Irish Links Golf: Royal County Down, Ballybunion and the Greatest Courses
Ireland may be the single best golf travel destination in the world. Not the most historically famous — that is Scotland — but the best, because nowhere else combines world-class links courses with dramatic coastal scenery, genuine warmth toward visiting golfers, outstanding value, and a geographic compactness that allows a serious golfer to play Royal County Down, Ballybunion, Old Head, Lahinch, and Royal Portrush within a ten-day trip while also experiencing some of Europe's most striking natural landscapes. This is the essential guide to Irish golf for the golfer planning the trip.
Royal County Down: The Most Beautiful Course in the World
Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, County Down, in Northern Ireland is ranked by the majority of credible publications as one of the three greatest golf courses on earth. The Championship Links plays beneath the Mountains of Mourne — which sweep down to Dundrum Bay in one of sport's great natural settings — through dunes of extraordinary size with approach shots that require both precision and imagination, pot bunkers lurking in gorse that must be seen to be avoided, and greens set in natural amphitheaters formed over centuries by tidal and wind action.
The visual experience at Royal County Down is without equal in golf. Tom Watson has named it among his favorites. Tiger Woods cited it as one of the courses he would choose if limited to a handful. The combination of mountain backdrop, sea view, and flowering gorse creates something that photographs struggle to convey: a sensory totality that overwhelms golfers on their first visit and keeps drawing them back.
The club welcomes visitors on most weekdays, with advance booking required. Green fees are approximately €200-250. The Slieve Donard Hotel sits literally on the course boundary, making it the logical base for this section of a Northern Ireland golf trip.
Ballybunion Old Course: Where Tom Watson Lost His Heart
Tom Watson described Ballybunion's Old Course as the finest course he had ever played when he first visited in 1981. The assessment has not aged poorly. The course sits on a peninsula above the Atlantic in County Kerry, built through dune terrain of the quality that architects cannot manufacture — massive sandy hills shaped by millennia of Atlantic wind creating natural green positions, blind approach shots, and a back nine that runs along cliff tops above breaking waves in one of links golf's great sequences.
The 11th through 15th holes along the cliff represent some of the most emotionally charged golf available anywhere: the combination of difficulty, beauty, and the raw power of the Atlantic on three sides creates an experience that stays with golfers permanently. Ballybunion is publicly accessible with advance booking at green fees that represent extraordinary value for world-class golf.
Old Head of Kinsale: The Most Dramatic Setting in Golf
Old Head of Kinsale in County Cork occupies a headland 300 feet above the Celtic Sea, with 16 of 18 holes carrying direct ocean views and several carrying the Atlantic on multiple sides simultaneously. The setting is so overwhelming that the golf itself becomes almost secondary — a situation that architecture purists critique but that golfers whose primary goal is an extraordinary experience completely understand.
Green fees at Old Head are €300-400, among the highest in Ireland, reflecting the resort's premium positioning. The experience justifies the cost for golfers making a dedicated Irish golf trip who want to include something genuinely different from conventional links golf.
Lahinch and Royal Portrush: Completing the Collection
Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare on the Atlantic coast south of the Cliffs of Moher — "the St Andrews of Ireland" — plays through sand dunes of extraordinary quality with MacKenzie's design influence visible in the natural green positions and strategic bunkering. Royal Portrush Dunluce Links in County Antrim, host of the 2019 Open Championship where Shane Lowry won in front of an adoring home crowd, plays along the Causeway Coast with views across to Scotland on clear days.
These five courses — Royal County Down, Ballybunion, Old Head, Lahinch, and Royal Portrush — constitute the core of an Irish golf pilgrimage and collectively represent a links golf experience that nowhere else in the world can match for concentration of excellence.
Planning Practically
May through September offers the most reliable weather, with June and July providing the longest daylight and the gorse in fullest bloom. A car is essential. Northern Ireland (Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Portstewart) requires a different base than the southwest (Ballybunion, Waterville, Lahinch, Old Head). A ten-day trip can cover both regions with careful routing. Green fees across the island average €80-200 outside Old Head, providing excellent value relative to comparable Scottish courses.
FAQs About Irish Golf
What is the best golf course in Ireland? Royal County Down is the critical consensus choice. Ballybunion Old Course and Royal Portrush Dunluce Links are close behind in most rankings.
Is Ireland cheaper than Scotland for golf? Yes, generally. Most Irish championship links charge €80-200 per round versus £150-300 for comparable Scottish venues. Old Head is the Irish exception at €300-400.
What is the best month to golf in Ireland? June and July offer the best combination of long daylight hours, relatively stable weather, and gorse in full bloom. May and August-September are strong alternatives.