Golf’s Great Twin Miracles – Ballyliffin

Ballyliffin Golf Club, located on the Inishowen penninsula at the northernmost tip of Ireland in County Donegal, was formally established on 2 April, 1947 although golf was probably played there since the twenties. The club was founded by a group of enthusiasts who met at Ballyliffin Hall, and the course was initially a 9-hole layout on leased land. The club moved to its current location in 1970 and expanded to an 18-hole course. The property of Ballyliffin Golf Club is legally controlled by the Trustees of the Club on behalf of its members. The official opening of Ballyliffin Golf Club took place on May 2, 1948.
In 1970, the club purchased the current lands for the Old Links course for £5,000. The 400 acres was commonage and required shareholders to agree to the sale of their interests. Over the years, the club has continued to develop and improve its facilities, including the construction of a new clubhouse in 2000. The course was initially a 9-hole layout, and it wasn’t until 1973 that the Old Links course was expanded to 18 holes. Eddie Hackett, who was the golfing architect, attached to Bord Failte, visited the course on several occasions and helped to lay out the playing holes, although it is true to say that two English architects visited the course as well and gave their views on how it should be laid out. They were Lawrie and Pennick but in the final analysis, the course which emerged, perhaps took something from each of them, and quite a few suggestions from Martin Hopkins were incorporated in the final pattern. The Old Links course was originally designed by Eddie Hackett, Lawrie and Pennick, with later renovations from Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock who changed six holes and replaced three of the holes.
In 1991, Ballyliffin Golf Club’s Council established a Development Committee, led by that year’s Captain, Cormac McDonough, to devise a long-term plan for the club’s future. This plan aimed to manage the influx of visiting players affecting the course and clubhouse. In 1992, the committee consulted with golf architects Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock, who recommended building a second championship-standard course on the club’s land and get the plans in place before the requirement for planning was brought into force (May 1993). The design process began, and by 7 May 1993, construction was underway as the course stretched out, back and around an exposed dune, which needed to be stablilised, at the far end of the old links course which also had to be altered to accommodate the new course layout. An area around the par 3 seventh was subject to flooding which is why there is a pond there. Smokin’ Joe used a hose and the exhaust of his tractor to eradicate the rabbit population and their predilection for burrowing on the land. Favourable weather conditions allowed for smooth progress, and the course was seeded by September. The committee also secured a significant grant of £315,000 from Bord Failte, thanks to a successful presentation to the Minister for Tourism and Trade, Charles McCreevy.
The construction of the new course was completed swiftly, opening on 3rd August 1995. The Glashedy (named after the Glashedy Rock just offshore in Pollan Bay) Links, praised for its design and proportions, marked a new era for the club. The opening day was a triumph, and Captain Jimmy Cuddihy inaugurated the course by hitting the first ball in a celebratory competition. The Glashedy Links, opened in 1995, was designed by Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock who were originally requested to upgrade their bunkering but the designer made more radically suggestions involving the creation of the new Glashedy Links and an application for a grant. In 1996 Sir Nick Faldo swooped in with an offer to buy the two links but the membership voted against it despite being a quick solution to the debt currently on their balance sheet. However the Nick Faldo Design Company was engaged to deal with the bunkering on the Old Links even though this was what Ruddy/Craddock had originally been consulted on before the recommendation for a new course. Pat Ruddy was back to create the critically acclaimed Pollan Links, a nine-hole layout with holes ranging from 90 to 146 yards.
The Pollan Links, a new nine-hole par-three course on a 14-acre site designed by Pat Ruddy was opened in 2020. Construction work was carried out by the club’s greenkeeping team under the supervision of Ruddy and Patsy Doherty, Ballyliffin’s greens convenor and began in autumn 2019 and was completed in spring 2020. The course had been in planning for many years and the club wanted to host the Irish Open prior to breaking ground so that we could fully appreciate the logistical requirements of staging a major European Tour event and the impact this would have on the footprint of the Pollan Links.
Ballyliffin Golf Club which lies on over 400 acres of land is known for its challenging layout, with both the Old Links and Glashedy Links courses offering a true links golf experience. The courses feature undulating fairways, deep bunkers, and natural rough, making accurate shot-making essential. Notable holes on the Glashedy Links the 13th hole, known as Bun a’Chnoic (Bottom of the Hill), is a 571-yard par-5 that plays uphill between dunes. It is considered one of the most scenic and challenging holes on the course. Ruddy nicknamed holes 12 to 15 on the Glashedy as the ‘Golden Triangle’. On the Old Links the 4th hole, Lagan, is a 558-yard par-5 that requires precision off the tee and a well-executed approach shot to a green surrounded by bunkers
Ballyliffin Golf Club is a must-play destination for any golf enthusiast visiting Ireland, offering a unique and challenging golfing experience amidst stunning natural landscapes. The Club has hosted The Irish Open Professional Championship (2018), The Amateur Championship (2024), Home Internationals (2022), Irish Ladies’ Open (1998) and North West of Ireland Open (a Challenge Tour event) to name but a few. A memorable quote from the semi-finalist at The Amateur Championship, Luke Sample, sums it up: “What’s not to enjoy this is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been in the world.”