Narin and Portnoo Golf Club, nestled in County Donegal’s southwest corner, epitomises simple, unspoilt links golf akin to remote island courses like the Machrie and Shiskine. Established in 1930 as a 9-hole layout, it expanded to 18 holes in 1965. Jim McCole, the club’s first greenkeeper from 1934 to 1977, embodies its rich history.
In the early 2000s, course and clubhouse reconfigurations slightly veered Narin & Portnoo off course until a change in ownership revitalised its fortunes. Notably, Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner were enlisted a decade later to overhaul the layout. Wagner highlighted the course’s natural beauty and the challenge posed by new hole and green placements.
Updates under Hanse and Wagner’s direction include a relocated 1st green, alterations to the 2nd hole removing a lake, merging the 3rd and 4th into a new par five, and repositioning the former 8th as the new 7th with a blind approach. Additional enhancements feature new par threes at the 11th and 15th, while the layout’s challenging finish remains unchanged.
