Trump International Golf Links: Doonbeg

Doonbeg was an international sensation in 2002 as it was one of the first 18-hole Irish links to open in a generation. The site was magnificent, a mile and a half-long pocket of imposing dunes stretched out over the Atlantic Ocean beaches. It was also problematic since the dunes were full of environmentally protected snails, limiting where the golf could be built. It forced the routing of the holes into some awkward corners that resulted in long walks back to tees and several hole crossovers that were either charming or dangerous depending on your tolerance for quirk and safety. Still, course designer Greg Norman was able to get the golf close to the ocean often enough to make Doonbeg one of Ireland’s great visceral pleasures thanks to outstanding links holes like the par-5 first playing into an amphitheater of steep sand hills, the par-4 sixth running the length of the beach, the oceanfront par-3 ninth and the par-3 14th playing down to a green situated against the sea. These more than offset a series of lesser inland holes that were manufactured from flat farmland. Over the years, work has been done to remove some of the blindness and initial severity of the course, but the biggest change was the addition of the enormous hotel constructed six years after Doonbeg opened.