Curated ranking

Championship-calibre golf courses in Ireland

Championship courses host tournaments because they ask everything of every club in the bag. These Irish layouts have staged Opens, Irish Opens and Ryder Cups — and are open to visitors. Pack your A game.

  1. Royal County Down
    Down · links · Championship

    Often ranked the world's greatest links — a wild, mountain-framed masterpiece on the Mournes coast.

    €5254.9View course →
  2. Ballybunion (Old Course)
    Kerry · links · Championship

    Tom Watson's favourite — towering dunes, ocean-edge par 4s, and a back nine that lives in golf folklore.

    €400–€4504.9View course →
  3. Royal Portrush (Dunluce)
    Antrim · links · Championship

    Northern Ireland's Open venue — dramatic dunes, ocean views, and the famous Calamity Corner par 3.

    €4904.9View course →
  4. Adare Manor
    Limerick · parkland · Championship

    Ireland's ultimate parkland — host of the 2027 Ryder Cup, immaculately presented and rich with history.

    €5504.9View course →
  5. Rosapenna (St Patrick's Links)
    Donegal · links · Championship

    Tom Doak's instant-classic Donegal links — already in many world top-100 lists.

    €3504.9View course →
  6. Portmarnock Golf Club
    Dublin · links · Championship

    A pure championship links 30 minutes from Dublin — flat, fair, and ferociously consistent.

    €4754.8View course →
  7. Waterville Golf Links
    Kerry · links · Championship

    The Kerry classic favoured by Payne Stewart — a long, soulful links on the Ring of Kerry.

    €4254.8View course →
  8. Lahinch Golf Club (Old Course)
    Clare · links · Championship

    The St Andrews of Ireland — quirky, charming, and home of the famous Klondyke and Dell holes.

    €4504.8View course →
  9. Ballyliffin (Glashedy Links)
    Donegal · links · Championship

    Ireland's most northerly championship links — vast dunes, the conical Glashedy Rock and pure links theatre.

    €3304.8View course →
  10. Portstewart Golf Club (Strand)
    Derry · links · Championship

    Spectacular opening seven holes through giant dunes — host of the 2017 Irish Open.

    €2754.8View course →
  11. Donegal · links · Championship

    Pat Ruddy's dune rollercoaster above Sheephaven Bay — big, bold and exposed.

    €2504.8View course →
  12. Louth · links · Championship

    Baltray: a Tom Simpson masterclass and one of the purest tests of links golf in Ireland.

    €3654.8View course →
  13. The Island Golf Club
    Dublin · links · Championship

    A wild, dune-framed links across the estuary from Malahide — one of Dublin's great hidden classics.

    €3254.8View course →
  14. The European Club
    Wicklow · links · Championship

    A purist's links on the Wicklow coast — Pat Ruddy's personal vision, with two extra par 3s for fun.

    €200–€2504.8View course →
  15. Mount Juliet Estate
    Kilkenny · parkland · Championship

    Nicklaus parkland on a 500-acre Kilkenny estate — host of the 2021 & 2022 Irish Open.

    €145–€2454.7View course →
FAQs

Championship-calibre golf courses in Ireland — questions