The Ireland Edit Golf Collection
The 10 Best Golf Courses in Ireland
A ranked, played-in guide to the courses that define Irish golf. Links, parkland, cliffside, and the ones worth building a trip around.
How We Ranked Them
We have walked every course on this list more than once. The ranking weighs architectural integrity, the sense of place, and the ease of building a trip around the tee time.
Royal County Down sits at the top because no other course in Ireland combines history, landscape, and challenge so completely. Ballybunion and Lahinch follow because they are the most rewarding links experiences on the west coast. Adare Manor ranks lower not because it is lesser, but because it is a different kind of golf: luxury parkland built around an estate, best enjoyed with non-golfers in the party.
See the packages built around these courses- 01
Royal County Down
Newcastle, Co. Down
The world's finest links, set against the Mountains of Mourne.
The front nine through towering dunes is the most humbling stretch of golf we have played in Ireland. Every hole asks a different question of your imagination.
Best for The once-in-a-lifetime roundPeak green fee £450 peak - 02
Ballybunion Old
Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
Tom Watson's favourite, and ours too on a breezy afternoon.
The back nine along the Atlantic cliffs feels like it has been there for a thousand years. It is raw, strategic, and utterly unforgettable.
Best for Pure links dramaPeak green fee €450 peak - 03
Lahinch Old
Lahinch, Co. Clare
The St Andrews of Ireland, with goats that predict the weather.
Lahinch is joyful. The town, the dunes, and the Cliffs of Moher nearby make it the most complete golf day on the west coast.
Best for A classic links townPeak green fee €450 peak - 04
Royal Portrush, Dunluce
Portrush, Co. Antrim
The Open rota links on the Causeway Coast.
Dunluce is relentless. The par threes are terrifying, the views are immense, and the town of Portrush is the best post-round refuge in the north.
Best for Championship golf in the northPeak green fee £420 peak - 05
Portmarnock
Portmarnock, Co. Dublin
Ireland's answer to Muirfield, twenty minutes from the airport.
The flattest site on this list, yet somehow the most exacting. It is the perfect opener or closer for a trip that begins or ends in Dublin.
Best for First or last round of the tripPeak green fee €475 peak - 06
Adare Manor
Adare, Co. Limerick
The 2027 Ryder Cup stage, and a country house around it.
Surprisingly playable for a major venue. Wide fairways, immaculate conditioning, and the most luxurious 19th hole in the country.
Best for Luxury golf with non-golfersPeak green fee €550 peak - 07
Waterville
Waterville, Co. Kerry
Payne Stewart's favourite escape on the Ring of Kerry.
Remote, rugged, and deeply rewarding. The back nine along Ballinskelligs Bay is as good as Irish golf gets.
Best for Remote Kerry linksPeak green fee €425 peak - 08
Tralee
Ardfert, Co. Kerry
Arnold Palmer's finest European design.
Palmer built drama into every hole. The back nine is jaw-dropping, and it pairs beautifully with Ballybunion for a two-course Kerry day.
Best for Palmer design on the coastPeak green fee €450 peak - 09
Old Head
Kinsale, Co. Cork
The most theatrical setting in world golf.
Polarizing, expensive, and absolutely unforgettable. Nine holes have ocean views on both sides. It is golf as spectacle.
Best for The most scenic roundPeak green fee €450 peak - 10
Carne Golf Links
Belmullet, Co. Mayo
Eddie Hackett's last routing, in the wild northwest.
Europe's largest dunes and the most remote great links in Ireland. The journey is part of the magic.
Best for Adventure golfPeak green fee €195 peak
Before you book
Questions we get about Ireland's best courses
Build Your Trip
The best courses mean nothing without the right routing.
We have turned these ten courses into six bookable routes. Each one includes where to stay, how to travel between rounds, and what to book first.
Explore Ireland Golf Packages