A Fortnight in Ballyliffin

In late August/early September 2008, my wife Theresa and I enjoyed one of our typical trips to the U.K. and Ireland to get our annual fix of links golf.  The largest portion of this specific trip was spent in the six counties of Northern Ireland, and included playing the renowned links at Royal County Down and Royal Portrush.  I’m please to report that the two “royals” are entirely deserving of their storied reputations, and combined with lesser-known gems such as Portstewart and Ardglass made for a delightful trip.

But as will happen, it was a side trip to County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland that may prove to be the most significant aspect of that particular trip.  During an extended stay in Portrush, we arose early one morning and headed due west to catch the ferry across Lough Foyle en route to Ballyliffin, a remote village in the Northwest corner of the Inishowen Peninsula.  Our destination was Ballyliffin Golf Club, the northernmost golf club in Ireland, which is counter intuitively not actually in Northern Ireland.  Located some ten miles south of Malin Head, the northernmost point in Ireland, Ballyliffin is home to some 461 permanent residents as per the November 2011 census.

Ballyliffin, denoted by the purple pin, is the northernmost golf club in Ireland, about a two hour drive from Belfast.  Despite the impression given by this map, there are actual roads that will take the motorist or golfer to Ballyliffin.  The spit of land to the top right is the Kintyre Peninsula of Scotland, home to famed Machrihanish. 

Despite the size of the village, the golf club boasts two first class links, and the bride and I were both captivated by the beauty of the site and the warmth of those we met.  Despite battling some severe weather (more on that below), we loved both courses and immediately knew it was not our last visit.  In fact, we had both recently read Lorne Rubenstein’s A Season in Dornoch, in which a well known Canadian golf writer picked up and moved to Dornoch in the Scottish Highlands for a season. 

An example of the scenery on offer at Ballyliffin looking back towards the village.  Alas, the blue skies and wispy cumulous clouds did not last.

It immediately became our goal/fantasy to create our own “Season in Ballyliffin,” in which we rent a cottage and join the golf club for a full season.  Given that work and family obligations have made that to date infeasible, we’ve decided to do the next best thing.  We have rented a small cottage in Ballyliffin for the last two weeks in August and will be conducting a two-week dry run of our fantasy.  

Chez Simpson for two weeks in August, the so-called Beach View Cottage that will be our home in Ballyliffin. If you’re in the vicinity, please drop by.

Our day at Ballyliffin began with a morning round on the Glashedy Links, the newer of the two courses.  Named for a small island approximately a mile off the coast reminiscent of Turnberry’s Ailsa Craig, the Glashedy was designed by Pat Ruddy, the noted Irish golf course architect best known for his European Club outside Dublin, and the late Tom Craddock.  Originally contacted to potentially update the club’s Old Course, Ruddy notified the club that its 400 acres of undeveloped dunesland had been designated area of scientific interest by the European Community.  The club had a short window to develop the property without a lengthy and arduous environmental review process, which it fortunately utilized despite the obvious financial strain of such a substantial investment on a small club.

The view of Pollan Bay from a green on the Glashedy Links.  The small island that gave the links its name is partially visible to the right of the flag.  The bright blue sky and blustery conditions gave no hint of the dramatic weather to come.

The result is a thoroughly modern links, with enough length to challenge the best players of the modern age.  Characterized by the large dunes through which it’s routed, the links offers beautiful vistas of Pollan Bay and all the challenge one needs, especially if it’s a blowin’ (and I suspect it pretty much always is a blowin’).  While my memories are a bit hazy from the passage of four years, I recall a large sand dune that provided the teeing ground for the most unlinks-like hole I can recall on an authentic links, the Par 3 seventh.  The hole plays dramatically downhill to a green with a pond front right, made all the more testing by the prevailing left-to-right wind.  One just doesn’t see these kinds of elevation changes or water hazards, much less the combination of the two, on a links.

After a quick bite of lunch in the clubhouse, we lit out on the Old Links, which in reality is not all that old, dating only to 1970 (prior to that the club had a nine hole course).  The Old Links is obviously not an Old Tom Morris design, but it could play one on television, with the most marvelously rumpled fairways I’ve ever seen, reminiscent of Machrihanish or Cruden Bay.  The Old was renovated by Nick Faldo (who also tried unsuccessfully to purchase the club) in 1996, but very much retains the feel of a turn-of-the-century natural links where no substantial earth has been moved.  It’s the shorter and easier of the courses, without too many bunkers, but Theresa and I were both utterly charmed by the simplicity of it all.  And oh those fairways… one of my goals for our upcoming trip is to find the perfect light to capture photos of those devilish contours.

Theresa tees off on the Old Course under the watchful eye of her caddy Mary.  Mary was disappointed that we couldn’t stay, as she wanted Theresa to be her partner in a team competition the following day.  We hope to renew Mary’s acquaintance and Theresa will be available for any comps or even just a friendly 4-ball.

Our love of Ballyliffin came despite a bit of brutal weather during the day.  Our ferry crossing and arrival was to blustery conditions with bright blue skies, showing the spectacular landscape in all manner of vibrant greens.  However, during our morning round with no discernable change in the sky, Theresa’s caddy suddenly barked out “Put on your waterproofs, NOW!”  Sure enough, within a very few minutes it was Wizard of Oz time, with the sky turning pitch black and the heavens opening up (actually it was more of a reverse WoO, going from Technicolor to black and white).  The third of the four storms added golf ball-sized hail to the mix, and the fourth required us to forego playing the 18^th in lieu of a mad dash up the seemingly endless Par 5 to the clubhouse.

This photo doesn’t come close to capturing the intensity of the storm, but unfortunately my camera was in my golf bag as we dove for cover.  The golf ball-sized hail was piled up on this green, but by the time I could liberate the camera all that remained were the puddles.

In the ensuing mayhem, Theresa’s rain suit was left on the porch of the clubhouse, and did not accompany us on our return journey to Portrush, a fact that did not reveal itself to us until a couple of days later.  Our good friend Lowell Courtney, of Portrush-based Lynchpin Tours (for all your Irish golf trip planning needs), contacted the club on our behalf and by a happy coincidence Portrush native son Graeme McDowell was at the time at Ballyliffin and one of his associates kindly delivered the rain suit to Royal Portrush for us.  Of course the story has grown in the telling over the years, with Graeme himself delivering the rain gear and Theresa seizing the opportunity to correct a minor flaw in his putting grip, after which he went on to claim a U.S. Open and win the final point to secure the Ryder Cup for Europe at Celtic Manor. 

Despite the lack of Internet access in our cute little cottage, it’s my intention to blog our trip, including both golf and non-golf adventures.  We’ve arranged a two-week ticket with the club, and have entered the one open competition scheduled during our stay.  As much as we’ve loved our prior trips, the one disappointment has always been the absence of opportunities to play with club members.  Except for an overnight visit by Lowell and wife Carol and a stop in Portrush on the way out of town, we have absolutely nothing scheduled.  Stay tuned to this station for periodic updates on our grand Ballyliffin adventure.