Like many Oscar-winning actors that cringe every time someone shows their roles in old B films and commercials, many award-winning golf architects have projects they would rather forget they designed. This will never be the case with Greg Norman and Doonbeg. In fact, it may be his defining moment as a one of the world's leading designers, as much for what he didn't do as what he did. Norman, who has completed more than two dozen high profile courses around the world, compared Doonbeg to his other designs during the opening press conference by saying, "I'd put this right up at Number One."

The par 72, 6,885-yard course, which officially opened July 9, is set along 1.5 miles of crescent-shaped beach encircling Doughmore Bay, in Southwest Ireland. The sea and pounding surf are visible from the greens, fairways or tees of 16 of the 18 holes as they play amidst some of the island's most impressive dunes that reach heights of nearly 100 feet.

"This is a course I want to be identified with, one I'll be able to say with pride, 'I did that one,'" said Norman. "I've said it from day one, I can't wait to hear what the best players in the world think of Doonbeg."

And what some of the toughest critics, the golf press, have said about the course, even before its official opening this July, must be music indeed to Norman's ears.

Golf Magazine concluded that Doonbeg is destined to become an "Irish shrine." Sports Illustrated dubbed it Greg Norman's "Mona Lisa" and rated the spectacular par 3 14th and oceanside par 4 15th as the best par-3 and par-4 in southwest Ireland (remember this course sits in between Ballybunion and Lahinch). Perhaps my favorite description was by noted author James Finegan who said to me in describing the Doonbeg experience, "Your mouth drops open on the first tee and doesn't close again until the final putt on the 18th."

The key to Doonbeg's immediate annotation to the ranks of the classic linksland courses of the British Isles is what Norman didn't do. He didn't create a monument to himself on the Irish coast, by manufacturing holes with modern technology. Instead, in the grand tradition of Old Tom Morris, James Braid, Donald Ross, Charles Blair MacDonald and others from the past, he simply let the land show him the best natural golf holes. So much so that 12 of the final 18 holes required little more than a lawn mower to identify the tees, greens and fairways. His "least disturbance" design philosophy also resulted in an unusual combination of pars to reach 72, there are 5 par 3's and 5 par 5's, because those were the optimum holes the land showcased.

Unlike many courses which bear a famous name, that are in reality only visited several times by the personality, Norman spent hours and days among the dunes in more than 20 visits to the site, in all weather conditions. "I estimate I've walked over 200 miles up and down these sand dunes in 23 site visits, and that tells you the love affair that I have with this piece of property," said Norman. "Doonbeg is the epitome of what links golf is all about. This is probably the most natural experience that modern golf has ever delivered." Anyone who has been privileged enough to play on the great links courses knows that the genius of their design is that they play differently from hour-to-hour as the winds and weather constantly shift, but the course always plays brilliantly from start to finish - no matter the conditions. Such is the balance the early designers were able to read into the land and Norman has been able to create at Doonbeg.

"When I first looked at this site, I thought I was the luckiest designer in the world," said Norman. "if I spent the rest of my life building courses, I don't think I'd find a comparable site anywhere. It's one of the most beautiful places on Earth."

Norman wasn't the first to identify this piece of heaven on earth as an ideal golf site. If it weren't for lack of rail transportation to the site in the late 1800's, what is now Doonbeg would have been called Lahinch. The officers of the Scottish Black Watch Regiment that founded Lahinch, originally had selected the Doonbeg site, but changed locations because of the remote location. Easily accessible now by car, Doonbeg Golf Club is located on the southwest Irish coast in between Ballybunion and Lahinch (as the crow flies), only 40 miles from Shannon International Airport.

The Opening festivities were highlighted by an exhibition match between Norman, who is playing some of the best golf in recent memory, and Ireland's own Padraig Harrington, currently ranked in the World's Top 10. Norman defeated Harrington in a close match 2 and 1, but the real winner was the course. Harrington was ecstatic after the round stating, "Boy, that was fun. It really reminded me of playing golf as a kid when you'd play the same shot 10 different ways. I really didn't think anyone would design a golf course like this in this day and age. It is true links."

Doonbeg's early rave reviews also attached a world-class international competition for its opening weekend. The Palmer Cup, an annual match-play competition between the best collegiate golfers from the United States against a similar team from Great Britain and Ireland took place July 10-12, for the first time on Irish soil. The United States, which now leads the series 4-1-1, won for the first time across the Pond by the convincing score of 15 1/2 to 8 1/2.

In addition to visitor play, Doonbeg will have a limited number of overseas memberships available.