The Dunskey 18-Hole Course

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1 - St Medan

Wide expanses of fairway, no obvious trouble: but at Dunskey, the devil is in the detail. And, of course, it’s your first shot of the day. So much depends on the wind. Down the breeze, you’ve only got a short iron approach. Into the teeth, it’s a struggle to get up in two.

Tip: Hold the right side of the fairway. Finding the bunker on the left almost guarantees you a dropped shot, while an approach from the right opens up the green. Don’t be scared to play to the back of the green; the bank at the back is there to help you.

2 - Dasher’s Den

Immediately, you turn back to face the Port, and your eye catches views of the old railway, the Mull of Galloway and, on a clear day, the Isle of Man.

Tip: Err on the right side with the drive. Like the first, the approach is much easier from there. Go easy with the approach – bunkers at the back and out-of-bounds catch anything long.

 

3 - Muckle Skelp

An absolute classic. Challenging drive, blind lay-up, short-iron approach.  A good old-fashioned 3-shot par 5. The hole is called “Muckle Skelp” (big hit), but in truth it requires brain not brawn to play the hole.

Tip: Drive to the middle, mid iron lay up into the gully, short iron to the green. Don’t try to be a hero. Par will do you fine.

 

4 - Captain’s Leap

The par 3s at Dunskey are a real feature of the course, each one a gem. The gorse on the right shouldn’t come into play, but the gully almost certainly does. Depending on the weather, this can be anything from a wedge to a three wood.

Tip: Take a club more. Always. Get stuck in the gully and you leave yourself a blind recovery shot. There is no trouble at the back.

5 - Plateau

Arguably the best par 4 on the course, especially into the wind. The fairway has a gentle camber to the right, leaving an exacting second shot over a gully and two devilish greenside bunkers. Do you play a full shot or do what the members do – and play the bump and run?

Tip: Ignore the flag. Take an extra club for the approach and go long and left, where a friendly slope brings you back to the sanctuary of the green.

6 - Portree

A blind drive, this time to the corner of a recently sharpened dog-leg. The views of Ireland and Kintyre as you walk past the marker pole are fabulous.

Tip: For once, take a club less for your approach. You’re going downhill for the second shot, so it plays less than the yardage.

 

7 - Gorsebank

The best par 3 on the course, and one of the best anywhere. An added ledge on the left of the green carries some stray shots – but not them all. You can bail out right, but you the leave yourself a chip onto a downslope from a bare lie. Three here is a great score.

Tip: Club selection is important, but, if you miss the green, try to leave yourself below the hole with your recovery to give yourself a fighting chance of par.

8 - Flyover

The holes round the turn offer a chance to pick up a shot or two. The 8th plays 377 yards into the prevailing wind, from a tee hidden in the gorse. Take a deep breath and drive towards Ireland.

Tip: Aim for the ninth tee or the radio mast, as the slope brings everything to the centre or even centre left. For the same reason, the approach should be right of centre. Despite the stroke index (5), this is a decent birdie chance.

9 - Hillcrest

Another decent chance to pick up a shot before the turn, but beware the subtleties for which this course is famous. Wind, blind shots and small, fast greens. An unholy trinity.

Tip: Safe drive is left side, but the downside is your approach will be half blind. A brave drive hugging the right side will be rewarded – if you can carry the bunkers. Commit fully to the approach. The bunker doesn’t look to be in play. It is.

10 - Erinview

The tee offers wonderful views across the busy sea crossing to Belfast and the Mountains of Mourne. On a clear day, the chimney stack at the mouth of Belfast Lough is the ideal line for your drive. Not a sentence you ever thought you would read.

Tip: Do you feel lucky? Take on the corner of the out-of-bounds and you can get close to the green. Bail out right is the percentage shot, but your next one will be blind and over the new greenside bunkers. Consider clubbing down off the tee for position.

11 - Puddle Hole

A short par three. As so often at Dunskey, there’s more to this hole than meets the eye. The bowl shaped green gathers up everything. That’s the good news.

Tip: Aim just to the right of the pin to allow for the slope. Two putts from anywhere on this rollercoaster of a green represents an excellent result.

 

12 - Dunskey

Playing longer than it’s yardage up a slight incline, this most difficult of par fours to a long, narrow green is a masterpiece. The green is the highest on the course, and affords a wonderful panorama of the whole course. The large house in the distance is Dunskey House – home of the Orr-Ewings, the family who bequeathed this wonderful land to build a golf course over 100 years ago. To the left, on a plateau beyond Sandeel Bay you can see the family burial ground.

Tip: A slice to the right leaves a long, blind approach, so hug the left side. Consider using the three wood for accuracy. The green is deceptively long, and the pin is generally at the back – so take a club more.

13 - Sandeel

Heaven on Earth. Wonderful views of Ireland, Kintyre, Man, and, occasionally, Cumbria. The path to the left is the first stage of the Southern Upland Way. Keep following it, and you will find yourself (eventually) in Cockburnspath, some 212 miles away. But why would you want to leave? This is the signature hole, and you will never forget it.

Tip: You still have to negotiate the hole! The green is often driveable, but miss it right and you find the new bunker. The percentage shot is a long iron down the left side, making the green easier to hold. But aim to the right of the pin with your approach – always.

14 - Glenside

After a few windswept holes, the woods of Dunskey offer sanctuary. Laird’s Bay, Sandeel Bay and Auchtriemakain Farm are on your left – a truly idyllic scene broken only by the noise of pheasant and partridge.

Tip: Aim a little right of the marker to allow for the slope, and to avoid the left hand bunker. Hit your approach right of the pin for the same reason. This is the toughest green on the course. Never concede a putt here. Ever.

15 - Campbell’s Gamble

The shortest hole on the course, recently improved by the building of a new tee and the deepening of the green – along with a new bunker at the back. Half blind, so not to be underestimated.

Tip: The percentage shot is a low punch with a wedge or a nine iron to the right of the flag, where a generous slope feeds the ball towards the flag.

16 - Rickwood

Lengthened over the years, Rickwood (which shares its name with a local guesthouse which was formerly the factor’s house) is a classic par four. Par is a great score on this blind hole.

Tip: The view from the tee is slightly deceptive – there is more room to the left than you think.  A mid-iron second shot takes you to a flat, bunker-free green.

17 - Greenfield

A good chance of a late birdie. A straightforward hole given definition by the lush pastures behind the two tiered green, where cattle graze.

Tip: If you’ve been fighting a slice all day, it is worth clubbing down here to lay up from the fairway bunkers. It still leaves you only a short iron approach. If the pin is on the top tier, play a low, running shot to get to the hole.

18 - Journey’s End

A wonderful closing hole. Into the breeze, with legs getting weary, this is a truly brilliant par-5. Wind behind, however, and you could finish in glory. The clubhouse awaits you, with the promise of refreshment and camaraderie. The golf is over, but the day is not yet done. The cares of tomorrow can wait.

Tip: The third shot is crucial. For once, err on the left rather than the right.  If you don’t, three bunkers await.

 

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