Royal County Down - still No 1Ranking lists always lead to vigorous debate but you can be sure that Golf Digest Ireland’s “Volvo Top-100 Ranked Irish Golf Courses” will not be getting pride of place at Royal Dublin any time soon.
The venerable Dollymount links is one of the big losers in the 2013 list - drawn up by a panel chaired by former Fáilte Ireland Chairman Pádraig O’hUiginn - losing its Top-20 status with a fall of five places to 24th.
[Click here for the 2008 ranking, here for 2009, here for 2010 and here for 2012]
That leaves Royal Dublin one place behind near neighbours Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links - currently in NAMA - which rose eight places to 23rd thanks to some major course improvements ahead of its 20th birthday celebrations next year.
It’s not the only tidbit. Galway’s top course is now Galway Bay not Galway while Fota Island has leapfrogged Druids Glen according to a list which took into account the opinions and course reviews of 50 handicap golfers from some 1,500 responses.
According to Golf Digest Ireland:
They were briefed during a get-together at Druids Glen last March and went on to generate over 600 reports on clubs throughout the country. Apart from accounting for a percentage of the total vote for each course in the final ranking, their views were also distributed to panel members, giving a valuable, extra dimension to the overall process.
What “percentage” of the total vote they made up remains to be seen but the panel made few major changes to the top 25 in either the links or parkland lists
Agronomist Eddie Connaughton, former International Kate MacCann, Munster interprovincial Valerie Hassett, golf course architect Ally McIntosh, PGA professionals John Kelly, Kevan Whitson and Mark Magowan, former international Dougie Heather, Golf Digest Ireland editor Linton Walsh, readers panellist Stephen May and Adare Manor greenkeeper Alan McDonnell left the top four unchanged with Royal County Down, Portmarnock, the Dunluce at Royal Portrush and Waterville rated as Ireland’s best courses.
Munster dominates the Top 10 with five representatives with Lahinch rising one place to fifth at the expense of the Old Course at Ballybunion while Tralee (eighth) was overtaken by The European Club (seventh) with County Louth steady at No 9.
Graeme McDowell plays to Adare’s 18th in the 2010 JP McManus Invitational Pro-AmAdare remained in 10th place overall, making it the magazine’s choice as Ireland’s top parkland course for the sixth year in a row based on a scoring system that that rewarded “Shot-making/variety” with 20 points while “design variety, the “wow factor”, “memorability”, “condition”, “playability” and “degree of difficulty/fairness” accounted for a maximum of 10 points each.
The biggest changes occurred lower down the list with Ceann Sibeal (Dingle) soaring 17 places to 81st and Galway Bay up nine places to 87th while Esker Hills returned to the top-100 at 82nd.
Eyebrows will no doubt be raised at a fall of Killeen Course at Killarney from 27th to 33rd, just 16 months after hosting the Irish Open for the second year in a row.
Golf Digest Volvo Top 100 Irish Golf Courses 2013
1 Royal County Down =
Royal County Down2 Portmarnock (Old) =
Portmarnock Golf Club3 Royal Portrush =
Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce Links)
4 Waterville =
Waterville Golf Links
5 Lahinch Up 1
Lahinch Golf Club
6 Ballybunion Down 1
The Old Course at Ballybunion
7 The European Club Up 1
The European Club
8 Tralee Down 1
Tralee Golf Club
9 Co. Louth (Baltray) =
County Louth
10 Adare =
Adare Golf Club
11 Co. Sligo =
12 Ballyllffln (Glashedy) Up 1
13 Enniscrone Up 1
14 The Island Down 2
15 Portstewart (Strand) Up 2
16 Mount Juliet Down 1
17 Killeen Castle Up 1
18 Donegal Down 2
19 The K Club (Palmer) Up 1
20 Belmullet (Came) Up 1
21 Ballyliffin (Old) Up 1
22 Old Head Golf Links Up 2
23 Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links Up 8
24 Royal Dublin Down 5
25 Portsalon Up 2
26 Doonbeg Down 3
27 Carlow Up 2
28 Rosapenna (Sandy Hills) Down 3
29 Lough Erne Up 3
30 Carton House (Montgomerie) Down 2
31 Cork Down 1
32 Dooks Up 1
33 Killarney (Killeen) Down 7
34 Rosapenna (Old Tom Morris) =
35 Castlerock =
36 Headfort (New) =
37 Fota Island (Deerpark) Up 3
38 Narin and Portnoo Up 5
39 Druids Glen Down 2
40 Concra Wood Down 2
41 Slieve Russell Up 4
42 The K Club (Smurfit) Down 1
43 Seapoint Down 1
44 Connemara Up 4
45 Luttrellstown Castle Down 6
46 Carton House (O’Meara) Up 3
47 Tramore =
48 The Heritage Down 4
49 Dun Laoghaire Up 6
50 Palmerstown House Estate Down 4
51 Belvoir Park =
52 Malone =
53 Powerscourt (West) Down 3
54 Portumna Down 1
55 Royal Portrush (The Valley) Up 3
56 Glasson Up 6
57 Bunclody Up 2
58 Hermitage Down 1
59 Castletroy Up 4
60 Farnham Estate Down 6
61 Arklow Up 4
62 Mount Wolseley Up 2
63 Royal Belfast Up 9
64 Westport Down 8
65 Dromoland Castle Up 4
66 Clandeboye =
67 Druids Heath Up 3
68 Powerscourt (East) Up 7
69 Rathsallagh Down 2
70 Tullamore Down 9
71 Dundalk Down 11
72 Castlemartyr Up 4
73 Shannon =
74 Strandhill Up 4
75 Ardglass Down 4
76 Rosslare Up 5
77 Laytown and Bettystown =
78 Grange Down 4
79 Ballybunion (Cashen) Up 12
80 Ballinrobe Up 10
81 Dingle (Ceann Sibeal) Up 17
82 Esker Hills New Entry
83 Castle Down 4
84 St. Annes Down 2
85 Mullingar Down 5
86 Galgorm Castle Up 2
87 Galway Bay Up 9
88 Galway Down 1
89 Balbriggan Up 3
90 Courtown Down 1
91 Tulfarris Up 3
92 Knightsbrook Down 7
93 Bantry Bay Down 7
94 Kirkistown Castle Down 1
95 Killarney (Mahony’s Point) New Entry
96 St. Margaret’s New Entry
97 Kilkenny Down 14
98 Skellig Bay Down 14
99 Athlone New Entry
100 Woodenbridge =
Worthy Mentions
- Ballykisteen
- Blainroe
- Coollattin
- Dundrum House
- Glen of the Downs
- Headfort (Old)
- Hilton Templepatrick
- Lee Valley
- Letterkenny
- Macreddin
- Newlands
- Roe Park Resort
- Rathcore
- South County
- The Curragh
- Wicklow
- Woodbrook
Ireland’s Top 30 Links Golf Courses
- Royal County Down =
- Portmarnock (Old) =
- Royal Portrush =
- Waterville =
- Lahinch Up 1
- Ballybunion Down 1
- The European Club Up 1
- Tralee Down 1
- County Louth (Baltray) =
- Co. Sligo =
- Ballyliffin (Glashedy) Up 1
- Enniscrone Up 1
- The Island Down 2
- Portstewart (Strand) Up 1
- Donegal Down 1
- Belmullet (Came) Up 1
- Ballyliffin (Old) Up 1
- Portmarnock Links Up 4
- Royal Dublin Down 3
- Portsalon Up 1
- Doonbeg Down 2
- Rosapenna (Sandy Hills) Down 2
- Dooks =
- Rosapenna (Old Tom Morris) =
- Castlerock =
- Narin and Portnoo Up 1
- Seapoint Down 1
- Connemara =
- Royal Portrush (The Valley) =
- Arklow =
Ireland’s Top 30 Parkland Golf Courses
- Adare =
- Mount Juliet =
- Killeen Castle =
- The K Club (Palmer) =
- Old Head Golf Links =
- Carlow Up 2
- Lough Erne Up 3
- Carton House (Montgomerie) Down 1
- Cork =
- Killarney (Killeen) Down 4
- Headfort (New) =
- Fota Island Up 3
- Druids Glen Down 1
- Concra Wood Down 1
- Slieve Russell Up 3
- The K Club (Smurfit) =
- Luttrellstown Castle Down 3
- Carton House (O’Meara) Up 3
- Tramore Up 1
- The Heritage Down 3
- Dun Laoghaire Up 6
- Palmerstown House Estate Down 3
- Belvoir Park =
- Malone =
- Powerscourt (West) Down 3
- Portumna Down 1
- Glasson New Entry
- Bunclody Up 2
- Hermitage New Entry
- Castletroy New Entry
Adare Manor,
Reader Comments (9)
Lahinch and Baltray look very similar!!!!
Isn't South County closed?
Some coverage of clubs on the brink of closing down would be interesting, the face off between bank owned golf clubs being subsidised to stay open and privately or members owned courses trying to survive. Who will blink first?
Will the banks shut down the small courses and keep the cream (Palmerstown, Moyvalley, Heritage etc.)?
Disappointed to see a good few of the above are struggling with their greens( yet are still included). a lot of good parkland courses not mentioned, (royal tara, corrstown, Blackbush, loughrea etc,) of the top 30 parkland courses maybe 3 of them were available for gui national competitions. ( shannon was very poor for the munster boys ) of the top links courses the usual 3 or 4 for the regular gui championship competition. (Sligo should be a top 5 club)
a lot of excellent golfers junior, youths and seniors are playing on courses in championships that are not above. maybe if you polled that type of player you might get a true reflection of the top 100. but then it is the closed membership or the € 100 green fee that determines the best golf course. just wondering. If the above are the best let the the best of the amateurs play on them in real competition. again if you can persuade me otherwise.
Shocked to see St. Margaret's in there, I played it early in the year and it was in very bad condition, we play it every year around May, won't be going back next year. Do the panel actual go to the courses, I was talking to a pro who knows most of the panel and he said none of them visited his course and his course moved up in the rankings, it looks to me as this is purely a list for our American visitors, we all know better.
Played Nenagh GC last Saturday; nice scenery, well designed, rolling fairways and top notch greens for a reasonable green fee, it should be in the top 100.
The Curragh is a very good course, should also be in the top 100.
Good to see Enniscrone GC finally getting a proper ranking, world class golf course.
I find it hard to believe that Portarlington is not included in the top 100, not even in the top 30 parkland courses. This is a course that people return to again and again, and is very popular with Societies.
Honestly. who is rating these courses? Obviously some ratings are correct and some are not.The damage being done to very good courses around the country who are rated poorly or not at all could be catastrophic.
Are the courses being rated by golfers or by people who like wildlife? Are they being rated for all levels of golfer or just the low handicaps?
People should be very skeptical of this type of headline grabbing rating jargon.
These ratings are done under the umbrella of providing a public service when in fact all they do is damage the smaller clubs. If people want to know how good a club is GO AND PLAY THEM.
Dont mean to rant but this kind of rubbish is allowed go on every year.
Bettystown & Laytown make the list and Royal Tara does not? Definetly politics at play here. I live in Bettystown and the centenary year was last year when it appeared on the list. I travel to Royal Tara to play which is a 30 min drive. Bettystown is a driver and a sand wedge from my back garden. There is no credibility to this list. Its just a guide that is thrown together by old men who get wined and dined in clubhouses in exchange for a favourable position on the list!
A lot of these courses deserve to be on the list but there are so many that aren't on it that deserve to be on it probably more than some that are there such as castleknock which could easily boast some of the best greens in Ireland, also not on the list is citywest golf club which has come a long way since almost being closed down it poses a very tough challenge with its tight narrow fareways! And probably my favourite course tulfarris gold club doesn't get a mention either!
Portarlington golf club shud be somewhere on the list,I have played on lot of good courses have to say I really like playing it