17 Can you tell us about some of the specific changes? We moved the second fairway left away from the f lat, wetter ground to incorporate the light, choppy and interesting linksland. The relocation of the green on seven makes it driveable but only if you can successfully navigate the humps and hollows to take the ball onto the green. Pushing the eighth green back to the property’s sharp drop-off, while raising it to overlook the rocks and beach, has had a dramatic impact. The new par-five tenth hugs the coastline and has both a short and long way to a unique green, depending on which tee players are hitting from. The eleventh was designed as a typical linksy par three with a small green wedged between two sand dunes. The hole can play from a wedge to a three iron, but more often than not with the right wind you have a great chance to make a hole-in-one. There have been a few! The par-three fifteenth is an amazing hole as it sits on one of the highest – and playable – sand dunes on the property with fantastic views of the sandy beaches and rocky coastline. The green is set behind two large dunes and is somewhat blind. We were able to create sandy blowouts into the foreground dunes to help with the visuals while tying together the property’s natural feel. The green site is probably the most dramatic on the property and that is saying something as the course has several greens set on the edge of the amazing site. What playing experience can golfers expect at Narin & Portnoo? We want the player to think their way around the course and try and execute the challenging line of play as the course and mother nature allow. We have interesting green surrounds with subtle runoffs that never existed before, challenging lines of play that take on natural features (existing and created), and green contours that f low from the fairways through the approaches and onto the greens. The contours promote the ground game and allow for creative shotmaking skills that the Irish weather demands. Who else was involved in the project? Narin’s management were instrumental in keeping things moving and we were fortunate to have worked with two of the best contractors in Europe. SOL Golf completed phase one and Atlantic Golf Construction did the second phase. Our team was headed by Neil Cameron from our Caveman Construction group. Neil set the table and enhanced the shaping that was done by me and Gil, along with helping to rejuvenate some incredible architecture. The eighth green has been pushed back to the coastline and raised to overlook the rocks and beach Photo: AirSwing Media
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