No 83 - Carne

The renowned Irish architect Eddie Hackett has created a must-play with his relatively young County Mayo links, Carne, which offers wonderful views and great value

Carne

83 CARNE

Architect: Hackett 2006 position: 77 Stats: 6,400 yds; par 72; SSS 71 GF: €35-€90 T: 00353 97 82292 W: carnegolflinks.com

This relatively young County Mayo links was the final flourish of renowned Irish architect Eddie Hackett’s design pen.

He maintained that he simply let the natural terrain dictate the routing, and the result, whether primarily the work of Hackett or God, is a truly stunning layout, especially the back nine, which kicks off with an amphitheatre green to rival that of Doonbeg’s 1st.

Yes, it takes a bit of getting to, and yes, a couple of back-nine holes are perhaps a little borderline.

But those minor negatives are eclipsed by a sea of positives, and Carne is definitely one for the must-play list. JE

+ Wonderful setting; great value; unbelievably towering dunes - Out on a limb; 11th and 12th holes may be a bit too quirky for some

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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: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

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

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

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

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response