Portmarnock Golf Club Co Dublin

Portmarnock is situated on its own sandy peninsula, approximately two miles long and covering some 500 acres. In 1893, William Pickeman, a Scottish insurance broker, and his friend George Ross, rowed across the sea from Sutton to the peninsular and immediately realised that this was prime golfing terrain.

There is nothing man-made about Portmarnock – it’s a natural links, and considered to be a very fair golf course. With water on three sides, the course is at the mercy of the wind. Laid out broadly in two loops of nine holes, you are invariably playing in different directions, and measuring over 7,300 yards from the back tees, it is a formidable test of golf.

There are superb views to the south of the Ireland’s Eye (a small island), home to important seabird colonies and the Hill of Howth (once famous for its electric trams).