Our final base in Donegal was the pretty holiday town of Downings.

Old house beside Rosapenna Hotel, Downings

Golfers will know that Downings is where the Rosapenna Golf Courses are located. With 3 fantastic links courses, including one ranked No 45 in the world, it was an obvious base for a week’s touring and golf!

Trá Mor Beach, Downings
(Trá *means beach and Mor big in Gaelic)*

Old Tom Morris course, Rosapenna, Downings

Rosapenna - Old Tom Morris Course

Course Rating 7.5

My Score 38 points - hitting ball great. I played with 3 locals and won the princely sum of Eu5 in our bet on the round.

Whilst Rosapenna Golf Course was built in 1891 by Tom Morris (from St Andrews - winner of 4 Opens in the 1860s), the course has been heavily rebuilt. Front 9 are totally new whilst the back 9 is based on the original front 9 holes along Trá Mor beach overlooking Sheephaven Bay. Good links course with no bad holes. Some great par 3s, but nothing spectacular. Great views of Trá Mor beach in a number of places.

Rosapenna - Sandy Hills Course

Course rating 8.0

My score 34 points

Sandy Hills is up in the dunes between the two nines of Old Tom Morris. Although rated 2 shots easier than Old Tom Morris, it is a better course with more interesting holes. Lots of altitude changes with up hill and down shots throughout. My rating may have been influenced by the fact I had two birdies!

But it wasn’t all golf …

We used Downings as a base for some touring around the NW of Donegal, Including the Rosgull Peninsula and the Gaeltacht areas to the West. We even managed a little sun whilst we were there!

Right out on the west coast of Donegal, pretty well as far as you can go west is the tiny little hamlet of Cruit Island, which just happens to have a lovely little 9 hole golf course. We visited it as part of a longer day trip, with Thérèse joining me and an elderly Irish couple for a walk. A little gem of a local course, but in a brilliant location with some amazing holes. The par 3 6th is only 137m across a canyon - I needed a 3 wood and only just got over to the front of the green in the strong winds!

Rosapenna - St Patricks

Course rating 9.0 (St Patricks is ranked 45th best golf course in the world - Tom Doak design)

My score 45 points (net 62 on a par 71!). Played the composite course made up of 12 holes of their Slate [blue tees] and 6 of their granite [white tees]. Total length 6190m. Played out of my skin. 7 pars and a birdie (on the 18th). Excellent course with great mix of holes cut through medium size dunes. Very undulating greens. Some blind shots.

Was my favourite course on the trip, but that may have been influenced by my score, which was the equal second best score of my life!

Downings and Northwestern Donegal

But it wasn’t all golf …