The best courses in the United Kingdom and Ireland
St. Andrews in Scotland has long been known as the official “Home of Golf.” But from a macro perspective, the game is larger and owes its roots and growth to the entire region of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The top five courses in our new World 100 Greatest Courses ranking (those outside the U.S.) are each from Scotland or Northern Ireland, including the No. 1 course, Royal County Down, and 53 of the top 100 are in Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Ireland.
From a selfish perspective we’re excited to see idiosyncratic courses like Cruden Bay (Scotland), Prestwick (Scotland) and Carne (Ireland) score highly in the Best Courses of the U.K. and Ireland list (all three are also on the World 100 Greatest Courses ranking), sitting alongside venerable tournament courses like Muirfield, Royal Saint Georges, Royal Portrush, Portmarnock and others. Other courses that appear on our Best Courses in the U.K. and Ireland ranking like Queenwood, Silloth-on-Solway in England and Hogs Head in Ireland, scored highly with our international panel but didn’t have enough votes to qualify for to official World 100 ranking.
We’re also curious to see where several new courses that have opened in 2025 and 2026, including Old Petty at Cabot Highlands in Scotland (site of No. 34 Castle Stuart) and the New Course at Trump International Scotland, might land in the next ranking. And there are also other intriguing new course developments and important remodels in the region we’ll be keeping our eye on. The U.K. and Ireland continue to be where the heart and soul of the world of golf courses are located.
48. Hogs Head Golf Club
Waterville, County Kerry, Ireland
A departure from other great European courses that are accessible to the public, Hogs Head Golf Club has successfully implemented an American-style of private-club exclusivity in one of the most golf rich parts of the world. Not far from Waterville, Hogs Head is owned by highly successful American corporate restructurers Tony Alvarez II and Bryan Marsal, who also own and operate Paako Ridge in New Mexico. Hogs Head boasts a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design that gets its name from its location on the magnificent Hogs Head peninsula (a marine bearing point marking the opening to the Ballinskelligs Bay from the North Atlantic). It’s a unique routing with five par 3s and five par 5s, including a Biarritz green on the sixth hole, believed to be the only par-5 Biarritz green in Europe. After a few years of allowing outside play like other European courses, Hogs Head now only allows four unaccompanied rounds a day—which must be sponsored by one of their members, known as Hogs.
