Jameson Golf Links
The newly refurbished and rebranded ‘Jameson Golf Links’
“Anyone who knows about whisky, or in this case ‘whiskey’, will know the name Jameson, the best-selling Irish blend. ”
It was a Scot who first established Jameson's Dublin distillery. A lawyer from Alloa, John Jameson married into the famous Haig family, one of Scotland’s earliest distillers with premises 'still' existing at Cameron Bridge in Fife.
Portmarnock Resort & Jameson Golf Links
Less than an hour from the centre of Dublin and a half hour from the international airport, two superb links courses stand on Ireland’s sandy ‘Velvet Strand’.
With only 3 miles separating the two, there’s long been confusion between the nearby internationally-renowned Portmarnock Golf Club, one of Ireland’s very top courses, and the Portmarnock resort course.
All the more reason to refurbish and rebrand the latter as “Jameson Golf Links”. The multi-million-euro renovation project brought in Irish architect Jeff Lynch to transform this authentic piece of linksland into a far more interesting encounter in line with many such projects that have occurred recently in both Ireland and Scotland.
To break up a monotonous out-and-back routing, Lynch created two entirely new par 3s, the 9th and 15th, giving changes in direction and allowing more appreciation of the seaside terrain. The 17th is another noticeable modification, a difficult par 3 transformed into a more interesting short par 4, incorporating extra ground to the back of the old green.
Together with excellent accommodation found at the Portmarnock Resort with its numerous dining outlets and historic Jameson Bar, the Portmarnock Resort & Jameson Golf Links makes the perfect coastal retreat with easy access to Dublin's other links, including Portmarnock Golf Club, County Louth, Seapoint and Royal Dublin.
A PLACE TO STAY
The resort is unquestionably the place to stay in this part of the Republic. The main building was built by John Jameson III, the grandson of the distillery’s original founder back in 1847. Encouraged with the advent of the railway, which transported him back and forward to Dublin to oversee operations at the distillery, Jameson and his family soon based themselves in St. Marnock’s.
PORTMARNOCK GOLF CLUB
John III took a keen interest in golf and practised a rudimentary form of the game on the grassy dunes just south of the property. In 1893, two Scotsmen, William Pickeman and George Ross, rowed a small rowing boat to the peninsula from Burrow Beach and realised it was perfect for a proper layout. A year later, 9 holes opened for play with Mungo Park, winner of the 1874 Open Championship at Musselburgh Old Course on Scotland’s East Lothian coast, brought over to do the design and become Portmarnock’s first professional.
Two years later, another Scot, George Coburn, extended the course to eighteen holes. Pickeman was the driving force behind Portmarnock’s beginnings and went on to design other courses in Ireland.
Portmarnock Golf Club has long been one of Ireland’s and is currently under serious consideration to host a future Open.
