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| Ballyliffin Golf Club/Donegal Page |
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| The second pair of pictures are from the site at worldgolf. |
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| This page started out simply as my own little shrine to what may well be the most natural piece of golfing land anywhere. Ballyliffin was once called 'The hidden gem', and while the gem shines as bright, if not brighter than ever, it is no longer hidden (some of us would say unfortunately!). The trouble was, once I started finding sites with links to the course, I kept finding things that made me remember my seven wonderful years spent visiting that amazing county in Eire, Republic of Ireland, The South, The 26 counties, whatever you want to call it. And the more I looked, and the more I remembered, the more I realised that all the time you hear about The Emerald Isle - and be fair, you hear quite a lot - you hardly ever hear much about Donegal. And in my humble opinion it is the most beautiful of all the counties I have visited so far (of the 32 on that little island in the Atlantic Ocean, I think at last count I was on about 23). |
| Click here for golfer reviews of Ballyliffin from the Golf Europe site Click the picture to got to the Ballyliffin Golf Club home page |
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| In 1984 I visited this place for the first time and I have been back a hundred more . The people in the village were incredible, the cottage where I stayed many times had a thatched roof, stone floors, a peat fire, and a standpipe in the front "garden". The Atlantic Ocean we swam in lay a hundred feet from the front door. The beaches were unbelievable, the air so clean you could taste the salt in the sea-breeze, and the local produce - from the vegetables to the lobster I watched being brought ashore on 'our' pier, to the Donegal tweed cap (that I still have Bernard!) - is as good as you would get anywhere. Come in and pay a visit... |
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| Click the picture to go to a collection of old black and white pictures from Co. Donegal |
| I pinched these pictures from incentive travel |
| The rock you can see in the far distance in the picture below right, and clearly in the one on the left, is Glashedy 'Island' or 'Rock' from which the new course at Ballyliffin gets its name. Many people have said that if Ballyliffin were in Scotland, the club would be celebrating its double centenary around now - and the fact that the 'old' course is little over fifty years old never ceased to amaze me. Its landscape has been described by many as 'lunar'... it looks more like heaven to me. Enjoy the pictures |
| The view below left is that which awaits the golfer on the 7th tee of the new course. A hundred foot drop to a well defended green - you can almost see the tin hats in the bunker to the right!!! I know I will be corrected if I am wrong, but my memory tells me the picture on the right is the 5th on the old course - I seem to recall using the huge mounds to help me on more than one occasion - local knowledge and all! And once again, in the background, Glashedy keeps station over all. The big rock is in sight for most of the holes on the new course, and plenty enough on the old. The views are indescribable - even these photographs don't do it justice. Ah well, go see for yourself. See if I am exaggerating. I'm not. |
| Phil's Site Map |
| The local news from Donegal right here |
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| Quick history lesson. The four provinces, containing 32 counties, on the island of Ireland, are Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connaught. 26 of the 32 counties are in the Republic of Ireland - Eire - the remainder in Northern Ireland. N.I. is called by many "Ulster". However, County Donegal, along with Counties Monaghan and Cavan, were in the province of Ulster until 1921 when 'partition' took place. The shield to the left is the historical shield of Ulster. |
| And so to Donegal - Dún na nGall in Gaelic, or "Fort of the Foreigners". The most northerly county in Ireland, it is found in the South - a fact that always makes me smile regardless of the political overtones of the statement. The County has more than four hundred miles (650kms) of coastline, with some of the most beautiful beaches to be found anywhere - Kinnagoe Bay (below) being my favourite place on earth. |
| I could go on and on about this place, but instead, I am going to drop links to sites that give you a better idea of the "hidden gem" on this page. You will find links to places, news sources, accommodation, commercial sites, personal sites, whatever I find that I think gives you some idea of this special place... |
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| There are various advertisements on this page for Donegal goods that can be purchased through the sites listed. I HAVE not received, nor WOULD I accept, ANY recompense for these ads. They are on this page as examples of Donegal wares - the people don't know me from Adam. Some I have purchased products from, some not, but let's face it, no one is thinking "hmm, I wonder how much Ballyliffin Golf Club paid him to promote their site" - I mean, ARE THEY?????? |
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| The Ballyliffin Stuff |
| The following is what I started out to do on this page - just stuff about my favourite place in Ireland. If you don't like golf, don't bother, but if you do - heaven doesn't come close. |
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| These are some pictures I lifted from a Donegal site - and I am damned if I can remember which one. Soon as I do, I will link it. Promise. |
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| So, I decided to do my bit for the Tourist Board of Donegal, and list all the decent sites I could find that have anything to do with the County Read on, and make sure you visit soon. Donegal won't remain the 'hidden gem' for long. If you don't believe me, go look at the story of Ballyliffin Golf Club, and then read "Donegal" for "Ballyliffin". |
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| ESL pages |
| Ballyliffin |
| Personal Pages |
