County Louth Golf Cub

Golf Course Profile

18-Hole (Private)
County Louth Golf Cub
IRE Baltray, Drogheda, Co. Louth
Baltray, Leinster
Ireland
Phone: +353-(0)41-22 329

Golfers community

	Add to my favorites
	Share your photos
	Find a golf partner
	Review this course

About the Club

Year built:	1892
Designer:	Tom Simpson
Club type:	Private
Season:	Open all year (closed on Tuesdays)
Guest Policy:	Open Membership and Handicap Certificate required.
Dress Code:	Smart casuals, golfing clothing, no jeans
Metal Spikes:	--
Fivesomes:	--
Green Fees:

AVERAGE USER RATING

Not rated

Pace of Play:
Money Value:
Tees:
Service:

Rate this course
Be the first to rate it!

About the course

County Louth, also known as Baltray, is considered as one of the great courses in Ireland. It is rated #23 of "The 100 Greatest Courses in the British Isles", Golf World 11/96. County Louth by Donald Steel: Whether golf in the West of Ireland is better than that in the East is a subject for fierce debate. In the red corner, so to speak, you have Ballybunion, Lahinch, Waterville and Rosses Point; in the blue corner, Portmarnock, County Louth, Royal County Down and Royal Portrush. Together, they make as glittering an array as the Crown Jewels but, without evading the issue, classifying them into any sort of order of merit is no easier than doing the same with paintings at the Royal Academy's summer exhibition. Choice is purely a matter of personal taste. What is beyond doubt, however, is County Louth's right to be included in such exalted company although it is equally true that it is nothing like as well known as it should be. Geographically, it is ideally situated as the sandwich between the glories of Royal County Down at Newcastle and Portmarnock to the north of Dublin; and, from the moment you turn off the main road in Drogheda and head for Baltray, there is an ever increasing feeling of remoteness and beauty so essential to a great seaside links. It may, in fact, take you as much by surprise as it did the pioneers of the Club, Messrs. Pentland and Gilroy. Their first foray resulted in laying out a few holes around the Mornington end of the Bettystown Burrows and it wasn't until they took a boat across the River Boyne to explore the possibilities at Baltray that they found their dream and whereas they had been trying to make something out of nothing, they found at Baltray, as a history of the club later proclaimed, "one of the best pieces of golfing ground in the world". A meeting in October 1892 marked the formal beginning and though, like so many great courses, Baltray has been modified, extended and improved, it quickly built up justifiable popularity. Nevertheless, it wasn't until the middle thirties, when Tom Simpson weaved his spell, that it earned its championship spurs. The new course was opened in July 1938 by the young prodigy and Irish Open Amateur champion, James Bruen, and, in spite of one or two odd refinements and a change of numbering of the holes caused by the repositioning of the clubhouse, much of Simpson's work is recognisable today. His really authentic stamp is detectable on the glorious long 3rd and in the turbulent dunes at the furthest end of the course. The short holes, too, offer an appealing blend of challenge and charm, attractive targets that call for the best yet never so forbidding as to be beyond the range of most. Baltray's demands are stern but its rewards are many not least in the fun and enjoyment it evokes and the sense of freshness that prevades no matter how frequent the experience of playing there. Early comparisons were made with the Island Links at Malahide to the south but Baltray's most unusual claim is that the most famous players it has produced have all been women. . . . The most recent revision of the course to accommodate the moving of the clubhouse ensures a tough initiation with two fine opening holes and then a classic seaside par five. Its critics would point to the blind nature of the second shot but, rather like the 1st at St. Enodoc in Cornwall, it must be accurately positioned in order to negotiate the pitch to a small, attractive green. For those striving to get home in two, there is a fine dividing line between death and glory, beautifully natural humps and hollows demarcating the narrow waist of fairway from a wilderness of rough. Some slight respite follows in the shape of the drive and pitch 4th (the old 1st) but the 5th introduces players to the first of the four short holes - all confronting the wind from a different direction. The 5th and 7th have their green nestling in the sandhills but the 6th is another par five and there is no respite from there to the turn which is reached by way of two splendid two-shotters. The excitement of the second nine centres upon the holes close to the sea which combine second shots between gaps in the dunes, stout driving and an intriguing shortish par four, the 14th. From a high tee, offering superb views of a magnificent beach and more distant views of the Mountains of Mourne, there is a definite strategy to be formulated. There is a decided advantage to get as far as you can with the drive but the key to the hole lies in the exactness of the second to a small plateau green with a drop on three sides. After that, there are two short holes in the last four and a straight par five to finish, not perhaps the best of a good batch but inviting enough to leave golfers thirsting for more. Baltray's delights are many and endless ! Other amenities include: 2 tennis courts. Courses nearby: Seapoint, Dundalk.