Description :
Details: 18-hole
Par: 70
Length: 5322m
Green Fees: Green Fees Midweek: 30 Green Fees Weekends: 35 (2004)
Narin & Portnoo Golf Club
18 Hole Links
Founded: 1930
Designed by Leo Wallace and Hughie McNeill
Number of Members: 750
Open for membership
Societies are welcome and group rates are available
Course Record: 63 Bobby Browne 1979, Enda McMenamin 1990;
Captain 2005: Frankie Kennedy
Lady Captain 2005: Phillippa Mullin> President 2004/5: Colm Melly
Lady President 2004/5: Maureen Cunningham
Green Fees Midweek: 30
Green Fees Weekends: 35
Green Fees with a Member: 30/35 (partial refund available for full
members)
Green Fees for Opens: 13
Putting Green: Yes
Trolley Hire: Yes
Buggy Hire: Yes
Course opening hours: Daylight hours
Clubhouse opening hours: 9.00am to 12.00pm
Dress Code: Neat and Casual, no denim
Catering: Soup & Snacks
Days to Avoid: Sundays until 1.00pm
Green Fees and Societies Welcome at other times
Card of the course
White: Par 69 SSS 69 5,396 mts
Green: Par 69 SSS 68 5,249 mts
Red: Par 70 SSS 68 4,490 mts
Location:
6 miles northwest of Glenties, 8 miles north of Ardara, through the village of Narin and keep right.
Course Description
Narin and Portnoo, is situated in the beautiful seaside resort of Portnoo in southwest Donegal. It is considered one of the finest natural
links courses in Ireland. It is certainly one of the most scenic. Opened
in 1930, it is engagingly old fashioned. What you get is a routing over
and around the dunes. Holes five to fourteen are classics and must rate
as simply the most beautiful run of holes to be found anywhere in the
country. One great delight is the 9th, a par 4 elevated tee to the
Pebble Beach-like green set against the Atlantic's oncoming waves. You
will go a long way to find links more traditional than here. A warm
friendly welcome awaits visitors to Narin and Portnoo Golf Club. It is
ideal for year-round golf and Society and Corporate rates are available.
Club History:
Narin and Portnoo Golf Club was founded in 1930 when five local men
decided that the warren in Narin had the potential to be developed into
a testing links.
Canon Ernest Devlin, Rev. Boyce, William Hammersbach, William O'Donnell and Francis J. McLoone saw the fillip to the tourist trade that a golf course would provide and they pooled their resources to rent the land
from the five landlords concerned. Previous attempts at creating a golf links at Castlegolan, Sandfield and Rosbeg never really took off.
A number of rudimentary holes were already in existence and help was
sought from Hughie McNeill, the professional in Portrush and Leo
Wallace, the professional in Bundoran to bring those holes up to
scratch. On July 9, 1930 William O'Donnell launched a drive down the> first and a golf club was born.
Jim McCole was appointed greenkeeper in 1934 and would hold the post
until 1977. Under his stewardship, Narin developed a reputation for fast
links greens and the sight of Jim on his knees plucking rye grass was
not an uncommon one. Throughout the thirties the membership grew and a
decision was taken in April 1938 to build a clubhouse. Joseph Cunningham
& Sons, Killybegs were awarded the contract and on September 1, 1939
H.A. McDevitte T.D. officially opened the small, wooden pavilion. It
would serve as the clubhouse until 1967.
John O'Donnell of Ardara and John Gillespie of Narin were the leading
golfers in the first half century of the club's existence, with the
latter going round the nine holes in 33 shots on two occasions and
setting the course record of 67 in 1973.
Fairways were only cut once or twice a year, which made the course play> longer than its actual length, a problem accentuated with the prevalence
of moss. The war years were traumatic for the golf club due to transport difficulties and finances didn't improve much afterwards. Attracting new members wasn't proving easy and but for the fundraising efforts of the Portnoo Dramatic Club, the club may have folded in the mid-fifties.
The thespians toured throughout the county and presented £600 to the
committee after several years fundraising. The corner had been turned.
Improvements were made to the nine-hole layout and in 1957 the current
sixteenth hole replaced the sodden second on the initiative of Louis
Walsh. A decision was taken in 1960 to rent more land from Barney
McNelis and on June 24th, 1965 Donagh O'Malley, T.D. opened the new
eighteen hole course. A first-ever victory in the Inter Club League in
1967 under the captaincy of Patsy Sweeney showed that the club was
moving in the right direction on the playing front. Membership improved
sufficiently to justify the building of a bigger clubhouse and this was
accomplished by Joe McMenamin & Sons, Stranorlar in 1968 with a grant of £6000 from Bord Fáilte easing the financial burden.
A new car park followed in 1970, while new machinery made life a little
easier for the greens staff. Donal McBride became Honorary Secretary in1978 and he entered the club for the first time in the Pierce Purcell,
Scratch Cup and Ulster Cup. Fr. Brendan McBride represented Ulster that
same year, a first for a Narin & Portnoo player.
A successful Pro-Am was launched in 1979 which heightened the club's
profile even further. The likes of Eamon Darcy, Christy O'Connor and
David Feherty were big draws and the standard of golf reflected this,
with Bobby Browne shooting a 63 in 1979 to set a new course record. The
amateur record is also 63 and it was achieved by Ballybofey's Enda McMenamin in 1990.
Further improvements are in the pipeline which should make the club one
of the finest courses in the northwest. From eighteen members in 1930,
the club now caters for 750. Its founders' vision has been justified and the best years surely lie ahead.
|
