Top Links Golf Courses GB&I
Freshly updated for 2025, Links golf in the United Kingdom and the Island of Ireland is the purest form of the game. See which golf courses make the list and have a spot in the most coveted ranking in all of golf. The current ranking of 70 courses is derived from the GB&I Regional Ranking.
Royal County Down (Championship)
Down, United Kingdom
Royal County Down (Championship)
Royal County Down Golf Club is at Newcastle, a little holiday town nestling at the feet of the majestic Mountains of Mourne. It’s an exhilarating location for a classic links golf course...
St Andrews Links (Old)
Fife, United Kingdom
St Andrews Links (Old)
No other course has hosted more Opens than the Old Course at St Andrews. Its 29th Open and the 144th Open Championship returned “to the Home of Golf” in 2015.
Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce)
Antrim, United Kingdom
Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce)
The Dunluce links at Royal Portrush Golf Club is named after the ruined Dunluce castle that overlooks the course. Seven years after the club's formation, the first professional golf tournament in Ireland, won by Sandy Herd in 1895, was staged here.
Trump Turnberry (Ailsa)
Ayrshire & Arran, United Kingdom
Trump Turnberry (Ailsa)
The Ailsa course at the Turnberry Resort is probably the most scenic Open Championship golf course. Located right next to the Firth of Clyde, with craggy rocks and superb views across to the Mull of Kintyre...
Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Championship)
North Scotland, United Kingdom
Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Championship)
Royal Dornoch Golf Club is spellbinding. It seems to mesmerise amateur and professional golfers from all over the world and many make the pilgrimage to this natural links at some point in their lives.
Royal St George's Golf Club
Kent, United Kingdom
Royal St George's Golf Club
There's nothing artificial about Royal St George’s Golf Club; there's a natural look and feel to the course that blends beautifully into its historical Sandwich surroundings.
Ballybunion Golf Club (Old)
Kerry, Ireland
Ballybunion Golf Club (Old)
As you drive from the historic town of Ballybunion, along the winding road to the golf club, your eyes feast upon the most spectacular links land imaginable.
Lahinch Golf Club (Old)
Clare, Ireland
Lahinch Golf Club (Old)
Lahinch Golf Club is situated next to the lovely beach of Liscannor Bay. It's an enchanting place to play golf... rugged, distinctive, unusually varied and immensely entertaining.
Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship)
Angus & Dundee, United Kingdom
Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship)
Carnoustie is a big natural seaside golf links and the Championship course is considered to be one of the most difficult in the British Isles.
