The Golf Collection
St Patrick's Links: How To Play, Stay And Eat
Tom Doak's Donegal links, the resort around it, and the far north of Ireland.
Photo supplied by Marcus Hartwall
St Patrick's Links opened at Rosapenna in 2021, and within five years it had become the new course American golfers ask us about first. Tom Doak was given dunes big enough for two courses and built one. Rosapenna now quotes GOLF Magazine placing it 44th in the world.
It is also the most remote great links in Ireland, on Sheephaven Bay in north Donegal, three and a half hours from Dublin by the resort's own estimate. That distance is the point. Three links, one hotel, and a trip that has to be planned properly.
Four chapters, in order. Play, plan, eat, book. Every price, date and hour in them is taken from Rosapenna's published 2027 terms.
Read In Order
Four chapters, in sequence.
The way we walk visiting friends through St Patrick's Links. Play first, plan second, eat third.
- I
Chapter I
How To Play
The card hole by hole, which tees to play, and why the walk is the whole experience.
7 min readRead chapter → - II
Chapter II
Three Days Around
Three links in three days, the airports that matter, and the Glenveagh afternoon.
7 min readRead chapter → - III
Chapter III
Where To Eat
The Vardon Restaurant, the Coach House Bar, and the Wednesday problem.
7 min readRead chapter → - IV
Chapter IV
How To Book
The 9 April to 17 October season, the resort guest rate, and the Three Links Ticket.
7 min readRead chapter →
Continue Planning
The trip around St Patrick's Links.
Where to sleep, how to shape the wider week, and which destination to open next.
Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort
The only sensible base: 70 rooms on Sheephaven Bay, and a €50 per round saving on St Patrick's for resort guests.
Build a northern golf week
Rosapenna, Portrush and County Down in one trip, planned around the tee times you can actually get.
Open the itineraryBefore You Book
What visitors usually ask about St Patrick's Links
- Where is St Patrick's Links?
- At Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort on Sheephaven Bay near Downings, in the far north of County Donegal. The course is about three miles from the hotel entrance, and Rosapenna does not run a shuttle to it.
- How much does it cost to play St Patrick's Links in 2027?
- Rosapenna lists €380 for a day visitor and €330 for a resort guest in 2027. The Three Links Ticket, one round on each of the resort's three links within seven days, is €710 for off peak tee times.
- When is St Patrick's Links open?
- In 2027 it opens on Friday 9 April and closes on Sunday 17 October. The resort's other two links have a longer season, from 22 March to 31 October.
- Is St Patrick's Links walking only?
- Yes. Rosapenna does not permit drive buggies on St Patrick's, with or without a medical certificate. Caddies can be requested at €90 per bag plus gratuity, and we recommend one on a first visit.
- Can we combine St Patrick's Links with Royal Portrush?
- Yes, and it is the trip we would build. Fly into Belfast, play Portrush and County Down on the northern arc, and treat Rosapenna as its western end with two or three nights and all three links.
Before You Play
The working manual.
Five planning questions we get asked every summer, answered honestly.
The CaddieMost relevant here
How much to tip
The €60 on the eighteenth green that changes the round.
ReadThe Bag
Renting clubs in Ireland
Which pro shops carry the good sets, and when to reserve.
ReadThe Clubhouse
The real dress code
What Irish clubs actually enforce at the door.
ReadThe Freight
Shipping your clubs
Courier or Aer Lingus, and where the bag should land.
ReadThe Ballot
Which courses need a handicap
Where a certificate is checked, and where it is not.
ReadThe Budget
What four days actually cost
The honest line-item number, green fees to the last pint.
ReadThe Walk
Caddie, buggy, or trolley
Where buggies are banned, and where the caddie is the point.
ReadThe Solo Round
Playing Ireland as a single
Which clubs pair a party of one, and which times to ask for.
Read
The questions we answer before every Ireland golf trip, gathered in one index.
The full planning Q&A