PORTMARNOCK, Ireland - I'm always skeptical when I get a press release that says "our course is better after a redesign".
If the course was already good, it shouldn't have needed a redesign, right?
I felt that same twinge of uncertainty when I got the news that the Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links had been redone and rebranded as the Jameson Golf Links in fall 2023.
Whenever I played the original Bernhard Langer routing, I always walked away feeling let down. Here was this wonderful linksland on the outskirts of Dublin, just minutes from the airport and the famous Portmarnock Golf Club, on the original Jameson estate no less. And yet, where was the magic, the connection to history, the inspiring golf holes?
I'm happy to report that the transformed Jameson Golf Links at Portmarnock Resort has won me over after a round in May. The new layout that debuted October 3, 2023, after a multi-million-dollar redesign has put all the pieces together. The family famous for Irish whiskey can raise a glass knowing that their links has improved three-fold.
Playing the Jameson Golf Links
Gone are many of the cavernous sod wall bunkers that tormented players.
The course redesign by Jeff Lynch, director and senior architect at a firm called (re)GOLF, has completely changed the character and routing. After a slow start on flatter ground, the dune holes come alive at no. 8, where the previous dog-leg left has become a straighter par four finishing at an elevated green.
The former par 4s at no. 12 and no. 14 are now par fives, with the raised tabletop 12th green providing incredible views of the Velvet Strand, Howth Head, Lambay and Ireland’s Eye. The old par-5 13th is now a brute, the course's no. 1 handicap, as a stout par 4. No. 15 has been shortened from a par 4 to a 145-yard par 3 with a trench in the green that funnels shots toward a middle hole location.
Completing the puzzle, the 17th changed from a par 3 to a 323-yard par 4 in early 2024 in order to provide another birdie opportunity over the closing holes. It's perhaps most indicative of the changes to make holes more engaging. Its semi-blind fairway tilts and funnels shots to the right into a low-lying valley, setting up semi-blind wedges into a severe green. It's good fun.
Celebrating the Jameson connection is perhaps the most savvy move. Players can fuel up pre-round with a shot in a small warming hut near the pro shop, where a fire burns below a portrait of John Jameson. The family built its own private course on the site in the 1850s. Three Jamesons are laid to rest in the graveyard to the right of the first hole. Twice during the round, players walk by a new snack shack stocked with more Jameson or Guinness if your game needs a lift. After a companion took this photo for Instagram, I made birdie. Coincidence?
Staying at the Portmarnock Resort
Whenever I fly in or out of Dublin, I stay at one of two places - Portmarnock Resort or the Grand Hotel Malahide. They're both great properties for golfers just minutes from the airport or a short drive/train ride into Dublin.
The rooms are comfortable and the showers some of the best in Ireland. They pour (much like the sky outside, unfortunately).
Other than its perfect location, sipping at the Jameson Bar is probably the biggest draw to staying at Portmarnock Resort. For those who need a history lesson: Jameson whiskey traces its origins to 1780 when Scotsman John Jameson founded the distillery that bears his name. In 1804, his son, also John, laid the foundations for international success by improving and expanding operations. John Jameson III was the first of the family to live at the Portmarnock location that now houses the resort.
With the nearby Portmarnock Golf Club rumored to be getting an Open Championship for the first time in the next decade, the Portmarnock Resort is poised and ready to be a perfect home base for anyone attending golf's oldest major championship.
Have you stayed at Portmarnock Resort or played the new Jameson Golf Links? Let us know your experiences in the comments below.
