Our team have played several Irish courses ahead of compiling the NCG Top 100s: Ireland list – but which courses make the top three for our panellists?
Ireland is home to some incredible golf courses, with the mixture of inland moorland courses and links courses on the coastline.
From north to south Ireland, there are plenty of choices, and Ireland offers a great option for golf holidays as well.
When it comes to golf in Ireland, you can choose to play at those well-known venues, such as Royal Portrush, Royal County Down and Adare Manor, or you can choose to go slightly off the beaten track…
But what did our panellists think? They all will have played different courses, so their top threes will be different, or will they…?
Which Irish courses make our panellists’ top three?
Dan Murphy
1 – Royal County Down
2 – Royal Portrush (Dunluce)
3 – Portmarnock
Collectively, these three tick just about every conceivable box of what I look for in a great golf course.
Josh Poysden
1 – Royal County Down
2 – Rosapenna (St Patrick’s Links)
3 – Royal Portrush (Dunluce)
All three of these courses get the balance right of using Ireland’s great dunescapes for drama without affecting playability (mostly!).
Jim Banting
1 – Royal County Down
2 – Royal Portrush (Dunluce)
3 – Ballybunion
These courses all have a special relationship with the land they are on. It is impossible to imagine one without the other.
Ed Battye
1 – Lahinch
2 – Royal Portrush (Dunluce)
3 – Royal County Down
Impossible to split – all brilliant in their own ways but ultimately all maximise the use of the land.
Dove Jones
1 – Royal County Down
2 – The European
3 – Carne
RCD is a true championship course – and still quirky with blind shots. The European is a non-traditional design and one man’s dream taking full advantage of what the landscape offered. At Carne, you get the warmest welcome to a challenging labour of love at the end of the world.
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Steve Carroll
1 – Royal Portrush (Dunluce)
2 – Cruit Island
3 – North West
I’ve plenty of travelling still to do in the Emerald Isle, but the class and diversity of both Portrush and Cruit Island means I’d happily play both every day.
Mike Hyde
1 – Royal County Down
2 – Strandhill
3 – Mount Juliet
RCD is the finest golfing setting I’ve experienced with a layout to match, Strandhill is hugely fun and flows beautifully and Mount Juliet is just a luxurious parkland experience.
Mike Atkinson
1 – The European
2 – The Island
3 – K Club (Palmer North)
Three of Ireland’s finest courses. Each unique in character. Experience links and parkland. Magnificent coastal holes to extraordinary towering dunes to expansive water features.
Lewis Marr
1 – Waterville
2 – Tralee
3 – Trump Ireland (Doonbeg)
The remoteness, the charm and the routing across their respective landscapes.
Chris Myatt
1 – Rosapenna (St Patrick’s Links)
2 – The Island
3 – Ballyliffin (Glashedy)
The grandeur of St Patrick Links is ubiquitous. The expansive fairways that are often hidden from view during visually intimidating tee shots make strategy paramount.
Craig Morrison
1 – Lahinch
2 – The European
3 – County Sligo
Lahinch is a natural wonder. The European is a manmade wonder. County Sligo is a far-flung, wild and romantic treat.
Mike Robertson
1 – Royal County Down
2 – Royal Portrush (Dunluce)
3 – Lahinch
RCD is just unmatched, setting wise. As enjoyable as golf gets. Portrush’s 4th is all world. Lahinch is a ride from start to finish.
- NOW READ: The methodology behind the NCG Top 100s: Ireland list
- NOW READ: Meet the NCG Top 100s: Ireland panel
What are your memories of playing golf in Ireland? What would you put in your own top three? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
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