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GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture => Topic started by: Sean_A on June 24, 2008, 06:54:11 AM

Title: 2008 Mayo & Sligo Tour: Rosses Point
Post by: Sean_A on June 24, 2008, 06:54:11 AM
Rosses Point really turned my head this time round and I was terribly impressed.  I guess that shouldn't be surprising as HS Colt made significant changes to the the Willie Campbell layout in 1927. I enjoyed seeing the course again with an opposite wind to last time.  Rosses Point really is very, very good.  That said, the rough was awful stuff, but it seems to be a standard deal these days amongst premiere clubs.  Such a pity.

The 2nd isn't a bad hole because of the approach for those suckered into trying to reach the green.  Cut the corner and come up short and this is whats left.  I didn't fancy trying to fly the bunker and hold the green.  However, running it over that bump is bargain either.  The ball run right or left into a bunker.

The par 5 third.  You get what you see.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3857.jpg) (http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3857.jpg)

The 4th holds a certain appeal to me.  I like how the green is raised (as are many others), but one can still bounce one in - that is a very difficult shot!
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3858.jpg) (http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3858.jpg)

The 5th is not a terribly imaginative par 5.  The hole serves to quickly descend to the bottom part of the links, but those straaaaaight fairway lines are a menace.  The 6th is where I think the course proper starts.  A dogleg left around bunkers with a ditch down the right.  The 7th is a magnificent longish par 4.  The driving area is well protected by bunkers either side.  One can layup, but face a long approach which is a devil as well.  The flag is in a particularly good place.  It doesn't look too harsh, but in fact for the greedy the water on the right comes very much into play and it is also a longer carry in this direction.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3862.jpg) (http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3862.jpg)

The 8th is another tough hole.  It whips around to the right with water on either side near the green.  For the aggressive players, the drive is over a mound and blind - otherwise one can layup out to the left.  This hole is not for the weak!  #9 is a lovely short hole.  #10 would probably be my favourite hole on the course if the fairway were wider.  Generally speaking, Rosses Point does alright in this department, but considering the wind and slope of the terrain, this fairway needs another 10 yards width.  That said, its still a grand hole.  The fairway is split between the high and low parts leading to a wonderfully sited green.  The simplicity of these sort of holes please me to no end.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3867.jpg) (http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3867.jpg)

#11 is yet another magnificent hole.  The stretch between 7 & 11 truly is world class stuff.  There is a slight left to right cant to this fairway and I think the best shot is to hold a draw into it.  Trying to play left to right risks running too far down the hill.  Here is the long approach.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/6c0d500b-2c97-4075-b82c-90ded9100a4c_zpsckhwax3s.jpg) (http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/6c0d500b-2c97-4075-b82c-90ded9100a4c_zpsckhwax3s.jpg)

Things cool off for the 12th.  A decent par 5 out to the point.  I like the 13th.  Its a drop shot par 3 and is very interesting downwind.  Behind the green is a burn, but there is room to land shots between the front bunkers when there is a strong tailwind.  #14 is a very good shortish par 4.  The burn crosses the fairway and feeds a wee pond down the left which can't be seen from the tee.  The more one challenges the water the better angle to this dogleg right green. 

The 15th is one of those holes where one can take on as much as he chooses of the right dogleg, but it is blind.  A good layup leaves something like this approach.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3876.jpg) (http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/seanrobertarble/ROSSES%20POINT/100_3876.jpg)

The course continues its journey back to the house with #16.  The 17th is a man's hole which takes you halfway back up the hill we descended on the 5th.  The drive is made troublesome by the fairway ending some 275 yards from the tee and by a green tucked on a plateau up the hill - a magnificent hole.  #18 is a rather disappointing finish after the stirring penultimate hole.  The drive is blind over the hill to a narrow fairway.  Not a great combination, but thats life on the links. 

I have a lot of time for Rosses Point and can easily see why it is the favourite course of many who visit Mayo/Sligo/Donegal.  As I said earlier, my high opinion has gone up a bit.  The many fine water holes lifts Rosses Point to a level commeserate with Ireland's most famous links.  Rosses Point merits a 1* and should be included in any itinerary of Ireland's west coast.  1*  2008

Strandhill
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35261.msg711110.html#msg711110 (http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35261.msg711110.html#msg711110)

Carne
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35268.msg711175.html#msg711175 (http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35268.msg711175.html#msg711175)

Ennsicrone
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35273.msg711284.html#msg711284 (http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35273.msg711284.html#msg711284)

Ciao
Title: Re: Mayo & Sligo: Rosses Point
Post by: mike_malone on June 24, 2008, 09:42:18 AM
 My first time here it was 50 mph winds with on and off rain. This time it was punishing rain for 14 holes. By the time we got to the par 3 #16 I finally took my rain gloves off. My tee shot made it to the green even though my club went out of my hands and 25 yards to the left.

  I agree that the extra cost will probably keep me from here again.
Title: Re: Mayo & Sligo: Rosses Point
Post by: Sean Leary on June 24, 2008, 11:54:53 AM
Sean,

Do you think 17 would be better if they extended the fairway?  The cutoff of fairway made no sense to me.
Title: Re: Mayo & Sligo: Rosses Point
Post by: Sean_A on June 24, 2008, 12:28:29 PM
Sean,

Do you think 17 would be better if they extended the fairway?  The cutoff of fairway made no sense to me.

Sean

I sort of like the uncertainty of the 17th.  The idea of catching greedy chaps out appeals to me.  On the other hand, perhaps fairway with a left-centreline bunker below the cutoff might be interesting. 

Mayday

I would certainly go back to Rosses Point.  Its expensive for the area, but the architecture is superior to its neighbours - too bad the land isn't quite as interesting.

Ciao
Title: Re: Mayo & Sligo: Rosses Point
Post by: Tommy Williamsen on June 24, 2008, 12:38:19 PM
Sean, I have played Sligo only one time in a drizzle.  I thought it had some very good holes especially some of the longer par fives.  17 is all world.  For reasons I can't really explain, I did not enjoy the course.  Maybe I need to give it another chance.
Title: Re: Mayo & Sligo: Rosses Point
Post by: Mark Smolens on June 24, 2008, 03:56:11 PM
My only experience with County Sligo came back in '83 when I was in Ireland for a frat brother's wedding.  Two of us drove from Mullingar up to Rosses Point, getting lost a number of times on the way, and missing our scheduled tee time.  Upon arriving, looking harried, the pro behind the counter said "no worries, I've got two groups playing foursomes on the tee, do you have a place to stay yet?"  When we responded in the negative, he closed the shop and drove us over to a very nice B&B, and then drove us back to the course.  We were so taken with the guy that Sligo remains one of my favorites across the pond.
Title: Re: Mayo & Sligo: Rosses Point
Post by: Tony_Muldoon on June 24, 2008, 04:27:56 PM
 
Its very funny.  I have been talking down Rosses Point for a few years,


  I agree that the extra cost will probably keep me from here again.

  For reasons I can't really explain, I did not enjoy the course. 


I know just what you guys mean.  It was one of the first links courses I played, from 4 on the sun shone, I was playing with 2 people I love and yet I thought;  Is that all there is?

With one of the big Irish Amateur tournaments played there each year, The West of Ireland, it obviously has lots of respect in Ireland,  yet why is it hard to love?

PS Really great pictures Sean. Thanks.
Title: Re: Mayo & Sligo: Rosses Point
Post by: Sean_A on June 24, 2008, 05:52:08 PM
Its very funny.  I have been talking down Rosses Point for a few years,


  I agree that the extra cost will probably keep me from here again.

  For reasons I can't really explain, I did not enjoy the course. 


I know just what you guys mean.  It was one of the first links courses I played, from 4 on the sun shone, I was playing with 2 people I love and yet I thought;  Is that all there is?

With one of the big Irish Amateur tournaments played there each year, The West of Ireland, it obviously has lots of respect in Ireland,  yet why is it hard to love?

PS Really great pictures Sean. Thanks.


Tony

I respected the course more than I liked it.  But now I really like the course and am glad I made the return trip as I was going to skip RP and play Donegal instead.  I suspect the high holes let the course down a bit.  But with that 6-11 stretch and other great holes like 14 & 17 offer plenty to love about Rosses Point.  The use of the burns/ditches with the shaping of fairway corridors and bunkering is superb. 

Ciao