Paul McGinley isn’t regarded as one of the bigger names to play for the Europeans in the Ryder Cup over the last quarter century, but the diminutive Irishman became an instant legend over a short span in the international competition.
McGinley made three consecutive victorious Ryder Cup appearances in 2002, 2004 and 2006, with his 10-foot putt on the 18th hole in his match against Jim Furyk winning the 2002 competition for Europe over the United States. He is also the first European golfer to be victorious in every one of his three appearances.
Now transitioning from his playing days, McGinley’s name isn’t likely at or near the top of the list when discussing golf course architecture. Much like his underdog status in Ryder Cup play, many are starting to take note of McGinley’s design work along with partner Joe Bedford.
“I think Joe and I are coming up towards $200 million worth of work now,” the 58-year-old McGinley said. “We’ve quietly gone around the world to different places and executed projects and got lots of experience.”
While most of his architectural work so far has been performed under the radar, McGinley is outspoken about his recent restorations of Donegal, Portsalon and Dunfanaghy golf clubs in historic Donegal Town in Northwest Ireland.
With such golf destinations as Old Head in the southeast portion of the island, and Royal Portrush–the site of this year’s British Open–to the northeast, McGinley believes a location such as Donegal Town can often be overlooked by golf travellers. His father is from the area and McGinley learned how to play golf in Donegal Town.
“I’ve come home to my roots now with the work that we’re doing,” he said. “It’s a place very close to my heart.”
In 2024, McGinley and Bedford began restoring six holes on each of the three courses in an area that is known for fairy tale castles, Malin Beg Beach on a horseshoe bay and some of the best scenic stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way, which claims to be the longest defined coastal route in the world.
“I’ve become really passionate about golf design, and I wanted to shine a bit of a light, stoke a little bit of a fire under the product that Donegal has,” McGinley said. “There are some wonderful natural golf courses there that needed upgrades because they are like houses, they get old over time and need a reinvestment and they need a little bit of a profile shown on them.”
McGinley’s work to upgrade the three layouts in Donegal fall in line with a new strategy that Ireland tourism officials are hoping to implement by spreading out golf play a little more.
“We feel we’ve been given an incredible gift for sure,” said Allison Metcalf, executive vice president for North America for Tourism Ireland. “Ireland is on everybody’s bucket list from a golfing perspective, but to have major championships it gives Ireland such an incredible profile. It gives us something to springboard off, but we want people to get off the beaten track and explore other golf courses.
“We’ve got incredible signature courses, but there are so many other incredible links courses, so seeing is believing,” she added. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to broaden the appeal of the Irish golf experience to other audiences–new audiences–to couples, to women’s golfers. That’s not to say that couples and women’s golfers don’t want to play the signature courses, but they’re often more likely to come back a second time so we want to expose them to areas like the northwest part of the island.”
McGinley is adding his own personal design philosophy to the three Donegal layouts he’s working on.
“I like golf courses that give you something back as much as they challenge you, and give you an opportunity to make birdies,” he said. “I want to build golf courses that are fun to play but don’t require a huge amount of technical brilliance to play them.”
Aerial photos of golf in Ireland can be striking–with one-third of the world’s links courses highlighted on the island. Many are bordered by the surging Atlantic Ocean, the Celtic and Irish Seas, perched along cliffs, or with views of beaches.
As far as McGinley is concerned, Donegal’s surroundings speak for themselves when it comes to scenic destinations.
“What comes to mind when we set out to work on these courses was the aesthetic beauty,” he said. “Donegal is one of, if not the prettiest county in Ireland. And I wanted to highlight the beauty of the county. Anybody who’s never been there, it’s absolutely magnificent with mountains, unbelievable raw beaches–some stretching 10 or 15 miles long–and these massive sand dunes. It’s a fantastically beautiful county.”
And as the golfing crowds continue to flock to Ireland for that ultimate links experience, tee times in the southwest portion of the island are becoming more scarce.
“Ireland is so full with golf you’ve got a book almost two years ahead now to get tee times in some areas so golfers are starting to migrate further north, to places like Donegal,” McGinley said. “I want to shout from the rooftops about the thrills and the beauty of golf in Donegal. Sometimes it’s a forgotten county in Ireland but trust me, it’s a star.”