Bunkers and tees on the front nine have been renovated to reflect the site’s rollicking nature and its dunes
By Richard Humphreys |
Carne Golf Links on the northwest coast of Ireland has reopened its front nine following renovation work by Ally McIntosh.
The club is located on the Atlantic coast of County Mayo, with panoramic views across Blacksod Bay to the islands of Inis Gluaire and Inis Gé. Eddie Hackett designed the original 18-hole layout in the early 1990s before McIntosh added a new nine in 2013 which, together with Hackett’s back nine, forms the Wild Atlantic Dunes course.
“As most will know, all 27 holes at Carne were built using a very minimal budget,” said McIntosh. “As far back as 2014, I’d written a renovation report that showed how we could bring a bit more ‘design’ and sophistication into the detailing, but capital constraints had restricted its implementation.”
In 2023, McIntosh revamped the practice green and tee complexes around the clubhouse. However, when the course was hit by bad weather in winter and spring 2024/25, club chairman Gerry Maguire called McIntosh to assess and renovate tees across all 27 holes. This then led the designer to develop a plan to renovate the course, nine holes at a time, over three winters.
“Carne is a spectacular golf course,” said McIntosh. “The individual holes provide unsurpassed drama, and each is different to the next. The rawness of it is part of its appeal but we can maintain that feel whilst still elevating the strategy, detail and presentation. So that is our goal. To really lift it to the next level where people fully realise its world class status.”
The primary focus of McIntosh’s work is the redesign of bunkers and tee complexes.
“Some green surrounds will be reshaped in tandem with the new bunker placements, but we have left greens out of scope at present,” said McIntosh. “I’ve no desire to make wholesale changes to Eddie Hackett’s work but I do suspect we will need to look at three or four of the original greens in time.”
Work on the first nine (the old Hackett back nine) was completed over winter 2025/26, with the holes reopened in May 2026. McIntosh has been on site for much of the project, working alongside James Coughlan, who is leading construction. The pair have worked closely with Maguire, general manager Fiona Togher and course manager Fergus Kearney and his staff.
“The site is scattered with open sand blowouts and scars,” said McIntosh. “The aesthetics will be changed to mimic the rollicking nature and scale of the wonderful dunes. From a playing perspective, we’re placing the bunkers in more strategic positions and hopefully making the green to tee transitions feel more intuitive as well as spreading wear.”
New bunkering on the second marries in with natural sand scars and the scale of the site (Photo: Ally McIntosh)
“The tees have been redesigned – and often relocated – in a more freeform and larger shape, again to follow the land movement and feel. Access and egress have been widened to reduce compaction and to enable us to return paths to grass where possible.
“Given the severity of the land, part of the masterplan is to look at a phased introduction of irrigation and water over the next five years or so. We’re ensuring water is taken to the new tees and next winter, we’ll be tripling the size of the retention pond.”
The plan is to work on the second nine over winter 2026/27. “This will enable us to complete the Wild Atlantic Dunes routing, which the club now promotes as their primary 18,” said McIntosh. “We’ll hopefully then circle back to the final Hackett nine in 27/28 and use 28/29 to tidy up with any greens work.”
A fairway bunker on the sixth shows undefined edges and mimics the freeform nature of the links (Photo: Carne Golf Links)
“The bottom line is to make as many people as possible realise what an individual marvel Carne is,” said McIntosh. “It may not have a Golden Age design pedigree, but among those that place less emphasis on history, you’ll find a surprisingly large number that consider it their favourite course in the world. It’s certainly hard for the first time visitor to leave without being somewhat awestruck by the experience.”