This story appears in SCOREGolf’s 2026 Annual Issue.
Ireland is an island, an island full of Irish people, a people with a shared history of thousands of years. But that the island is divided into two countries neatly sums up the dichotomy in many things you’ll experience there.
Take the weather, for instance. It is so often downright foul that locals rarely talk about it. It’s not dismal out there, it’s just Tuesday. They will, however, insist to visitors that the weather can be lovely and that you missed it by just this much. Cognitive dissonance is the Irish default, which makes sense given the Irish have been rained on, windblown, colonized, subjugated and downtrodden for centuries. You’d think they’d be miserable, but in fact they are one of the world’s most garrulous, funny and convivial peoples. Go figure.
My wife Cathy and I were reminded of these traits when we checked in for a game at the North West Golf Club in Lisfannon, Donegal. Brian McElhinney, the head professional (and winner of the British Amateur in 2005), greeted us with a tight smile buried under a somewhat doleful expression. From the dry warmth of his cubbyhole pro shop, we could see the wind bending the flagstick on the ninth green like a jumper does a vaulting pole. “Such a shame,” he said. “It’s been grand for the last two weeks, but now…”
He peered outside and offered no further instructions, meaning we were expected to forget about the typhoon and get outside and play his tight, firm, fun links track. We did and had a blast trying to gauge things like a 180-yard shot in a 50 km/h crosswind. The thing to remember about playing golf in Ireland, besides your waterproofs, is that its links courses are not just unlike those of other countries; they have unique characteristics depending on which coast you happen to be.
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