Royal Portrush Golf Club
Ranked · 8 courses · reviewed June 2026

The Best Links Courses in Ireland

No country packs more great links into so small a space. From the dunes of County Down to the wild Kerry coast, the island of Ireland holds a run of seaside courses that sit among the finest in the world. Here are the eight we rate most, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to play them.

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

Photograph: Royal Portrush Golf Club, World Golf News, via Google

How we chose them

This list covers the whole island of Ireland, because the great links pay no attention to the border, and two of the very best sit in Northern Ireland. We weighed the quality of the design and the dunescape, the strength of the test, the history and the sheer thrill of the round, then balanced that against how a traveling golfer actually strings these courses together. Ireland divides naturally into a northern run around County Down and Antrim, a Dublin and east coast cluster, and the long southwest links chain through Kerry and Clare, and the best trips follow one of those threads rather than crisscrossing the country.

Every fact here, the designers, the founding years and the indicative green fees, was checked at the time of writing in June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Green fees on the marquee links run high in the summer peak and ease in spring and autumn, so treat the numbers as a guide and always confirm directly before booking. The verdicts are ours. If your group wants these built into a costed southwest or northern itinerary, with tee times, transfers and the right base handled, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The 8 best links courses in Ireland

01

Royal County Down

Old Tom Morris from 1889 · Newcastle, County Down · Par 71

The course many rate the best in the world, laid out by Old Tom Morris from 1889 beneath the Mountains of Mourne at Newcastle and refined over the following decades. The fairways tumble through towering dunes feathered with marram and gorse, several tee shots are blind over crests, and the bearded bunkers are as beautiful as they are punishing. The front nine in particular is as good a stretch of links golf as exists anywhere. A bucket list round and the natural centrepiece of any trip to the north.

Plan a Northern Ireland golf trip

02

Royal Portrush, Dunluce Links

H.S. Colt redesign, 1932 · Portrush, County Antrim · Par 71

Ireland's Open Championship venue, the Dunluce Links was reshaped into its modern form by Harry Colt in 1932 and hosted The Open in both 2019 and 2025, the only course on the island to do so. It runs over rugged Antrim dunes above the white rocks of the north coast, with the par 4 fifth, Whiterocks, perched above the sea and the long par 4 fourteenth, Calamity Corner, demanding a carry across a deep chasm. A magnificent and genuinely world class test, and the ideal partner to Royal County Down on a northern week.

Plan a Northern Ireland golf trip

03

Ballybunion, Old Course

Founded 1893 · County Kerry · Par 71, about 6,800 yards

The soul of southwest links golf, the Old Course at Ballybunion dates to 1893 and was famously adored by Tom Watson, who helped guide a sympathetic refresh of it. The round hugs the Atlantic cliffs, the dunes grow huge through the back nine, and holes such as the par 4 eleventh, running along the edge of the beach, are spoken of in the same breath as any in the game. Rugged, exposed and utterly memorable, it is the course most golfers cross the world to play and the anchor of a Kerry trip.

Plan a southwest Ireland golf trip

04

Portmarnock, Old Course

Founded 1894 · County Dublin · Par 72

The great championship links of the east, Portmarnock has stood on its sandy peninsula north of Dublin since 1894 and has hosted the Irish Open and the Walker Cup among much else. There is no hiding here, the holes run out and back across open, rolling ground with the wind switching direction constantly, and the par 3 fifteenth along the shore is one of the finest in the country. Fair, classic and relentless, it is the obvious headline round on a Dublin and east coast trip and only a short hop from the airport.

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05

Lahinch, Old Course

Old Tom Morris 1892, Alister MacKenzie 1927 · County Clare · Par 72

The St Andrews of Ireland, Lahinch was first laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1892, reworked by Alister MacKenzie in 1927 and refined again by Martin Hawtree. It rolls through big dunes above Liscannor Bay in County Clare, with the quirky old Klondyke and Dell holes preserved as relics of its early character and a clatter of goats that famously forecast the weather. Charming, characterful and great fun, it is a fixture of any west of Ireland trip and a short drive from the Cliffs of Moher.

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06

Waterville Golf Links

Eddie Hackett and Claude Harmon, 1973 · Tom Fazio remodel · County Kerry

The most remote and atmospheric of the Kerry links, Waterville sits at the tip of the Ring of Kerry, brought to life in 1973 by Eddie Hackett and Claude Harmon and later remodelled by Tom Fazio. The dunes are vast, the back nine in particular soaring through them with the Atlantic on every side, and the par 3 seventeenth, Mulcahy's Peak, surveys the whole links from a high tee. Long a favourite practice ground of touring professionals before The Open, it is a wild and rewarding round and a key stop on the southwest chain.

Plan a southwest Ireland golf trip

07

Tralee Golf Links

Arnold Palmer, 1984 · County Kerry · the first European Palmer design

Arnold Palmer's first design in Europe, opened in 1984 on a spectacular headland west of Tralee, where Palmer famously said he may have built the front nine but God built the back. The opening holes play across gentler ground by a beach used in film, then the closing stretch climbs into enormous dunes with cliff edges, blind shots and the sea far below. It is scenery first and a stern test second, and it slots neatly into a Kerry itinerary alongside Ballybunion and Waterville.

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08

The European Club

Pat Ruddy, opened 1987 · Brittas Bay, County Wicklow · links

The lifelong work of architect Pat Ruddy, who found and built it himself in the dunes of Brittas Bay an hour south of Dublin and has tended it ever since. Opened in 1987, it quickly climbed into the world rankings on the strength of its bold, modern links design, with long sweeping dunes, deep revetted bunkers and a famous run by the sea. A wonderful and underrated round, easy to reach from Dublin and the connoisseur's addition to an east coast trip.

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Designers, founding years and yardages verified June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Where they are, and indicative costs

These eight links fall into three natural trips. Royal County Down and Royal Portrush sit in the north, an hour or so apart, best paired from a base near Belfast or on the Causeway Coast. Portmarnock and The European Club bracket Dublin on the east coast, both within an hour of the airport. Ballybunion, Waterville, Tralee and Lahinch form the southwest chain through Kerry and Clare along the Wild Atlantic Way, usually played from Killarney or a string of coastal bases over several days. Most groups fly into Dublin, Shannon or Belfast depending on the thread they choose.

ItemIndicative 2026Notes
Green fee, marquee links such as Royal County Down and PortrushAround 250 to 400 eurosHighest in the May to September peak
Green fee, southwest links such as Ballybunion and WatervilleAround 180 to 320 eurosShoulder season rates are notably lower
A week, all inAround 3,500 to 6,500 euros per personHotels, several rounds, a driver or hire car, excluding flights

Indicative third party figures for the 2026 season, shown to set expectations only. We are a guide, not an operator, and never quote our own pricing. Always confirm directly before booking.

Plan your Ireland links trip

Tell us which links you want and roughly when. One concierge arranges the tee times, the transfers and the bases, costs the whole trip to the head, and replies within one working day, with no obligation.

Ireland links golf questions

What is the best links course in Ireland?

Royal County Down at Newcastle is the one most experts place at the very top, often ranked the best course in the world, with Royal Portrush, the island's Open venue, close behind. In the southwest, Ballybunion's Old Course is the great prize. Our ranking weighs design, setting, history and the thrill of the round together.

When is the best time to play links golf in Ireland?

May to September gives the longest days, the warmest weather and the firmest links turf, which is also the peak and dearest season. April and October are excellent value with a real chance of fine days, though the weather is less settled. Links golf in Ireland is a wind and weather game year round, so pack for all four seasons whenever you travel.

How do you combine these courses into one trip?

They fall into three natural threads. The north pairs Royal County Down and Royal Portrush. The east coast brackets Dublin with Portmarnock and The European Club. The southwest strings Ballybunion, Waterville, Tralee and Lahinch along the Wild Atlantic Way. Most golfers pick one thread for a week rather than trying to cover the whole island, and a concierge can route the tee times and transfers cleanly.

Related

All best lists Best courses in Ireland Best courses in Northern Ireland Best courses in southwest Ireland Golf society trips to Ireland Best courses in Scotland

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, founding years and yardages verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.