Ireland

Portstewart Golf Club, perched along Northern Ireland’s stunning Causeway Coast, offers a trio of distinctive links courses that cater to all levels of play. The championship Strand Course is the club’s showpiece, famed for its towering dunes, sweeping Atlantic views, and world-class layout that hosted the 2017 Irish Open. Complementing it is the Riverside Course, a scenic and approachable par-68 track that meanders along the River Bann, ideal for a relaxed yet strategic round. Rounding out the trio is the historic Old Course, a charming par-64 layout dating back to 1894, offering a nostalgic and gentle introduction to links golf. Together, these courses make Portstewart a versatile and unforgettable destination for golf enthusiasts.

The Dunluce Links is rated as one of the most challenging and spectacular links courses in the world. The Links is named after the nearby ruins of the medieval Dunluce Castle located on the edge of a basalt outcropping overlooking the sea between Portrush and Portballintrae. The original architect was the famed Harry Colt who produced a breathtaking golf links opening up views of the Atlantic Ocean. In 2015, in for the hosting of The Open in 2019, redesign works commenced under the stewardship of Martin Ebert. The result is a magnificent layout providing a fair and scenically stunning challenge for golfers to enjoy.

Ballyliffin is widely regarded as the finest links complex in Ireland boasting two championship links courses – The Old Links and Glashedy Links. Designed by Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock, Glashedy Links is a modern masterpiece carved through towering dunes with panoramic views of Glashedy Rock. Opened in 1995, it stretches over 7,200 yards and features expansive fairways, deep bunkers, and undulating greens that demand precision and strategy. Known for hosting the 2018 Irish Open, it’s a true test for elite golfers, blending natural beauty with championship-level challenge.

​Originally laid out in 1947 and revamped in the 1990s, The Old Links offers a more traditional links experience. Its fairways ripple with natural contours, and the course plays firm and fast, rewarding creativity and shot-making. Though less punishing than Glashedy, it’s no pushover—wind and terrain can turn a simple round into a strategic battle. It hosted the Irish Women’s Open and remains a favorite for purists seeking authentic links golf.

Opened in 2003 and designed by Pat Ruddy, Sandy Hills is a bold, modern contrast to its older sibling. Carved through dramatic, high dunes, it presents a stern test with narrow fairways, elevated greens, and sweeping vistas. It’s a strategic and physical challenge that rewards precision and resilience, earning its place among Ireland’s top-ranked courses.

The newest addition, designed by Tom Doak and opened in 2021, has quickly gained global acclaim—ranked among the world’s top 50 courses. Built on a sprawling coastal site with massive dunes and commanding ocean views, it offers a thrilling and expansive layout that feels both wild and refined. With its scale, artistry, and natural drama, St Patrick’s Links is a modern masterpiece.

County Sligo Golf Club, nestled at Rosses Point along Ireland’s wild Atlantic coast, offers a rich blend of tradition, challenge, and scenic beauty. Its Championship Course, shaped by Harry Colt, is a revered links layout known for its rolling terrain, elevated greens, and sweeping views of Benbulben and Drumcliffe Bay—regularly hosting the prestigious West of Ireland Championship. Complementing it is the Bomore Course, a charming nine-hole track that provides a gentler, more accessible round while still capturing the coastal character of the region. Together, they make County Sligo a standout destination for golfers seeking both heritage and variety.

Spanning 1.5 miles of crescent shaped beach and sand dunes, the Dr Martin Hawtree re-designed course at Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg is a stunning sight to behold and offers views of the Atlantic from 16 of 18 holes. The par-72 layout features a single loop of nine holes out and nine back. The most natural route was taken in laying the course out through the sand dunes. As a result, the course has a unique combination of five par 3s and five par 5s.

Located a mere two miles south from the spectacular Cliffs of Moher, [one of Ireland’s major tourist attractions] Lahinch underwent renovation by Alister MacKenzie in 1927. To bring the layout into the twenty first century the golf club invited English architect Martin Hawtree to give the design his free hand. What he produced was a ‘restored Mackenzie layout.’ Half the holes have actually been reconstructed, the greens re-contoured and in some cases enlarged. Bunkers, which had deteriorated, have been restored, a number of new bunkers have been built and some old ones removed. Overnight – Trump International Doonbeg

Ballybunion was almost unknown forty years ago, but is now a legend, receiving almost as many visitors as St Andrews. The attractions of Ballybunion are found entirely on the links, which weaves its way through some of golf’s most stirring terrain. Its the way the course is routed over, through, across and along the dunes that makes it so famous. Despite the occasional journalistic raptures, Ballybunion remained obscured for years and it was not until Tom Watson arrived to play the links in the early 1980’s that the course became as famous as it is today. He often used Ballybunion and the other famous Irish layouts to get ready for the British Open a trick that Tiger Woods still adopted.

The links land now known as County Louth Golf Club “Baltray” was first discovered by Messrs Pentland & Gilroy back in 1892. They had already laid out some holes at nearby Mornington when one day they rowed across the river only to discover what was later proclaimed “one of the best pieces of golfing ground in the world”. Nevertheless it wasn’t until the middle thirties when Tom Simpson weaved his spell that it earned its championship spurs. The new course was opened in 1938 by the Irish Open Champion James Bruen and despite some refinements and the repositioning of the Clubhouse much of Simpson’s work is recognisable today.

Founded in 1894. The links is consistently ranked amongst the top golf courses in the world. With a rich history closely aligned to the progression of golf in Ireland, Portmarnock has hosted many major professional and amateur events including multiple Irish Open Championships, the Walker Cup, the Irish Amateur Close Championship and the British Amateur Championship. From Sam Snead to Seve Ballesteros, some of golf’s best known names have tested their skills here on the north Dublin peninsula. Considered by many as one of the fairest links courses in the world it delivers an incredible challenge and true test of golf. Tom Watson (Open Champion on 5 occasions) summed up the links during his visits by saying “There are no tricks or nasty surprises, only an honest, albeit searching test of shot making skills.”

The Island Golf Club has fifty-four links holes and is located across the estuary from Malahide and just around the bay from Portmarnock. It is surrounded on three sides by the Irish Sea, Donabarte Beach and Broadmeadow Estuary. For close to one hundred years the only way to get to The Island was by rowing boat. And for the first half-century you needed an invitation. Martin Hawtree (it’s that man again) has made modifications over the last twenty years and made The Island “the best course in Ireland no one had heard of” .