Being ranked in the Top 100 Golf Courses In UK & Ireland obviously is a big thing for a club and their course. From the bragging rights to the attention and draw it brings for people to want to come and play your course. Without doubt, for us regular golfers it gives us a list of amazing courses that we should go and experience and even adds to our bucket list of courses.
As you scroll through the Top 100 Golf Courses in UK & Ireland below then mentally tick off the ones you’ve played and take note of which ones you would like to play next.
When it comes to ranking the top golf clubs in the world, there are a few different publications that do it, and for today, we are going to use the rankings from Golf World.
So without any further delay, here are the Top 100 Golf Courses in UK & Ireland
Top 100 Golf Courses In UK & Ireland
100. St Andrews (Castle) – St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
99. Portstewart (Strand) – Portstewart, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland
98. Sherwood Forest – Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England
97. Castletown – Derbyhaven, Isle of Man
96. Ballyliffin (Old) – Inishowen, Co. Donegal, Ireland
95. The Renaissance Club – North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
94. Southport & Ainsdale – Southport, Merseyside, England
93. Walton Heath (New) – Tadworth, Surrey, England
92. St Andrews (New) – St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
91. The Berkshire (Blue) – Ascot, Berkshire, England
90. The JCB Club – Uttoxeter, Staffs, England
89. Royal North Devon – Westward Ho!, Devon, England
88. The Addington – Croydon, Surrey, England
87. Liphook – Liphook, Hampshire, England
86. Broadstone – Bournemouth, Dorset, England
85. The Golf Club House, Elie – Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland
84. Royal Worlington & Newmarket – Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
83. Parkstone – Bournemouth, Dorset, England
82. West Hill – Woking, Surrey, England
81. Moortown – Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
80. Worplesdon – Woking, Surrey, England
79. Rosapenna (Sandy Hills) – Downings, Co. Donegal, Ireland
78. Aberdovey – Aberdovey, Mid Wales, Wales
77. Brora – Brora, Highlands, Scotland
76. Enniscrone – Enniscrone, Co. Sligo, Ireland
75. Ballyliffin (Glashedy) – Inishowen, Co. Donegal, Ireland
74. Old Head of Kinsale – Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland
73. Machrihanish Dunes – Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland
72. Tralee – Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland
71. Wentworth (West) – Sunningdale, Surrey, England
70. Nairn – Nairn, Highlands, Scotland
69. Dumbarnie – Lundin, Fife, Scotland
68. Prince’s – Sandwich, Kent, England
67. West Lancashire – Southport, Merseyside, England
66. Hillside – Southport, Merseyside, England
65. Gullane (No.1) – Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland
64. Gleneagles (Queen’s) – Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland
63. Hankley Common – Farnham, Surrey, England
62. Hunstanton – Hunstanton, Norfolk, England
61. County Sligo – Rosses Point, Co. Sligo, Ireland
60. Pennard – Swansea, South Wales, Wales
59. Royal St David’s – Harlech, Mid Wales, Wales
58. Doonbeg – Doonbeg, Co. Clare, Ireland
57. The European – Brittas Bay, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
56. Carne (Wild Atlantic Dunes) – Belmullet, Co. Mayo, Ireland
55. Adare Manor – Adare, Co. Limerick, Ireland
54. The Berkshire (Red) – Ascot, Berkshire, England
53. County Louth – Baltray, Co. Louth, Ireland
52. Hollinwell – Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Notts, England
51. The Island – Malahide, Co. Dublin, Ireland
50. Burnham & Berrow – Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England
49. Western Gailes – Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland
48. Saunton (East) – Braunton, Devon, England
47. Silloth-on-Solway – Silloth, Cumbria, England
46. Formby – Southport, Merseyside, England
45. Woking – Woking, Surrey, England
44. The Machrie – Islay, Argyll, Scotland
43. Ganton – Ganton, East Yorkshire, England
42. West Sussex – Pulborough, Sussex, England
41. Royal West Norfolk – Brancaster, Norfolk, England
40. Rye – Rye, Sussex, England
39. St Enodoc (Church) – Rock, Cornwall, England
38. Machrihanish – Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland
37. Royal Porthcawl – Porthcawl, South Wales, Wales
36. Alwoodley – Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
35. Walton Heath (Old) – Tadworth, Surrey, England
34. Royal Aberdeen – Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
33. Loch Lomond – Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
32. Prestwick – Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland
31. Royal Cinque Ports – Deal, Kent, England
30. Gleneagles (King’s) – Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland
29. St George’s Hill (Red/Blue) – Weybridge, Surrey, England
28. Castle Stuart – Inverness, Highlands, Scotland
27. Royal Liverpool – Hoylake, Merseyside, England
26. Royal Lytham & St Annes – Lytham & St Annes, Lancashire, England
25. Skibo Castle – Dornoch, Highlands, Scotland
24. Rosapenna (St Patrick’s) – Downings, Co. Donegal, Ireland
23. Royal Troon (Championship) – Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland
22. Waterville – Waterville, Co. Kerry, Ireland
21. Trump Aberdeen – Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
20. Cruden Bay (Championship) – Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
19. Swinley Forest – Ascot, Berkshire, England
18. Lahinch (Old) – Lahinch, Co. Clare, Ireland
17. Carnoustie (Championship) – Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland
16. Sunningdale (New) – Sunningdale, Surrey, England
15. Woodhall Spa (Hotchkin) – Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, England
14. Ardfin – Jura, Argyll, Scotland
13. Portmarnock – Portmarnock, Co. Dublin, Ireland
12. Ballybunion (Old) – Ballybunion, Co. Kerry, Ireland
11. Kingsbarns – St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
10. North Berwick – North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
9. Royal Birkdale – Southport, Merseyside, England
8. Sunningdale (Old) – Sunningdale, Surrey, England
7. Royal St George’s – Sandwich, Kent, England
6. Royal Portrush (Dunluce) – Portrush, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland
5. Muirfield – Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland
4. Royal Dornoch – Dornoch, Scotland
3. Turnberry (Ailsa) – Turnberry, Ayrshire, Scotland
2. Royal County Down (Championship) – Newcastle, Co. Down, Northern Ireland
1. St Andrews (Old) – St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
There you have it, the Top 100 Golf Courses In UK & Ireland. Which one is next on your list to play?
So which country has the best golf courses? Well let’s take a look…
Which Country Has The Best Golf Courses?
For a bit of fun, let’s take a look at the breakdown of courses in the top 100 by country.
Top 100
Scotland = 30 courses
Ireland = 18
Northern Ireland = 3
Wales = 4
England = 44
England has 1872 golf courses, while Scotland has 560, Wales 145 and Ireland 405.
5% of Scotlands courses make the Top 100, whilst England only gets 2% of its courses in there.
But what about the top 10?
Top 10 Golf Courses UK & Ireland:
Scotland = 5
Ireland = 0
Northern Ireland = 2
Wales = 0
England = 3
When it comes to the Top 10 Golf Courses in the UK and Ireland, clearly Scotland is the place to go with 5 courses making the top tier.
With so many great courses around the UK and Ireland it would be rude not to do a few trips to go and play. Keep an eye out as we put together some trip ideas for golfers who want to play some of the Top 100 golf courses.
