Links with the past

1 Royal County Down
County Down
7,181 yards, par 71
Architect: Old Tom Morris
With the majestic Mountains of Mourne providing the backdrop, Royal County Down is regarded by many as the greatest links course in the world. The Northern Irish venue hosted the Walker Cup last year to universal acclaim, with its viciously quick and sloping greens providing a stern test for the cream of the amateur game.

2 Waterville
Co Kerry
6,783 yards, par 72
Architects: John Mulcahy/Eddie Hackett/Claude Harmon/Tom Fazio
3 Royal Portrush
Co Antrim
6,845 yards, par 72
Architect: Harry Colt
Opinion is divided as to whether Portrush or County Down is the pre-eminent layout in Northern Ireland. Portrush, which hosted The Open in 1951, is a magnificent links where blind shots are the exception not the rule and the greens are wonderfully smooth and true. It also features Calamity - a 200-yard-plus par three played over a chasm to the distant green.

4 Portmarnock
Co Dublin
7,382 yards, par 72
Architect: WC Pickeman
With a history dating back to the late 19th century, Portmarnock is one of Ireland's oldest clubs and undoubtedly one of its greatest courses. The venue for the 1991 Walker Cup, starring a young Phil Mickelson, is an honest, fair and redoubtable test just 12 miles from the centre of Dublin. Only one shot on the course is truly blind - the drive on the 5th - while the most feted hole is the short 14th, rated by Henry Cotton as the finest short hole in golf.

5 Ballyliffin
Co Donegal
7,217 yards, par 72
Architect: Pat Ruddy
The tiny town of Ballyliffin in the north west of Ireland only has a population of 500, but it boasts 36 holes of top-quality links golf and is a must-visit. The Glashedy is the newer and grander of the two courses, having opened only a decade or so ago following its design by Pat Ruddy, creator and owner of The European. It is modern, long, dramatic, difficult and spectacular. Balyliffin even has its own version of Ailsa Craig - the Glashedy Rock.

6 Carne
Co Mayo
6,731 yards, par 72
Architect: Eddie Hackett
Carne opened only a decade ago - but it looks like it has been there for centuries. One of the most remote courses in Ireland, getting here involves a two-hour drive west from Sligo to the peninsula at Belmullet. But what a treat awaits - with a selection of completely natural holes that obey no laws other than the lay of the land. Some are long, some short but nearly all are thrilling.

7 Rosapenna
Co Donegal
7,255 yards, par 71
Architect: Pat Ruddy
Several of Pat Ruddy's trademarks are immediately apparent on the Sandy Hills course at Rosapenna. His designs tend to be spectacular, fearless, natural and immensely testing. Sandy Hills is all these things and much more. At times it can be intimidating, at others thrilling and a round here is an experience guaranteed to live long in the memory. With an excellent hotel on site, and a further 18 holes of links golf in the Old Tom Morris course, book your visit to Donegal now. It's unmissable.

8 The Island
Co Dublin
6,943 yards, par 71
Architect: Unknown
This special course dates back to 1887 when four men rowed across the water from Malahide, just north of Dublin, to a spur of wilderness land. What they found was pure, unadulterated linksland and the resulting course natural and spectacular.

With water seemingly on all sides, it is hard to believe you could be just a few miles outside Dublin. The closing hole at The Island is one of the toughest in Ireland, stretching to 470 yards and demands a drive through a valley and an approach to a raised green. It is a true championship par four.

9 Lahinch
Co Clare
6,699 yards, par 73
Architects: Old Tom Morris/Dr Alister Mackenzie/Martin Hawtree
Three Limerick golfers laid out the course in 1892 and were assisted by members of the Black Watch, stationed nearby. They did a marvellous job.

Indeed Old Tom Morris, who made a few tweaks two years later, believes it to be the finest natural course he had seen. Of all the memorable holes, Klondyke lives longest, a short par five which incorporates a narrow rippling fairway and then a blind shot to a green which is hidden by a dune the size of Dublin.

10 Rosses Point
County Sligo
6,629 yards, par 71
Architect: Harry Colt
One of the oldest and best known links in Ireland, the course is set out on one of the country's most scenic locations on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Benbulben dominates the northern skyline and is an ominous backdrop to a breathtaking round of golf. Dramatic rises and falls in elevation add to the drama of a course which delights and challenges in equal measure. Without doubt one of Ireland's most spectacular and memorable golf experiences.

11 Donegal
Co Donegal
7,280 yards, par 73
Architects: Eddie Hackett and Pat Ruddy
When Darren Clarke describes this course, often referred to as Murvagh, as one of his favourite courses in the world, you know it is special.

Contained within the Murvagh peninsula - which provides an isolated setting - it is a beautiful course without being stunning as some of its neighbours are. Two elongated loops of nine make up the challenge, headlined by the 185-yard 5th, which signals the entry to the dunes. The awesome par-five 12th is the pick of the back nine.

12 Connemara
Co Galway
7,216 yards, par 72
Architect: Eddie Hackett
This is one of those great Irish links that you would swear had been around for at least a hundred years but turns out to be a relatively modern creation. Located in the wilds of Co Galway, on the west coast, it was designed by the great Eddie Hackett. It combines the best of both worlds - the site is wonderfully natural yet the architect's work does not belong to a bygone age.

Although the links can be unforgiving, the reception in the clubhouse is never anything less than welcoming and a day here is worth every last mile you have to travel.

Enniscrone
County Sligo, Ireland
6,948 yards, par 73
Architects: Eddie Hackett/Donald Steel
Enniscrone was always a delightful holiday links but now it simply demands inclusion on any self-respecting trip to the west coast. Donald Steel is the man who effected this recent transformation, which saw the flatter parts of the course replaced by new ones on more promising terrain.

Some of the holes he added are simply outrageous - and must be seen to be believed. You will love them for their sheer audacity, as they provide a thrill a minute, plummeting and clambering through, amid and between the giant dunes.

14 Bundoran
Co Donegal
6,256 yards, par 70
Architects: GL Baillie/CS Burthart/Harry Vardon
Christy O'Connor was the professional here for six years in the 1950s, giving one an idea of its history and tradition.

Built at the end of the 19th Century alongside the Great Northern, Bundoran was originally a nine-hole test for those who stayed on site at the new hotel. It was extended 10 years later, remodelled by Harry Vardon in 1927 and is today a course offering a simple, uncomplicated links charm.

Located to the south of Donegal Bay, the Dartry and Benbulben mountains provide the canvas for this super course.

15 Narin and Portnoo
Co Donegal
5950 yards, par 69
Architects: Leo Wallace/Hughie McNeill
If unpretentious, traditional links are your bag then look no further than Narin and Portnoo. It is a course worthy of bracketing in the highest of links company and is one of Ireland's older seaside courses having been formed in 1930.

An unspectacular start gives way to true excellence by the 7th, a fabulous short hole of 143 yards that is played over a canyon to a two-tiered green. Herculean sand dunes provide the backdrop to this hole and several which follow. Great fun.

16 Old Head
Co Cork
7,300 yards, par 72
Architects: Ron Kirby/Paddy Merrigan/Liam Higgins/Eddie Hackett/Joe Carr The feeling at Old Head is that you are on the edge of the world. Built on a peninsula jutting out in the Atlantic, it truly is one of the finest sites of a golf course anywhere in the world. The Lighthouse, 17, is perhaps the pick of the holes, a par five which is played to a punchbowl on the edge of the cliffs, the sea crashing against the rocks 300 feet below.

17 Ballybunion
Co Kerry
6,542 yards, par 72
Architect: Tom Simpson
"After playing Ballybunion for the first time, a man would think that the game of golf originated here. There is a wild look to the place...in short it is a course which many golf architects should play before they design courses. I consider it a true test of golf." Tom Watson.
Little more need be said.


18 Ardglass
Co Down
5,776 yards, par 70
Architect: Unknown
The first five holes are as good as anything in Ireland, being routed round the cliff tops and providing a breathtaking start to your round. It includes the 2nd, Howd's Hole, where the tee shot is thumped across a rocky inlet to an apparently small green, which actually turns out to be generous. Ardglass was formed in 1896 and soon after the centenary it was decided to take out the 5th, 6th and 17th and replace them with three terrific new holes - the 9th to 11th. Ardglass has very much benefitted from that decision and its quality continues off the course with a clubhouse which was a 14th-century castle, home to the Fitzgeralds.

Factfile
Waterville
00 353 6694 74102

Enniscrone
00 353 963 6297

Narin and Portnoo
00 353 74954 5107

Royal County Down
028 4372 3314

Royal Portrush
0287 082 2311

Portmarnock
00 353 1846 2794

Ballyliffin
00 353 74937 6119

Carne
00 353 978 2292

Rosapenna
00 353 745 5301

The Island
00 353 1843 6205

Co. Sligo
00 353 917 7134

Donegal
00 353 7497 34054

Lahinch
00 353 6570 81003

Bundoran
00 353 724 1302

Ardglass
028 4484 1219

Old Head
00 353 2147 78444

Ballybunnion
00 353 682 7146

Connemara
00 353 952 3502