The Best Golf Courses in the Dublin Area

Ireland is a golf-crazy nation and we’ve always produced more than our fair share of great golfers. As you would expect, there are numerous Dublin golf courses for visitors to choose from. They include world-class championship courses, links courses, historic clubs and famous courses.

If you fancy a round, just ask one of our concierges to pull a favour or two and get you a tee time and perhaps a discount on green fees. They’ll even organise club hire, caddies, buggies and whatever else you need. Ready?

Here’s our pick of the best golf courses and Dublin golf clubs (links courses first, then parkland):

Portmarnock Golf Club

Founded in 1894, the links course at Portmarnock Golf Club is consistently ranked amongst the top golf courses in the world. Its history is very impressive: This is where Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead won the 1960 Canada Cup.

Phil Mickelson and David Duval won the Walker Cup here in 1991 and the European Tour’s Irish Open Championship has been held here 19 times. This is still one of the best Dublin golf courses.

Royal Dublin Golf Club

This is the second oldest golf club in Ireland – it was formed in May 1885 – and is one of the country’s largest. Royal Dublin Golf Club is on Bull Island, an island reserve on Dublin City’s north side.

This is another spectacular golf links course and six-time host of the Irish Open. Bill Clinton has played here, as have other world leaders, celebrities and some of the best-known names in golf.

The Island Golf Club

Also on the city’s north side is The Island Golf Club. One of the most interesting Dublin golf courses, it is a links course that sits on three estuaries at the mouths of three rivers.

The club was established in 1890 and is one of the highest ranked links courses in Ireland. It’s also highly recommended on TripAdvisor as well as in all prestigious golf publications worldwide.

Portmarnock Golf Links

A relative newcomer, Portmarnock Golf Links was designed by golf legend Bernhard Langer in the grounds of the old Jameson Estate of St. Marnocks on the rugged shoreline of a peninsula.

The course itself is challenging for even the most experienced golfers. A number of professional and amateur events have been held here including the Ladies Irish Open.

The K Club

The K Club is perhaps one of the most famous golf clubs in Ireland. Designed by Arnold Palmer, there are two courses here – The Ryder Cup Course and The Smurfit Course – considered to be two of Europe’s finest championship courses.

They were recently voted one of the top ten worldwide golf resorts by CNN and if you’d like to play a round on them, we’ll help to set it up for you.

Druids Glen

In the heart of the Garden of Ireland (Wicklow) is the amazing Druids Glen. The golf club boasts two championship golf courses, both recognised as amongst the finest, most challenging and most enjoyable in Europe.

If you’d like a great day of golf, Druids Glen is only 30 minutes south of the hotel and, as always, our concierges will arrange your tee time and take care of everything else.

Castle Golf Club

Near to the Grange club is Castle Golf Club. Laid out in the beautiful parkland of what was the estate of Rathfarnham Castle, it can be a demanding course, especially as two of the three par fives are played back-to-back on the 16th and 17th followed by a long par four on the 18th.

Only five miles from the centre of Dublin, Castle Golf Club has some fantastic views across the city and the Dublin Mountains.

Grange Golf Club

South of the city lies a truly spectacular parkland course – Grange Golf Club. Its 400-yard par four 18th hole is considered to be one of the finest closing holes in Ireland and is one of the only courses anywhere with two par three opening holes.

It’s also a particularly friendly club that warmly welcomes visiting golfers of all abilities.

Luttrellstown Castle

Luttrellstown Castle Golf & Country Club is just upriver from Dublin City. The golf course sits on a 567 acre walled estate in the valley of the River Liffey.

A major recent investment has seen the 18-hole championship parkland course undergo a complete redevelopment, including the modification and enhancement of all of the 18 holes.

Get Directions

GPS coordinates: Lat 53.339442° Lon -6.261306°

Public Transport

There is a regular bus service called “Aircoach” departing from Dublin Airport every 15 minutes from 10 past the hour. The nearest stop to The Fitzwilliam Hotel is Grafton Street, near Trinity College which is a 10 minute stroll from the hotel. An adult ticket costs €7.00 per person or €14.00 p.p. return. Alternatively a taxi will cost approximately €30.00. The taxi rank is located outside Terminal 1 on the arrival level. Travel time is approximately 30 minutes.

Private Transport

We can arrange a transfer from Dublin Airport to The Fitzwilliam Hotel by private car and driver. There are a variety of vehicles available depending on the number of guests and quantity of luggage. For more details please contact our concierge team on [email protected] or 01 4787000

Private Parking

The 5 Star Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin offers secure parking for hotel residents. Valet parking is provided on a complimentary basis however, an overnight charge of €20.00 is applicable.