Located in the Border Region, on the east coast of Ireland, County Louth covers an area of 319 square miles, making it the smallest county in the Irish nation. Most of its inhabitants live in Dundalk, the county town, or the historic old town of Drogheda, scene of one of the most significant armed skirmishes in Irish history at the Battle of the Boyne.

There are only seven golf clubs in the county registered with the GUI and the most important of these, by far, is County Louth, or Baltray as it’s often called. Founded in 1892, the club has hosted the prestigious East of Ireland Amateur Championship since 1941. The legendary Joe Carr won the inaugural event, the first of twelve titles he would claim over a twenty-nine year period. The County Louth course has also been used for the Irish Amateur Close Championship three times (in 1950, 1962, 1990) and the Irish Open has also been played over the links twice in more recent times. Shane Lowry won the 2009 tournament as an amateur, the first time this had ever happened in the history of the event.