Carne Golf Links, giant dunes at Belmullet, County Mayo
Ranked · 7 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses in County Mayo

Mayo golf is built around one of the wildest links on earth. Carne, the last course Eddie Hackett ever designed, rolls through what may be the biggest dune system in golf on the remote Mullet Peninsula, and around it the county offers Westport's championship parkland under Croagh Patrick and a string of seaside nine holers of pure charm. Here are the seven we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict on each.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Carne Golf Links, via Google

How we chose them

Mayo is not a county of twenty courses competing for your week; it is one unmissable links, one proper championship parkland and a supporting cast that turns the drive between them into a holiday. Carne at Belmullet is the headline by a distance, the final design of Eddie Hackett, opened nine holes at a time in 1992 and 1993, and now expanded by the Kilmore nine that Ally McIntosh and Jim Engh built from Hackett's own sketches into the wildest corner of the dunes. Westport, Fred Hawtree's parkland on Clew Bay, gives the county a second course of true championship scale.

Every fact here was checked at the time of writing, and the green fees at Carne remain some of the best value in world class golf, an indicative 40 to 115 euros across the links in 2026. All of these clubs welcome visitors warmly; this is the friendly end of Irish golf. The verdicts and the order are ours. If you want Mayo built into a costed northwest Ireland trip with the tee times handled, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

01

Carne Golf Links, Wild Atlantic Dunes

Eddie Hackett, 1992 to 1993, plus the Kilmore nine · Belmullet · 40 to 115 euros 2026

The last and, many say, the greatest course of Eddie Hackett's life, rolled out nine holes at a time in 1992 and 1993 through a dune system claimed to be the biggest in golf. Raw, heaving and completely natural, it now runs to 27 holes since the Kilmore nine, built by Ally McIntosh and Jim Engh from Hackett's original sketches, opened the most dramatic corner of the property. The integrated Wild Atlantic Dunes routing is the round to ask for, and at an indicative 40 to 115 euros in 2026 it is the bargain of the Atlantic coast. Worth the journey to the end of the Mullet Peninsula on its own.

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02

Westport

Fred Hawtree, opened 1975 · Clew Bay · visitors welcome

The county's championship parkland, laid out by Fred Hawtree across 260 rolling acres on the shore of Clew Bay with Croagh Patrick filling the sky behind. At 6,980 yards with five par 5s, including the famous long hole that doglegs around the bay itself, it has hosted the Irish Amateur Close Championship three times. A polished, generous course in one of the best small towns in the west.

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03

Mulranny

Nine hole links · Clew Bay · visitors welcome

A nine hole links on open commonage above Clew Bay, where sheep keep the rough honest and the views run from Croagh Patrick to the Nephin range. It is golf from another century in the best sense, unfenced, unhurried and absurdly scenic, and it sits right on the Great Western Greenway between Westport and Achill. The pick of Mayo's nine holers.

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04

Achill Island

Nine holes at Keel · Achill · visitors welcome

Nine holes laid across the machair at Keel on Ireland's largest offshore island, between the Atlantic strand and the slopes of Slievemore. The golf is short and simple; the setting is anything but. Bring a camera, pay a modest green fee and play the most westerly golf in Mayo with the surf in your ears.

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05

Ballina

Parkland · north Mayo · visitors welcome

The friendly parkland club of north Mayo's salmon capital, an easy, well kept members course that makes the natural stopover between Carne and the great links of neighboring Sligo at Enniscrone and Rosses Point. A sensible, sociable round when the Atlantic coast is blowing sideways.

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06

Castlebar

Parkland · the county town · visitors welcome

Mature parkland on the edge of the county town, with tree lined fairways and a welcoming clubhouse that anchors golf in the middle of Mayo. Not a course you cross the country for, but a solid, honest round and a useful base option for families splitting time between Westport, the lakes and the coast.

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07

Ballinrobe

Parkland · south Mayo · visitors welcome

South Mayo's parkland club near the shores of Lough Mask, an unhurried members course in lake country that suits the soft day and the travelling fourball working north from Connemara. Green fees are modest and the welcome is genuine, which is the recurring story of golf in this county.

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Designers, dates and access verified June 2026; Carne fees are indicative at 40 to 115 euros across the links for the 2026 season. All of these clubs welcome visitors. Always confirm directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Play the best of Mayo

Tell us whether Carne is the trip or part of a wider northwest sweep with Sligo and Donegal, and roughly when. One concierge handles the tee times, the bases and the long beautiful drives, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

Mayo golf questions

What is the best golf course in County Mayo?

Carne Golf Links at Belmullet, by a wide margin. The last course Eddie Hackett designed, opened in 1992 and 1993 and expanded by the Kilmore nine built from his sketches, runs through what is claimed to be the biggest dune system in golf. It is ranked among Ireland's elite links and, at an indicative 40 to 115 euros in 2026, is one of the great value rounds anywhere. Confirm fees and tee times directly before booking.

Is Carne worth the drive to Belmullet?

Yes, emphatically. The Mullet Peninsula is over an hour from Westport and further from everywhere else, and that remoteness is the point: you arrive at a 27 hole dunescape with the Atlantic on three sides and a timesheet that never feels crowded. Pair it with a night in Belmullet, ask for the Wild Atlantic Dunes routing, and the journey becomes part of the story.

Which Mayo courses can visitors play?

All of them. Carne, Westport, Mulranny, Achill, Ballina, Castlebar and Ballinrobe all welcome visitors readily, and the nine holers are pay and play in spirit. Summer weekends are busiest at Carne and Westport, so book those ahead and always confirm directly before booking.

When is the best time to play golf in Mayo?

May to September brings the longest days and the firmest links at Carne, with the county's festivals and the best of the weather. April and October are quieter and cheaper, and the parkland courses play well in the shoulders. Winter golf survives on the links for the hardy. Always check the forecast and confirm tee times for your dates.

Related

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts, access and fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.