The ‘Grand Slam’ of Irish amateur golf provides perfect directions for trips to Ireland’s greatest links courses

There is so much to admire about golf in Ireland, even beyond its great links (and even inland) golf courses.

In both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, several competitive amateur sports enjoy world-class support in terms of both public appreciation and efficient organization. Each late July and early August, practically the entire island locks in for the All-Ireland Championship in the sport of hurling, which The Daily Mail once described as “the fastest and probably the most dangerous of sports…a combination of hockey, football, golf, baseball, battle and sudden death.” The All-Ireland final draws upwards of 80,000 spectators and more than 1 million TV viewers. The players are all amateurs, representing the Irish counties in which they were born. Gaelic football receives similarly rabid support. Both are brilliant examples of how sports engenders local pride and strong community ties (traits that we could always use more of in America).

Competitive golf in Ireland is spectacularly well-run, too, and has undoubtedly helped the island punch well above its weight in terms of sheer volume of excellent amateur and professional players. Boys and girls often find themselves able to parlay a love for competitive golf at their home courses into school- and county-level competitions, followed by potential regional-, national- and global-scale tournament play. And unlike the United States, where there is little formal structure and courses and associations tend to charge prohibitively high tournament entry fees, Irish events are kept as low-cost as possible in order to include players regardless of their financial situation.

In addition to its national-level Irish Amateur Open and Irish Amateur Close Championships, which travel to different sites each year, the jewels of Irish competitive golf are its four provincial championships: the North of Ireland, the South of Ireland, the East of Ireland and the West of Ireland. They represent the top annual competitions for Ireland’s four provinces of Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht, respectively.

Each leg of this directional grand-slam has been held for decades at the same main four clubs, all of them among Ireland and Northern Ireland’s greatest links. Past champions include a who’s-who of Irish golf, as well as some notable names from other countries. Paul McGinley, Padraig Harrington, Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy have had their share of success, and Darren Clarke is the only golfer who has a win for each point on the compass.

Any of these great championships’ host courses would make perfect focal points for a golf trip to Ireland. And if you can time your travels properly, you could parlay playing these and their neighboring courses with the opportunity to spend part of a day watching the best players from Ireland compete. Each of these championships regularly draws spectators (free of charge) who walk the fairways and roughs beside competitors. Who knows – you might find yourself following the next great Irish golfer.

Time of year: Mid-September
First held: 1947
Notable winners: Darren Clarke (1990), Shane Lowry (2008)
2023 champion: James Fox

Although it returned to the global golf spotlight in 2019 as host of The Open Championship for the first time in 68 years, Portrush has been a proud supporter of high-level amateur golf for the majority of its history. Its muscular dunes setting, spectacular Atlantic Ocean views and rumpled links turf make it a proud place to play. The North of Ireland was a match-play tournament from inception until 2021; the last two years have seen it contested over 72 holes of stroke play.

Time of year: end of July
First held: 1895
Notable winners: Darren Clarke (1990), Paul McGinley (1991)
2024 champion: Patrick Adler

Lahinch is as good as it gets in Irish golf. The course has evolved over the decades, thanks in large part to the work of Alister MacKenzie, into a quirky, eclectic masterpiece that meanders between wild dunes and the edge of the charming seaside town of Lahinch. Individual holes like the “Klondyke” par-5 4th and “Dell” par-3 5th are justifiably world-famous, but it’s the world-class run of holes from 8 through 13 that made me fall in love with it. Decades’ worth of memorabilia from the South of Ireland’s century-plus history adorns practically every available inch of wall space in the club’s upstairs restaurant. Tournament golfers of any stripe feel right at home.

Time of year: early June
First held: 1941
Notable winners: Darren Clarke (1989), Paul Dunne (2013), Christo Lamprecht (2018)
2024 champion: Caolan Rafferty

As I walked into the clubhouse at County Louth before my round in July 2024, I knew I was in a place that loves its competitive golf. The boards bearing the names of winners of its East of Ireland championship are in a high-traffic hallway between the locker room and restaurant; one can’t help but stop and admire the history. Baltray’s 1,500-strong membership takes tremendous pride in the tournament; it is the only one of the four host clubs that owns its championship, opting to share administration duties of the East of Ireland with the Golfing Union of Ireland. As for the golf course, it is a dyed-in-the-wool championship links, with architect Tom Simpson responsible for its current iteration. The first dozen holes are nestled low in the dunes before the long par-4 13th rises up a bit and the elevated tee of the short two-shot 14th reveals a tremendous southerly view back over the property. Shane Lowry won the 2009 Irish Open here and served up an all-time great winner’s reaction.

Time of year: end of March/beginning of April
First held: 1923
Notable winners: Darren Clarke (1990), Padraig Harrington (1994), Rory McIlroy (2005 & 2006), Shane Lowry (2008)
2024 champion: Keith Egan

The weather along Ireland’s wild west coast can be unpredictable at the best of times. In the early spring, when the West of Ireland is traditionally held, it can be especially turbulent, which makes Rory McIlroy’s back-to-back victories a testament to his greatness from a young age. With its most impressive list of past winners, it has shown its ability to help predict great things from its champions. Rosses Point is a Harry Colt classic links laid out in a pointy C-shape along the eponymous beach, with a finishing stretch beloved of five-time Open Champion Tom Watson. “The surrounding scenery is what I remember most of playing County Sligo,” says GolfPass Managing Editor Jason Scott Deegan. “It is called ‘Yeats country’ because the famous poet was so inspired by the views. With Benbulbin in one direction and the sea in the other, it’s hard to concentrate on the golf.”