Baltray (Co Louth Golf Club)

Over 100 years old, the famous links course at Baltray changes with the weather – sometimes it’s truly ferocious, sometimes it seems straightforward but it’s always ready to catch the unwary. It has been the location for 2 Irish opens in the last decade, in 2009 and 2004.

There is no easing you in gently at Baltray, with the opening par 4 one of the most challenging holes on the course. At the par 5 4th you will shoot completely blind at the green, as you will at another par 5, the 6th, once you have managed to negotiate your way through a valley of hidden dunes.

At the 14th you will stand high on the elevated tee and shoot at a fairway almost 200 yards away. It ends with a bang too – many a player finds the 19th looking increasing attractive but also increasingly far away as the positively wicked bunkers at the final hole undoes a good day’s work!

While the wind on this side of Ireland may not be as fierce as that blowing in from the Atlantic on the western seaboard, this is a windy course and when the gusts really get up it can be a real monster.

The scenery may not be dramatic as at other links courses, though it is very lovely in parts, particularly on the stretch from the 10th to 15th, but the golf is plain terrific with the variety of bunkers and the tricky greens presenting a real test.

Highly recommended.

Green Fees: from €65

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Location Map for Baltray