Top 5 Irish Golf Courses on Tour Pro Mark Allen’s Bucket List | Talk Birdie To Me (Podcast)
These are the five courses that I will play, okay, when I eventually get to Ireland. At number five, I reckon this is probably low a lot of people cuz once upon a time I would have had this at number one. I would have had Belly Bunion at number one. Well, it is my favorite course in Ireland. Okay. Well, there you go. 20 years ago it was the number one, but there’s a couple of gone past it just of late as far as people who tell me about the courses over there. I can I can tell you the local Guinness there is fabulous, too. Yes. You a Guinness fan? Oh, yes. Love my Guinness. How much weight did you put on when you were really No, no, no. I’m only a two pot screamer. So, all right. At number four, I’ve got La Hinch. And that’s pretty much been steady. Lehch has always been in the top five, but hasn’t moved. At number three, this comes from you. Didn’t really know much about it until you said, “Have a look at the map at Port Stewart, which is right next to Port Rush.” I hear good things about it. So, I know. Well, it’s on the list. It’s probably on the list cuz it’s so close to all. Um, Port Rush, which is my number two. But there was a bloke who used to work in the Kingston Pro Shop. His name is Rory Doran. I reckon everyone knows Rory Doran. Everyone does. He’s a superstar these days. Rory, he came from a golf club. He was over there too, I think, maybe for uh for the Open. Yeah, he said he was heading that way. That makes sense. He knows Rory Maroy, another Rory over there. But Rory Doran told me that Royal County Down is one of the greatest golf courses in the whole world. So that is my number one. It’s just one. I hear it’s a lot of blind t-shirts as well. So is that right? That’s what I’ve heard. Take a caddy. You definitely need some local reason to play. I love I love playing social golf when you got a caddy. There’s nothing better. Social golf with a caddy on a special golf course. One of the great things you can do in the game of golf. Another good one I played over there, we played the Irish Open was Bel Tree, which is just north of Dublin. Never heard of No, I know. Neither had I until we played there. It was very nice golf course. Yeah. There’s and then there are more of the American style like the K club um photo island courses to avoid. Yeah, probably in Ireland. I I hear another I hear another great one over there with spectacular views is Old Head. So, never been there, but I’ve seen the pictures. Gary Lisbon does some phenomenal uh pictures of it.
Tour Pro Mark Allen played all over the world, however never played in Ireland. From what he hears, has been told, and has seen online and on coverage, he lists the Top 5 courses that are on his bucket list to play in Ireland on the Talk Birdie To Me podcast.
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Talk Birdie To Me is Australia’s most popular golf podcast, featuring tour pros Nick O’Hern and Mark Allen. Nick is a former world #16, and Mark a 15-year tour pro, including playing a British Open.
4 Comments
The very first step in the construction of a partition is somebody volunteering their time to dig a trench
🏌️
Good on you Marko for being that somebody
I’ve played 2 of your top 5 Mark La Hinch and Ballybunion .
My favourite course in the world is Waterville in Ireland. I played it in 2005. There is a life size statue of Payne Stewart outside the club house. Some American pros I think including Tiger had a game there leading up to the Open one year.
Prior to 2005 Royal Birkdale was my favourite course and I’ve played all but 2 of the Open courses in 2 trips to the UK.
I was a pennant player in Melbourne 1960’s to 1980’s
I remember playing Ballybunion in '95, before going to watch the Open at St Andrews. The flagsticks were bending like fishing rods. We said to the caddy, "Gee, it's windy today" and he looked around and said, "No, not really" 🙂 Only got 9 holes in at Waterville. It lived up to its name. Killarney was fine as a parkland-type course, as was Portmarnock, but Royal County Down was in a class of its own. The most special course I've ever played 🙂
I've played all 5. Lahinch and RCD standouts. Great Guinness at the local 19th hole at Lahinch. Hard to be a critical judge but Ballyliffin also gr8
Old head , where I shook hands with Gary Player , the views are sensational.
Thanks for the pod 👍