Doonbeg: Greg Norman’s Wild Atlantic Links on the Clare Coast

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Photograph: Doonbeg / Trump International Golf Links, Co. Clare.

There is a stretch of the County Clare coast, north of the village of Doonbeg, where the dunes rise high and wild above a crescent beach on the Wild Atlantic Way. When Greg Norman first saw the site, he said he thought he was the luckiest designer in the world. The links he built there opened in 2002 and was named Golf Digest’s best new international course of the year. It is, today, Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, Ireland, and it remains one of the most natural-looking modern links in the country.

Norman’s approach at Doonbeg was to move as little earth as possible. Many of the greens and fairways were simply mown out of the ground that was already there, threaded between dunes that in places rise well above the player. The result reads less like a designed course and more like a links that had been waiting in the sandhills to be found.

At a Glance

• Course: Doonbeg (now Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, Ireland), Co. Clare

• Type: Links

• Founded / opened: Opened 2002 (as Doonbeg Golf Club)

• Main architects: Greg Norman (2002); Martin Hawtree (redesign after 2014)

• Par / back tee yardage: Par 72 (an unusual five par-3s and five par-5s); plays to around 6,900 yards from the back tees, depending on setup

• Best paired with: Lahinch and Dromoland on a County Clare leg

• Practical note: A natural duneland links with a resort hotel on site; about 45–60 minutes from Shannon Airport, traffic dependent.

The Course: Greg Norman, and a Site That Did the Work

Doonbeg opened on 9 July 2002, marked by an exhibition match between Pádraig Harrington and Norman himself. The course was acclaimed immediately for the way it sat on the land, with the high dunes framing the holes and the Atlantic never far away. Its make-up is unusual: five par-3s and five par-5s, a balance few championship links share.

In 2014 the property was bought by the Trump Organization and renamed. Over the following two years the course was reworked under the links architect Martin Hawtree, who had by then carried out well-regarded work at Lahinch, Royal Portrush and elsewhere. The course today plays to par 72 at around 6,900 yards from the back tees, though, as on any true links, the wind matters far more than the card.

The Signature Holes

The short holes: With five par-3s, Doonbeg leans on its one-shot holes more than most links, and several are played across or alongside the dunes with the wind swirling. Club selection is rarely a decision the card can settle.

The duneland par-5s: The long holes thread between the highest sandhills on the property, where a good drive opens up the hole and a poor one is swallowed by marram and slope.

The seaward stretch: Where the course runs closest to the beach, the views open out along the Clare coast, and the exposure to the Atlantic wind is total. It is the part of the round most visitors photograph.

The Doonbeg Experience

Doonbeg is run as a resort, with a hotel and lodges on the property, so it suits groups who want to stay where they play for a night or two. Caddies and buggies are available, and the practice facilities are good. The setting, high in the dunes above the beach, is among the most dramatic of any resort links in Ireland.

Getting There and What’s Nearby

Doonbeg sits on the County Clare coast, about 45–60 minutes from Shannon Airport and a similar drive from Lahinch, traffic dependent. It pairs naturally with Lahinch up the coast and with Dromoland inland, and the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren are both within an easy drive for a rest day or a non-golfing partner.

Why Doonbeg Belongs on a Clare Itinerary

For a County Clare leg already built around Lahinch, Doonbeg adds a second, very different links day: younger, more dramatic in its dune scale, and run with resort comfort on site. For many visiting golfers the contrast between Lahinch’s old quirk and Doonbeg’s wild modern duneland is one of the most enjoyable pairings on the west coast.

Argyle Links can build a County Clare leg around Lahinch, Doonbeg and Dromoland. We arrange tee-time requests and build itineraries around confirmed access, coordinate accommodation, and arrange chauffeured transfers from Shannon Airport. See our itineraries at argylelinks.com.