Our Top British & Irish Links

There’s very little that hasn’t been written about the golfing mecca that is St. Andrews.

Following a 4:00am alarm call we’d already driven for more than six hours and covered over 350 road miles before boarding a ferry at Oban sailing to Lochboisdale.

If you asked me to show you an example of everything I love about a golf course then I’d quite possibly take you for a round at Lahinch.

If Muirfield is regarded as the King of East Lothian then North Berwick is undoubtedly Queen.

Oh my word! The Balgownie Links at Royal Aberdeen is something else. It’s different gravy - an unbelievably good golf course. Not only is it the best in Aberdeenshire it’s one of the best you will play. Period.

I can’t imagine many reviews for Royal County Down – one of the world’s great golf courses – beginning with mention of the Annesley Links…. but that is exactly where I’m going to start.

It’s Christmas Eve. Well, not quite, but it certainly feels like it. It’s the evening before we are due to play Royal Dornoch for the first time.

I don’t think I would ever accept the notion that a golf course is perfect – not even The Old Course at St. Andrews – but boy does Royal Portrush come close. Tantalisingly close.

In my mind Royal St. George’s at Sandwich is a championship links golf course with few, if any, superiors.

Not all golf courses are created equal and that can certainly be said about Trump Turnberry.

You don’t need to think strategically to play Castle Stuart but to play Castle Stuart you need to think strategically.

Cruden Bay is a golf course that dances to its own beat.

The Kingdom of Fife has long been associated with world-class links golf. The region is the spiritual home of the game and Kingsbarns fits seamlessly into the modern day environment.

Muirfield is one of the most historically important golfing venues in the world.

A grand old golf club which is more than just the links and should be a day to be savoured.

When a new golf course debuts so highly in all the various rankings my ears usually prick up pretty quickly and this was especially the case with St. Patrick’s and the lofty positions it received.

The terrain for golf at Ballyliffin – located at the remote tip of the Inishowen Peninsula where mountains, dunes and sea merge together – is the stuff of dreams. Expansive linksland stretches for an eternity on what is a lunar landscape ideal for exceptional golf.

The links at Burnham & Berrow begins at a pulsating pace and rarely lets up until the moment you reach the comfort of the historic 100-year-old clubhouse where you are able to relax and reflect.

Carne is a free spirit of the golfing world which has 27 holes of adventurous big dune golf. It is vast and mind-blowing with each hole providing the golfer with a puzzle that must be solved. It’s immense fun trying to do so.

I recently took advantage of the 3-round ticket that the Carnoustie Golf Links offers. For the sum of £200 this entitled me to one round on each of the three courses (Championship, Burnside & Buddon) that are looked after by the management committee of this iconic Open venue.

County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point held the Irish Amateur Open the week prior to my visit and it is understandable why a prestigious venue such as this is deemed worthy of holding a tournament of this ilk.

Enniscrone manages to tread the tricky line between quirk and championship golf perfectly. The blend it creates produces a catalogue of unique, enthralling and funky holes.

Hunstanton is a fine championship links situated on the edge of The Wash in North-West Norfolk.

The championship Strand course at Portstewart in County Londonderry is one of the finest links in all of Ireland.

Prestwick has been on my hit list of golf courses to play for quite some time and I’m ashamed to say it has taken me far too long to visit this iconic links. From everything I’d read and heard I was expecting it to be ‘my type’ of golf.

Royal Birkdale is a golf course which is incredibly hard not to like but at the same time it’s not an easy one to truly love.

I always enjoy my visits to play Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club at Deal, the Kentish town that the course is often referred to by name.

As you would expect from a club that has seen the Claret Jug contested over its links on no less than eleven occasions Royal Lytham & St. Annes didn't disappoint.

Royal Porthcawl has a long standing and extremely fine reputation. It’s one that continues to grow at an extremely fast pace and shows no signs of relenting.

Playing Royal Troon less than a fortnight after Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson had produced what is arguably the greatest golfing duel in history, and certainly the best final day of an Open Championship, was a special occasion.

If anyone dare claim there is a better 36 holes of links golf at one golf club in England than at Saunton I'm pretty sure I could make an unquestionable case for this wonderful piece of linksland.

In my eyes Silloth is a golf course that has the ability to transcend your typical ‘championship links’.

The Island, which is not on an island, is a golf course that has an enormous amount of cohesive variety.

There’s lots of eye candy at Trump International Golf Links, Doonbeg and this provides a visual overload at times but importantly the underlying golf is very good and contains lots of strategy.

The first thing to state is that Trump International Golf Links is undoubtedly an exceptionally good golf course. The second thing to say from the off is that it’s categorically not the “World's Greatest Golf Course” as the owner makes out and their website brashly proclaims.

Waterville provides a fantastic mix of championship golf & more quirky duney fun.

Western Gailes is a thing of true beauty. Something extra special. Near perfection at times.

The terrain for golf at Ballyliffin – located at the remote tip of the Inishowen Peninsula where mountains, dunes and sea merge together – is the stuff of dreams. Expansive linksland stretches for an eternity on what is a lunar landscape ideal for exceptional golf.

Over breakfast at the guest house in Dornoch where we were staying conversation is struck up with a fellow guest; an American from Chicago and a member at Royal Dornoch.

If you’ve got an itch sometimes you’ve just got to scratch it… even if it’s in a hard-to-reach place! And in my personal quest to play all the true links golf course in the British Isles that was exactly the case with Castletown.

Founded in 1892 County Louth Golf Club, home of the East of Ireland Amateur Championship, is a pure links golf experience played over a wonderful and sprawling dunescape.

After a couple of false starts earlier this year it was fabulous to finally get to see Dumbarnie Links. It is easy to see why it proves to be a big hit with many golfers and has debuted so high in all the rankings.

Playing at Formby was one of my earliest links golfing experiences and I will therefore always have fond memories of what is undoubtedly a hugely memorable and top quality golf course.

Playing at The Machrihanish Golf Club is perhaps not as romantic a prospect as it was several years ago. None-the-less it’s a fabulous golfing experience.

The members of Moray Golf Club, founded in 1889, must rightly be very proud of their two fine links courses laid out on some fabulous tight and sandy golfing terrain to the south of the Moray Firth.

Prince's is a truly superb 27-hole links complex that makes for a great play & stay venue but the emphasis is certainly more on the play side of things, it's all about the golf here.

Prince's is a truly superb 27-hole links complex that makes for a great play & stay venue but the emphasis is certainly more on the play side of things, it's all about the golf here.

Located on the edge of the picturesque Sheephaven Bay in County Donegal the Rosapenna Resort is a fascinating golf facility tucked away in a corner on the North-West coast of Ireland.

It could be argued that no golf club has had a greater influence on the amateur game of golf than Royal Liverpool, the second oldest links in England behind only Royal North Devon.

Royal North Devon, or Westward Ho! as it is often fondly referred to, is a very special place. Perhaps it should be called Royal North Heaven!

Royal West Norfolk Golf Club, often referred to as Brancaster, is a quirky course that time has forgotten about. And it’s much the better for that.

Southport & Ainsdale offers everything that the other famous links courses on this fabled stretch of Lancashire coastline can… and the golfing connoisseur would perhaps argue it delivers even more than this.

It was an impulsive, crazy… and some would say utterly ridiculous… decision that took me to The Machrie in the Spring of 2018.

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If you’ve not played the Carnegie Links at Skibo Castle since around 2008 you’ve not really played “Skibo”.

Castlerock…. simply rocks!

On the mile-long drive along a tree-lined, single-lane track towards Donegal Golf Club one would be forgiven for wondering if there was a links course within 100 miles of the dense woodland you are travelling through.

Hillside is one of several first-class championship links in prime golfing territory on the West Coast of England. Located tight between Birkdale to the North and Southport & Ainsdale to the South it makes a tasty filling for what is a delicious sandwich of links golf.

Expectations were high as we arrived on the first tee at The Nairn Golf Club, a stalwart of golf in the Highlands and a darling of all the Top 100 Great Britain & Ireland course rankings.

Panmure is a classy and historic golf club with a wonderful natural links course located near Carnoustie, Angus, in the East of Scotland.

It’s safe to say there’s a lot more to Rye Golf Club than the actual golf course.

Except for the undeniable beauty of the 12th hole there’s nothing truly outstanding at Southerness. Please note that this isn’t meant with negative connotations though because everything about this true links course is of a consistently high standard and is undoubtedly one of Scotland’s sleeping gems.

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression and I was well and truly mesmerised when I first set sights on Wallasey.

The West Lancashire Golf Club was founded in 1873 and is among the ten oldest golf clubs in England.

There is something about Elie that puts you under a spell. It is a truly magical links that, after just one round, has won a place in my heart and mind forever.

No less than three courses, ranked by number reflecting their age, constitute Gullane Golf Club.

Located within touching distance of the Atlantic Ocean on the Kintyre Peninsula Machrihanish Dunes is the first true links course to open on Scotland’s west coast in over one hundred years.

Murcar is a championships links in the very finest Scottish tradition.

I probably lack the savoir faire that The Renaissance Club expects from a golfer but regardless of this I recently seized an opportunity to peg it up behind the closed gates and allowed myself to be indulged for a day.

If anyone dare claim there is a better 36 holes of links golf at one golf club in England than at Saunton I'm pretty sure I could make an unquestionable case for this wonderful piece of linksland.

St. Enodoc Golf Club, sitting proudly above the affluent village of Rock on the North Cornish coast, is a much revered and cherished place to play golf.

Golf courses such as Tenby are very few and far between. For me they capture the absolute essence of links golf.

After reading Pat Ruddy's brilliant welcome, titled "A Primeval Golf Challenge" at the front of the course guide of The European Club I so desperately wanted to fall in love with this golf course and consider it (as touted by the owner and creator) one of the "great golf links of the world".

My round at Aberdovey was played in possibly the worst weather conditions that this golf course reviewer has ever experienced on a golf course.

Looking out from the clubhouse at Berwick upon Tweed Golf Club you would be forgiven for thinking that the course wasn’t really up to a great deal. You would be wrong. Very wrong.

I recently took advantage of the 3-round ticket that the Carnoustie Golf Links offers. For the sum of £200 this entitled me to one round on each of the three courses (Championship, Burnside & Buddon) that are looked after by the management committee of this iconic Open venue.

Conwy, the third oldest course in Wales, is a first rate championship links on the spectacular Caernarvonshire coastline wedged between sea and heather-clad mountains.

Dooks is just an absolute joy to play. It’s a golf course that encourages shot making for better players yet is truly playable for all abilities. What more could you desire?

In an area steeped in history and tradition Dundonald Links has, in the space of just over ten years, commanded the respect of golfers who flock to this part of Scotland to tackle Open Championship venues and other prestigious links courses.

Fraserburgh Golf Club, the seventh oldest in the World, delivers no frills, classic links golf on a very impressive scale.

The Gailes Links at Irvine belongs to Glasgow Golf Club, a club steeped in history and the 9th oldest in the world.

No less than three courses, ranked by number reflecting their age, constitute Gullane Golf Club.

Hayling is an extremely fast running golf course played over pure linksland.

I was fortunate enough to play La Moye twice on a quick golf trip to the Channel Islands.

I love pretty much everything about the intriguing and challenging links at Littlestone. There is a rustic charm to this most appealing of layouts where you enjoy all the best traits of seaside golf.

Luffness New serves up an uncomplicated yet delicious feast of pure and traditional links golf laid out naturally across unbelievably firm and fast turf, some of the best I’ve golfed on.

Montrose, recognised as the fifth oldest course in the world, epitomises everything that is great and superior about links golf.

Ever since I was young Narin & Portnoo has held a certain mystique. Maybe it is just the name or the fact it is located on the wild west Atlantic coast of Ireland I’m not sure.

Pennard is one of those fantastic links golf courses that has a little bit of everything.

If you like your links golf a little bit on the extreme side (I do) then you will love Perranporth. It not only has a ‘wow’ factor, it has several of them!

Portmarnock Hotel & Links, not to be confused with the neighbouring 125-year-old Portmarnock Golf Club, is a modern course designed by Bernhard Langer in 1996.

The drive into Royal Dublin Golf Club, over a splendid wooden bridge, sets a fabulous scene for golfing at one of Ireland’s most revered yet underrated golf courses.

The Valley course in its own right is a very fine links and one that makes a fine bedfellow for the Dunluce.

Royal St. David’s is regarded as one of the best links courses in Wales and has a reputation for being a fearsome test of golf.

Seacroft is a golf course for those who like their links golf pure and undiluted.

Located close to Hartlepool in the North-East corner of England Seaton Carew, where golf dates back to 1874, has a reputation for being a bleak, chilly and grim links.

The Jubilee course carries on in much the same vein as the New. It is slightly longer at 6,742 yards but has a par of 72 so in reality plays about the same length.

The New course, albeit built back in 1895 by Old Tom Morris, is a championship links in its own right; par is 71 and the maximum yardage is 6,625.

Saint Annes Old Links sits amongst distinguished guests along England's North West coast. It holds its own.