Our Picks - Golf Courses in Ireland
Ireland is famous for the quality of golf on offer and a large number of championship courses at the very top of international standards have been created in the last 10-20 years. Most of these are Parkland courses, often attached to luxury hotels.
But it is for lovers of Links golf that Ireland is a true paradise. All along the coast there are gems of Links, famous and less well known, which will test the most experienced links enthusiast and provide those who have never played Links golf before with a truly memorable experience.
The famous Irish courses feature regularly on specialist golf tours, but there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of excellent but lesser known courses in the country. We have tried to include some of the lesser known but especially enjoyable courses to this list as well as the famous 'must play' ones.
Athlone Golf Club
Golf Co Westmeath, Parkland Course
An 18 hole championship standard parkland course designed by Christy O'Connor Jnr, Athlone is in a wonderful location surrounded by the waters of Lough Ree. While this is not as well known as many Irish courses, it is excellently maintained, especially...
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Ballybunion Golf Club
Golf Co Kerry, Links Course
One of the best known links courses in the world, this is a must for many golfers visiting Ireland. The new Cashen Course is very good, but the Old Course is the real McCoy, a tough challenging classic links course. Not for nothing did the great Tom...
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Bantry Bay Golf Club
Golf Co Cork, Parkland Course
Stunningly located on a cliff-top overlooking Bantry Bay, this course will test not just your golf but your fitness! The walk is bracing and the course is known for its many tricky blind shots. The original nine holes were designed by Eddie...
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Carne Golf Links
Golf Co Mayo, Links Course
This is an extraordinary and terrific course and one that way too few visitors reach. It is extremely remote, on the wild Belmullet peninsula in Mayo, and has really made the most of its location. Building the course barely changed the terrain, instead...
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Co Louth Golf Club (Baltray)
Golf Co Louth, Links Course
The Irish know about this great links course, not all that many visitors do. Over 100 years old the course changes with the weather - sometimes seeming straightforward but always ready to catch the unwary. There is no easing you in gently at Baltray, with...
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Connemara Golf Links
Golf Co Galway, Links Course
This place is both unique and beautiful, set in the rocky and majestic region of Connemara which will have even those golfers normally unmoved by scenery gasping in admiration. It is totally exposed to ever shifting winds blowing in from the Atlantic...
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Dingle Golf Club
Golf Co Kerry, Links Course
Also known as Ceann Sibéal, this course is often unjustly overlooked in favour of better known courses in the area. It's a shame because this is a terrific course, preserving and incorporating the natural terrain to provide a testing...
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Enniscrone Golf Club
Golf Co Sligo, Links Course
Terrifically good links course, easily as good as the more famous Irish ones and akin to a place of pilgrimage for its many fans. With not a tree in sight and the natural terrain of sand dunes and marine grasses beautifully incorporated into the well...
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Fota Island Golf Club
Golf Co Cork, Parkland Course
A very well maintained parkland course in a lovely setting providing a good standard of golf - the Irish Open was held here in 2000 and 2001. Designed by a killer team comprising Peter McEvoy, Christy O' Connor and Jeff...
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Glasson Golf & Country Club
Golf Co Westmeath, Parkland Course
A relatively new and beautifully maintained course on the shores of Lough Ree in the very centre of Ireland, Glasson provides enjoyable golf at every level. Designed by Christy O'Connor, the first half of the course is built around Lough Ree and the...
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Gort Golf Club
Golf Co Galway, Parkland Course
Sometimes it is nice to divert from the typical tourist trail and take in a local club where not many visitors play. This is a course well worth making such a diversion for. Designed by Christy O'Connor, it is a championship standard course completed...
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Lahinch Golf Club
Golf Co Clare, Links Course
Another of Ireland's classic links courses, established in 1892, Lahinch is enowned for its fast, firm greens and is a particularly friendly and welcoming place to play. The renowned Old Course, with its blind shots and threatening sand dunes, has been...
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Mount Juliet Golf Club
Golf Co Kilkenny, Parkland Course
Immaculately maintained parkland course with excellent facilities more in the style of an American than a typical Irish course, this was the location of several Irish Open championships and more recently the 2004 American Express Championship. Designed...
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Portmarnock Golf Course
Golf Co Dublin, Links Course
A famous links course close to Dublin, Portmarnock is surrounded on three sides by water with the course set in lovely scenery. The Irish Open has been held here many times and the course while very challanging is known as a fair test for golfers of...
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Ring of Kerry Golf Club
Golf Co Kerry, Parkland Course
Less well known than other Kerry courses, this is an exceptionally well kept course in majestic surroundings. Designed by Eddie Hackett, who is better known for his links courses but proves his versatility here, the course is relatively new, it...
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Rosapenna Golf Links
Golf Co Donegal, Links Course
It's not easy to get to Rosapenna, perched at the very top of Co Donegal, but well worth the journey. The original course here was staked out by Tom Morris, a four time winner of the British Open, in 1891 and by 20 years later a full 18 holes had...
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Royal County Down
Golf Co Down, Links Course
Acknowledged as one of one of the best, some would say the best, links courses in the world, serious bunkers and high winds make just getting around the Championship course at all a real test at times. Many people say that the front nine here are possibly...
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Royal Dublin
Golf Co Dublin, Links Course
This is about the closest to a city centre Golf Club you could get, just 5km from the centre of Dublin and a short hop to the airport - a good place for a last morning of golf before you fly home! It is different from other links courses in that it is...
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The Island Golf Club
Golf Co Dublin, Links Course
Did you ever find somewhere you wanted to shout about but at the same time keep to yourself? This place is something of a cherished secret among golfers, a classic and challanging links course over 100 years old which deserves to be far better known....
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The K Club
Golf Co Kildare, Parkland Course
Part of a very luxurious country club, this parkland course played host to the Ryder Cup in 2006. There are two championship courses, the carefully groomed Palmer Course and the wilder and more watery Smurfit Course, both designed by Arnold Palmer and...
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Water Rock Golf Course
Golf Co Cork, Parkland Course
Not a club but a pay-as-you-go course, though with excellent facilities and a very well kept and interesting course. The course was designed by Patrick Merrigan who is also responsible for the courses at the Slieve Russell and the Old Head of Kinsale....
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Waterville Golf Course
Golf Co Kerry, Links Course
Golf has been played here since 1889 and the links course still offers a real challenge to golfers of all levels today. A stunning location and a course with plentiful sand dunes, native grass roughs, firm fairways and challanging greens combine with...
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Your Comments
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Posted by: ryan
01 Jul 2007, 06:13
Where is Ballyliffin? Far better than Rosapeanna. Very frienly place and
great golf value for two chapionship golf courses.
Posted by: Carolyn Elliott
08 Jul 2007, 12:02
I agree with Ryan. Our family played both courses last summer (2006) and
we all thought Ballyliffin was a better experience -course was gorgeous and
challenging and accommodations, townspeople were much more hospitable.
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