![\"Royal](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_Royal-County-Down-during-the-2015-Irish-Open.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFor the sixth straight year, an Irish course is ranked as the best anywhere in the world by the experts<\/p>\n
15:09, 26 May 2026Updated 15:16, 26 May 2026<\/p>\n
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Royal County Down during the 2015 Irish Open.(Image: Mandatory Credit \u00a9INPHO\/Presseye\/Matt Makey)<\/p>\n
It’s no secret that Ireland boasts some of the finest golf courses anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n
Now it’s official – we have 14 of the top 100 courses on the planet right here on the emerald isle, according to Golf Digest.<\/p>\n
Golf Digest is the world’s leading golf<\/a> publication, providing comprehensive coverage on instruction, equipment reviews, course rankings, and professional tour news. It serves as a premier authority on the game worldwide, so their annual top 100 courses in the world is always essential reading for golf fans.<\/p>\n And it’s fair to say the experts there are fans of Ireland’s links courses in particular.<\/p>\n “Ireland\u2019s links are wild and wooly, bouncy and rugged. Some of golf\u2019s biggest dunes are found in the country\u2019s north at places like Carne, which enters this year\u2019s ranking of the World\u2019s 100 Greatest Courses<\/a> at No. 63, and Enniscrone. You can get lost in there, or at the very least spun around and made dizzy,” say Golf Digest<\/p>\n “Moving south toward Lahinch<\/a>, Ballybunion and Waterville, the dunes get smaller but are by no means small\u2014they are still some of the most impressive and exciting in the game. Though not a links, Old Head, due south, is one of the most audacious settings for a golf course on earth, a one of one.<\/p>\n “And even Ireland\u2019s east coast, north and south of Dublin<\/a>, is stocked with some of the sport\u2019s most underappreciated links like Brittas Bay (formerly The European Club), County Louth<\/a> and The Island.”<\/p>\n For the sixth straight season, Royal County Down<\/a> has been selected as the No.1 golf course in the world. It’s a course back-to-back Masters champion Rory McIlroy <\/a>often notes as his personal favourite also.<\/p>\n Gold Digest notes: “On a clear spring day, with Dundrum Bay to the east, the Mountains of Mourne to the south and gorse-covered dunes in golden bloom, there is no lovelier place in golf.”<\/p>\n The home of golf at St Andrew’s comes in second place, with Muirfield and then Royal Dornoch (all in Scotland) making up the top four.<\/p>\n Another gem in the north makes the top five, with 2025 Open Championship<\/a> venue Royal Portrush making the cut. It was ranked as the world’s fourth best last year.<\/p>\n “Portrush is still the only Irish course to host The Open. In a remake ahead of the 2019 Open at Portrush, architect Martin Ebert Ebert retained most of H.S. Colt’s greens, considered one of the best set of putting surfaces in the world, but remodeled others such as at the par-4 10th that were built after Colt left, better working them into the contours of the surrounding dunes.”<\/p>\n The only venue in the Republic of Ireland to make the Golf Digest Top 10 is Ballybunnion in Kerry<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Ballybunion has always been great, but it wasn’t until they relocated the clubhouse in 1971 to the southern end that it became thrilling. Tom Watson\u2019s effusive praise for the course after his first visit in 1981 also helped put the relatively unknown Ballybunion on everyone\u2019s mind,” wrote Golf Digest.<\/p>\n A general view of the 10th green at Ballybunion Golf Club(Image: 2018 R&A)<\/p>\n Only two other courses make the top 50 in the world – Lahinch in Co Clare<\/a> and Portmarnock in Dublin.<\/p>\n Lahinch climbs the rankings, having previously claimed the 27th spot.<\/p>\n “Considered by some to be the St. Andrews of Ireland, the splendid links at Lahinch reflects evolution in golf architecture,” Golf Digest adds.<\/p>\n Of Portmarnock, they say: “A true links on rolling ground with soft rather than dramatic dunes, Portmarnock, on a spit of land in the Irish Sea north of Dublin, is known for its routing, which hasn’t been altered in over a hundred years and was revolutionary at the time for constantly changing wind direction with every shot.”<\/p>\n The stunning Waterville in Kerry ranks in 52nd, with St Patrick’s Links in the Downings, Donegal<\/a> in 58th.<\/p>\n Carne in Sligo<\/a> is a new entry to the Golf Digest top 100 – ‘no longer a hidden gem but a destination of its own’, according to their experts..<\/p>\n Old Head of Kinsale comes in at 72nd, while Brittas Bay in Wicklow<\/a> is ranked 83rd in the world.<\/p>\n The venue for the 2027 Ryder Cup, Adare Manor, is placed at 84th and is also a new entry this year.<\/p>\n Portstewart, on the north coast in Co Derry<\/a>, climbs to 87th (from 92nd last year), while Rosses Point in Sligo takes the 90th place spot.<\/p>\n Another Kerry gem in Tralee<\/a> also makes the top 100 grade, coming in at 91st.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_GettyImages-1014376850.jpg\")
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