Photograph: Terrance Siemon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Editorial Review
Doonbeg Golf Club
The Atmosphere
“A Greg Norman-designed links on the Clare coast, now a luxury resort with stunning Atlantic views.”
Doonbeg (now Trump International Golf Links) is a Greg Norman-designed links course on the spectacular Clare coast. The course weaves through natural dunes along a crescent-shaped beach, creating a dramatic and visually stunning round. The resort offers luxury accommodation and the combination of the course, the beach, and proximity to the Cliffs of Moher makes this an exceptional Clare destination.
The long version
A Greg Norman links unspools along a crescent beach on the Clare coast, and the resort behind it has changed names more often than the dunes have changed shape.
The dunes at Doonbeg curl along a crescent-shaped beach on the Clare coast, and Greg Norman's course was routed to weave through them rather than around them, which means several holes deliver full ocean views from tee to green. Standing on an early hole with the Atlantic visible across the beach grass, the scale of the setting is immediate.
The course, now operating under the Trump International Golf Links name, sits within a full luxury resort, which gives the day a different rhythm than a standalone links club: arrival, round, and a night's stay can all happen on the same stretch of coastline.
“The combination of Norman's design, the crescent beach, and the Clare coastline is spectacular from nearly every tee.”
What the round is actually like
Norman's design leans hard into the natural duneland, with fairways running through valleys of high dunes and several holes offering direct views of the beach and ocean simultaneously. It is visually spectacular in a way that few resort-affiliated courses in Ireland manage, closer in feel to a wild links than a manicured resort layout.
The wind off the Atlantic is a factor throughout, and the exposed nature of several holes along the dune ridges means club selection shifts hole to hole much as it would at any serious Irish links.
Who it suits
Doonbeg suits golfers who want a resort-level stay wrapped around a genuinely strong links round, rather than the more austere, no-frills clubhouse experience of Ballybunion or Lahinch. It is a good fit for a group that wants both golf and a comfortable overnight in one location.
Its Clare coast location also makes it a natural complement to Lahinch and the Cliffs of Moher, all within a short drive, for golfers building a west Clare loop.
Getting on
Book through the resort directly, and consider an evening tee time when the sunset lights up the Atlantic along the crescent beach: it is, by most accounts, the best time of day to play here.
A walk along the beach itself after the round, with the dunes at your back, is worth the extra half hour before heading to dinner.
What we would not pretend
The Trump branding and resort ownership have made the club politically charged for some visitors in a way that has nothing to do with the golf itself, and it is worth knowing that going in, whatever your own view of it.
How we would use it
We fold Doonbeg into a two-night Clare stay alongside Lahinch, using the resort as the base and the Cliffs of Moher as the connecting daytime excursion between rounds.
Rooms Worth Requesting
What it actually feels like.
Play in the evening when the sunset lights up the Atlantic. The beach walk afterward is magical.
Why we recommend it
A space that justifies the journey.
The combination of Greg Norman design, the crescent beach, and Clare coastal scenery is spectacular.
Experience Doonbeg
If you understand the feeling of this place, you will naturally want to stay.
View Tee TimesOne of Ireland's most sought-after courses