerock and the author’s bag course unfurls across a peninsula. But GOLFWEEK/JASON LUSK

50 GOLFWEEK JULY 2019 would have been irresponsible to stay starting early and stretching all the south down the coast. It’s a shame that put and miss Belmullet Golf Club, also way to the 18th green perched above anybody would fly across the ocean to known as Carne. a fairway that dips, dives and rolls play golf and miss this place. Simply put, Carne is like nothing else. to the conclusion. Carne has an additional nine-hole The last course ever built by famed Irish Carne is all natural, with holes trek through crazy dunes, and there are designer Eddie Hackett, who also was carved through terrain that nobody plans to incorporate this loop, built by responsible for several other links on would dare create with a bulldozer. Jim Engh, with the original back nine to this trip, Carne is a daredevil trip Every hole deserves a spot on a calendar, create a new optional routing called the into some of the tallest, steepest dunes especially those on the back nine that Wild Atlantic Dunes Course. The more on the island. And unlike other courses, offer lofty views down to the Atlantic. holes here, the merrier. Carne never really leaves the extreme Carne is way out west, off the beaten If all of Irish links golf is a chance terrain for long. The place knocked me track of most itineraries, and doesn’t to experience the wild side of the off balance in the best possible way, the attract the numbers of vagabond golfers game, then Carne is that approach thoughts of “Can you believe this hole?” seen at more popular spots farther incarnate. Gwk

Donegal Golf Club (Murvaugh)

Designers: Eddie Hackett (1973); Pat Ruddy (various years) Situated on a peninsula overlooking the Atlantic and an estuary, this links features an Belmullet Golf Club (Carne) outward loop for the front nine that encircles the inward loop of the back nine. The course builds slowly with flatter holes before reaching Designer: Eddie Hackett (1992) its apex at Nos. 5-8, which play alongside On the far northwestern coast the tallest dunes on the property. With wider of the island, Carne is one of the fairways than many other Irish links courses, most dramatic landscapes for it’s a great test for players who want to hit golf found anywhere. The dunes driver over rolling fairways. The beachside climb more than 150 feet above dunes create a dramatic landscape without PAR/LENGTH: 73, 7,456 YARDS the nearby Atlantic, offering the severe climbs of several other courses. a roller-coaster ride for all 18 with frequent ocean views and invigorating challenges. The height of the dunes creates a sense of seclusion for most holes, with greens peeking out from Enniscrone Golf Club Dunes Course steep and sandy hills. The club also features a stunning nine-hole Designers: Eddie Hackett (1974); course built by Jim Engh in 2013, Donald Steel (2001) and the club plans to sometimes Evolving for a century, Enniscrone’s combine those holes with the 18-hole course (there also is a nine-holer original back nine in what will that incorporates six of Hackett’s original be called the Wild Atlantic Dunes holes on flatter ground) climbs into the giant Course. It’s a fitting name, as the dunes on the opener. The course offers several entire property is nothing if not tremendous views of the Atlantic from tee a wildly fun day of impossibly boxes and greens perched atop the steep hills. creative golf holes. The front nine closes alongside an estuary and the back begins there before climbing back into the dunes. Several sharp doglegs race up, down PAR/LENGTH: 72, 6,706 YARDS and around the dunes with blind shots that COURTESY OF NORTH AND WEST LINKS offer possible shortcuts to adventurous players. PAR/YARDAGE: 73; 7,033

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t seemed everyone in Ireland golden and the beer felt well- wanted me to take a tour of the earned as I laughed at stories Guinness Storehouse in Dublin told by my guides for the day. to learn how the country’s most The second perfect pour was famous drink is brewed. away from the courses but in a I declined. serene hub for golfers playing IInstead of spending half a day at what western dunes masterpieces the brewer calls the most-visited tourist such as Carne and Enniscrone. spot on the island, I opted to experience Mount Falcon Estate near several pints of the dark stuff – maybe Ballina was commissioned in more than several, truth be told – in 1872 as a country home, and the far more relaxed settings. I wanted my main building is now a four-star Guinness Draught in the clubhouses hotel with a gourmet restaurant and pubs after nine rounds of golf and comfortable pub that attracts in seven days that took me east to west well-heeled locals as well as across Ireland, from Dublin to Belmullet international visitors. The and back again. bartenders made sure I did not go Each glass – with the exception of a thirsty. As a sidekick to one of the sloppy pour in a soapy glass in a tourist- world’s best bread puddings, my trap restaurant in Galway’s shopping pint of Guinness looked completely district – was exceptional. Sure, having at ease on a table in a bay window Guinness in Ireland almost sounds cliché. overlooking the grounds in the I didn’t care. Filling and dark as night yet extended summer twilight. somehow with a hint of sweetness, the So sure, go see the Guinness taste of malt and a foamy head that lasts Storehouse to see how it’s made. I to the bottom of the pint glass, the beer simply was more concerned with how is as much of a part of Ireland as quick mine tasted and the settings in which rains and green vistas. I could enjoy it. Gwk After parking my rental Skoda each afternoon after another long day of reminding myself to “Stay left, stay left, stay left,” I had earned a few samples. ABOVE RIGHT: A Guinness ad from 1932 Any beer is best in its home country. BELOW: Guinness as a side dish to dessert, in this case Guinness belongs to Ireland – the the bread pudding at Mount Falcon Estate Americanized canned version with the little pressure ball inside is OK, but it’s The Perfect not the same as sipping a creamy serving while listening to a thick Irish brogue in a proper pub. Bartenders would nod their approval when I ordered a pint, JASON LUSK/GOLFWEEK AND HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES skipping the Coors Light and Heineken that somehow had snuck into too many Irish taps. And all the better to tee up a Guinness as the second course after an ounce of Jameson or Bushmills. Both the whiskey and beer are best sipped, creating plenty of time to take in the surroundings. This isn’t a volume game. PINTSGuinness just fits on a trip to Ireland | By Jason Lusk Two perfect Guinness settings stood out in my travels. The first was upstairs in the Ballyliffin clubhouse, which offered a long view across the club’s two links courses to Glashedy Island a mile or so out in the Atlantic Ocean. After a few damp holes early in my round, the sun was shining, the native grasses were

56 GOLFWEEK JULY/AUGUST 2019 + FOR MORE GOLF NEWS, VISIT GOLFWEEK.COM 57