The rugged beauty of Carne GL

The Carne Golf Links is located in the remote and wild west of Ireland on the Mullet Peninsula, far off the beaten path, even by Irish standards. Though its remote location may deter less adventurous souls from making the trip, those travelers willing to spend a few hours making the scenic drive through County Mayo to reach Carne GL will be amply rewarded with one of Ireland's most natural and stunning golf courses.

The history of Carne GL dates to 1925, when the Belmullet Golf Club was formed. For 60-plus years, the members of the Belmullet Golf Club played their golf over a local nine-hole course. Then, in the early 1990s, the Carne Golf Links was developed by Erris Tourism in an attempt to promote tourism in the region, and the Belmullet Golf Club became the resident golf club at Carne GL. Though the first few years saw few visitors, with the opening of a full-service clubhouse in 1995 the Carne GL began to attract its share of golf pilgrims looking for the next hidden gem among Ireland 's many great golf courses. As word of the wild and natural course at Carne GL spread through the golf community, more and more visitors have made the long trek to Belmullet, yet Carne GL is still relatively undiscovered when compared to the great links courses of Southwest Ireland.

As for the course itself, we are fortunate that Erris Tourism did not have a large construction budget at Carne GL and was “forced” to hire Eddie Hackett as the course architect, Ireland's greatest course architect of the late 20th century and the man responsible for designing so many of Ireland's fine links courses, always for a modest fee. The limited construction budget at Carne GL was also a blessing in that it made any thought of major earth-moving projects unthinkable, with the result being a course that flows naturally over and around the many towering dunes that dominate the property.

It is these majestic dunes that set Carne GL apart from many other Irish links courses, for none of the pictures in this review can begin to do justice to the sheer size and ruggedness of these dunes nor to the splendid manner in which Mr. Hackett managed to lay out a series of memorable yet playable golf holes over such rugged terrain. The dunesland at Carne GL is reminiscent of the rugged dunesland on which Robert Trent Jones laid out the Cashen Course at Ballybunion Golf Club, except that the dunes at Carne GL are bigger and, in our opinion, Mr. Hackett did a better job of designing a course that is playable, which is not an easy task on such rugged terrain.

Though there are few holes at Carne GL that would not stand out at many other links courses, we will provide a brief review of some of our favorite holes below (along with the entertaining Irish names for each of the reviewed holes, as this is the part of Ireland where many locals speak Irish with great pride).

1st Hole, 366 Yards, Par Four (Cnoc na Ros): A seemingly gentle opening hole, until one considers that only a perfectly struck drive will manage to hold the wide fairway that slopes sharply from left to right. The second shot is one of many blind shots that the visitor will encounter at Carne GL (remember, we told you that earth-moving projects were not part of the budget or plans), this one requiring a short iron to a narrow yet deep green that slopes away from the golfer.

2nd Hole, 149 - 183 Yards, Par Three (Tochair Easpag): A mid-length par three played between two dunes to a semi-blind green. With some or all of the flagstick hidden by the dunes, depending on the hole location on any given day, what should be a fairly easy tee shot often results in a timid swing and a difficult recovery shot from the deep bunker to the front-right of the green or from the thick grass in the nearby dunes.

7th Hole, 162 Yards, Par Three (Ard na Gaoithe): Another mid-length par three, but this time the tee shot is played severely uphill to a plateau green built into a shelf on a large dune. The golfer is well advised to take an extra club or two on the tee shot, as any shot that comes up short is likely to trickle back down to the base of the hill leaving the golfer a tough lob shot to the elevated green.

The two-tiered 8th green

8th Hole, 365 Yards, Par Four (Log a Si): A great tee shot requiring a wood or long iron threaded between the massive dune on the left and the slightly smaller, yet still intimidating, dune on the right. Assuming the golfer finds the fairway off the tee, the golfer now has the option of playing a run-up shot to the two-tier green that is set in a hollow below the fairway or playing a lofted shot that carries onto (hopefully) the correct tier of the green.

Across a valley to the 9th fairway

9th Hole, 327 Yards, Par Four (Si Gaoith): Although a glance at the card would suggest that nothing more than a drive and a pitch is required at the 9th hole, many a good golfer will be hitting a long iron into the green on this hole that plays uphill into the prevailing wind.

A look back at the 11th green

11th Hole, 332 Yards, Par Four (Conn): The first of two short back-to-back par fours that are likely to leave the first-time visitor scratching his head and/or wanting an opportunity to play these holes again. The golfer plays his tee shot on the short 11 th from the top of a large hill to a fairway set well below between two massive dunes. The safe shot requires only 210 yards to the corner of the dogleg, leaving a short but challenging wedge shot to another plateau green. Of course, there is always the option, when the wind is behind the golfer, to bravely play a driver over the dune on the right and have an attempt to drive the green.

12th Hole, 300 Yards, Per Four (Fiachra): A somewhat confounding hole, which leaves the golfer the option of playing an iron off the tee to a narrow sliver of fairway, or having a go with a driver in hopes of driving on or near the small elevated green. Perhaps no hole at Carne GL is a better example of how Mr. Hackett took what the land gave him and designed the best hole possible, given the constraints of the land and his budget, rather than attempt to bulldoze the spectacular dunes to create a man-made hole.

The drop-shot 16th

16th Hole, 154 Yards, Par Three (Magarlin): The yardage of the 16 th hole resembles that of the uphill 7 th hole, but it is there that the similarities end. For the 16 th hole is a true drop-shot par three, with a tee shot played from high atop a hill to a green set well below at the base of another large dune. Little more than a wedge on the rare calm day, finding the green on the 16 th hole is all the challenge any golfer could ask for on a more typical day when the wind is howling off the Atlantic.

17 th Hole, 399 Yards, Par Four (An Muirineach): Though the 17 th hole may lack the majestic dunes that are so characteristic of Carne GL, it is the best golf hole on the course in our opinion. A slight dogleg right, the 17 th requires an accurate tee shot to a fairway that narrows the closer one gets to the green. As for the green, it is long and narrow, with a bit of dogleg right in it as well and a frequented hollow of low cut grass to the right side.

The narrow and well-protected 17 th green

For those of you who have not played on a course designed by the late Mr. Hackett, there may be no better introduction to his ability to create a natural and enjoyable golf course than a day at Carne GL. Those of you who have played at Waterville Golf Links, Donegal Golf Club or one of the many other fine Irish links courses designed by Mr. Hackett would be well-advised to make the trek to Carne GL, for it is at Carne GL that Mr. Hackett was likely presented with the most natural linksland canvas on which to create his artwork.

As may be obvious by now, we are big fans of Carne GL. Yet, we will be the first to admit that, with its remote location and severe terrain, Carne GL may not be everyone's cup of tea. Yet, for those golfers who are willing to spend a day (or, hopefully more) out in the natural beauty of the Mullet Peninsula, and who prefer their golf on the wild side, there are few courses that can provide the thrills that one experiences at Carne GL.

To locate Carne GL, please click this link to our interactive Ireland Golf Map.

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