No 43 - Rosapenna - Sandy Hills

You won't find a weak hole on Rosapenna Sandy Hills, one of Ireland's favourites, in yet another fantastic setting

Rosapenna Sandy Hills
Jeremy Ellwood
By
published

43 ROSAPENNA – Sandy Hills

Architect: Ruddy 2006 position: 65 Stats: 6,383 yds; par 71; SSS 71 GF: €50-€85 T: 00353 7491 55000 W: rosapenna.ie

“Modern designer goes head to head with Old Master and comes out on top,” is a fitting headline for north-west Ireland’s Rosapenna, home to Pat Ruddy’s 21st century Sandy Hills links and Old Tom Morris’ 19th century original.

No disrespect, it’s just that today’s construction techniques have allowed Ruddy to cut a swathe through the towering dunes that Old Tom must have looked wistfully across to in those more primitive course-building days.

There isn’t a weak hole here, and Sandy Hills will only be going one way in future rankings as more golfers discover it. JE

+ Superb setting; no weak holes; great value - Remote location; demands on accuracy may be too much for some

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Jeremy Ellwood
Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf

Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Srixon ZX, EvenFlow Riptide 6.0 S 50g shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3- to 8-iron: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Irons 9-iron and PW: Honma TWorld TW747Vx, Nippon NS Pro regular shaft

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Kramski HPP 325

Ball: Any premium ball I can find in a charity shop or similar (or out on the course!)

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