Doonbeg Golf Course
Ireland

Master Plan

Located along a two-mile crescent of magnificent sand dunes along the edge of the North Atlantic Ocean, the Doonbeg Golf Club graces Ireland’s pastoral coast. Sand dunes dominate the Irish agricultural landscape for miles around and create a dramatic backdrop for a Greg Norman golf course.

While all design demands creative problem solving, placing 200 guest bedrooms and associated golf club facilities in this pristine environment proved a particular challenge. Careful study of rural Irish building types and settlement patterns resulted in a master plan that local Irish planning officials felt complemented the setting. The plan situates the lodge to provide guests a magnificent view of the dune crescent, ocean, and golf course. The lodge and a series of cottages, arranged along small roads in the manner of small Irish villages, furnish the required guestrooms. Finally, a new river celebrates entry to the new village with a stone arched bridge, establishes a village edge and addresses drainage needs.

All photography by Steve Uzell