Published 22 June 2026

In all my years at Halcyon Golf Travel, the conversation I enjoy most is the bucket-list one. Not a single week, but a lifetime of golf in these islands, and which courses simply have to be on the list. So I have stopped hedging and written it down: the seventeen courses across the UK and Ireland I believe every American golfer should play before they hang up the spikes. If you want a starting point for the planning, our golf trips to Ireland and their Scottish and English equivalents are a good place to start.

I am Jack Sallis, founder of Halcyon Golf Travel and life long golf traveller. I have been lucky enough to play every course on this list, and the honest truth is that I keep going back to all of them, year after year. This is not a one-and-done itinerary, and that is the whole point. The seventeen stretch from the cliffs of County Cork to the Kent coast, so think of it as a lifelong checklist.

I have grouped them by country, and under each course I have listed the other strong courses nearby and pointed you to one of our sample itineraries, so you can picture exactly what a week in that corner of the map might look like. You will find every one of our sample golf trips worth a browse when the planning bug bites.

Royal County Down, regularly ranked the number one course in the world.

Ireland

"Ireland is home to some of the most theatrical golf holes in the British Isles. If jaw-dropping views, dramatic elevation changes and towering sand dunes set your pulse racing, Ireland should be the starting point for your bucket-list journey."

Jack Sallis, Founder, Halcyon Golf Travel

Ireland gives you links golf in its rawest, most romantic form: towering dunes, warm welcomes and a pint waiting afterwards. Six of my seventeen are Irish, split between the famous north and the wild south west.

Royal County Down is widely considered the best golf course in Ireland and is frequently ranked the number one course in the world, with Royal Portrush and Ballybunion's Old Course close behind. County Down combines a dramatic dunescape beneath the Mountains of Mourne with a layout barely changed in over a century. Portrush is the Open Championship venue on the Causeway Coast, while Ballybunion is the spiritual home of links golf in the south west. Between them they capture the full range of what makes Irish golf so special, from championship pedigree to pure, untamed character.

Royal County Down

The Championship Links at Royal County Down in Newcastle.

Established in 1889 and originally laid out by Old Tom Morris for the grand sum of four guineas, Royal County Down was later refined by Harry Vardon and, most significantly, Harry Colt in the 1920s. It has hosted the Walker Cup, the Senior British Open and the Irish Open, and it sits at or near the top of almost every world ranking. The bearded bunkers, the blind drives over heather-clad dunes and the Mountains of Mourne sweeping down to Dundrum Bay make the front nine, in my opinion, the finest stretch of golf anywhere. I play it every year and the par-three fourth still stops me in my tracks every single time. Take a caddie, because there are more blind shots here than almost anywhere.

County Down pairs beautifully with Royal Portrush up the coast, along with Portstewart, Castlerock and Ardglass, and you can stay next door at the grand Victorian Slieve Donard. The club is in high demand, its diary opens for just a day in February for the following summer. Take a look at our sample Northern Ireland trip to see how a week up here comes together.

Royal Portrush, the Dunluce Links

Royal Portrush at sun rise.

The Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush was laid out by Harry Colt in 1932 and reimagined by Mackenzie and Ebert before The Open returned in 2019, when Shane Lowry won in front of his home crowd. Their work added two superb new holes, the par-five seventh, Curran Point, and the par-four eighth, Dunluce, and the course measures 7,344 yards from the tips. The Open came back again in 2025, sealing its place among the world's great championship venues. The heart-stopper is still Calamity Corner, the par-three 16th played across a yawning chasm, and standing on that tee with a long iron is one of the great thrills in the game. I was there for the 2025 Open, watching them plot their way around that course reminded me why I never turned pro! Tee times here sell quickly and you should be looking to book around the same time you book Royal County Down, so in February the year before you want to visit.

Portrush sits in a wonderful cluster with Portrush Valley, Portstewart and Castlerock, and the Giant's Causeway and Bushmills distillery are minutes away for a rest day. Many of our guests pair the Causeway Coast with the hidden gems on the west coast, as in our Northern Ireland and North West Ireland sample trip.

Ballybunion, the Old Course

The Old Course at Ballybunion, carved through towering Kerry dunes.

Founded in 1893, the Old Course at Ballybunion was shaped into greatness by Tom Simpson in the late 1930s and later cherished by Tom Watson, who consulted on it and called it one of the finest tests of links golf in the world. The opening tee shot plays alongside a clifftop graveyard, and from there the course tumbles through enormous dunes hard against the Atlantic. The companion Cashen Course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Senior. There is nowhere quite like it for the sheer drama of the land, and I make the pilgrimage to Kerry every year just to feel that back nine again.

Ballybunion anchors the greatest run of links in the south west, alongside Tralee, Waterville, Lahinch and Trump Doonbeg, with Killarney's parkland a lovely change of pace. Base yourself in Killarney at the five-star Killarney Park Hotel. Our sample South West Ireland trip shows how to string a week of it together.

Tralee

Tralee, Arnold Palmer's first European design, beneath the Slieve Mish Mountains.

A short drive from Ballybunion, Tralee holds a special place in history as Arnold Palmer's first golf course design in Europe, opened in 1984. Palmer himself said he had designed the first nine but God had designed the back nine, and once you climb into the dunes for that inward stretch you will understand exactly what he meant. The views of the Slieve Mish Mountains and the Dingle Peninsula are staggering, and the beach below the course featured in the film Ryan's Daughter. The par-three sixteenth, played to a green perched in the dunes, is one I think about long after I have left. It is pure theatre, and I never tire of it.

Tralee, Ballybunion, Waterville, Dooks and Dingle form a dream week on the Wild Atlantic Way. For golfers who want to combine the hidden north west with the famous south west, our North West and South West Ireland sample trip is a brilliant route.

St Patrick's Links at Rosapenna

St Patrick's Links at Rosapenna in County Donegal, a modern Tom Doak masterpiece.

The newest course on this list and, for my money, the most exciting modern links in the British Isles. St Patrick's Links at Rosapenna was designed by the acclaimed American architect Tom Doak and opened in 2021, built across the land of two former courses on the Donegal coast. It has already climbed into the world's top 50, and what Doak has done with the natural dunes feels timeless rather than new. Rosapenna is a three-course resort, with the Sandy Hills Links and the historic Old Tom Morris Links, who laid out the original here in 1893. I came away from my first round genuinely giddy, which does not happen often after playing almost everywhere on our little islands.

This remote, beautiful corner is golf's great hidden treasure, with Ballyliffin, County Sligo at Rosses Point and Enniscrone all within reach. Stay on site at the Rosapenna Hotel and see our North West Ireland sample trip for the full picture.

Old Head Golf Links

Old Head, set on a cliff-ringed promontory jutting into the Atlantic off Kinsale.

There is nothing else on earth quite like Old Head. Opened in 1997 and designed by Ron Kirby and Paddy Merrigan with input from the great Irish amateur Joe Carr and Eddie Hackett, it sits on a 220-acre diamond of land that juts two miles into the Atlantic off Kinsale in County Cork, with cliffs falling 300 feet to the sea. It is not a links in the purest sense, but as a spectacle it is unmatched, and several holes play right along the cliff edge with the ocean far below. It is also one of the best-maintained courses in Ireland. I tell every American I meet that you play Old Head once for the golf and a hundred times in your memory for the views.

Pair it with the wonderful Alister MacKenzie design at Cork Golf Club and the harbour town of Kinsale for the food, then run down to Kerry for the links. A natural fit is our Dublin and South West Ireland sample trip, flying in through the capital.

Scotland

"Scotland's courses earn their place on my bucket list for far more than the holes found out on the links. The traditions, history and unique quirks of Scottish golf clubs are unlike anything else in the world, making the entire experience every bit as bucket-list worthy."

Jack Sallis, Founder, Halcyon Golf Travel

The home of the game, and the deepest concentration of must-play golf anywhere. Our golf trips to Scotland are built around these six and the brilliant courses that surround each of them.

Muirfield

Muirfield, home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers since 1744.

Many tour professionals call Muirfield the fairest test in golf, and I would not argue. It is home to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, formed in 1744 and the oldest organised club in the world, the body that wrote the original thirteen rules of golf. The present links was laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1891 and later refined by Harry Colt and Tom Simpson into its famous two-loop routing, the front nine running clockwise and the back nine anticlockwise inside it, so the wind never troubles you the same way twice. It has hosted sixteen Open Championships. Bring a jacket and tie for the legendary carvery lunch at the long tables, which I rate as highly as the golf itself. Muirfield closes its diary earliest of all, so bookings must be in by late February for the following summer. You get to choose 3 preferred dates (Tuesdays or Thursdays) and you’ll be entered into ballot for a tee time on each of your preferred days.

Muirfield sits in the richest seam of links in Scotland, with North Berwick, Gullane, Renaissance and Archerfield all on the doorstep. It is the centrepiece of our East Lothian sample trip.

Turnberry, the Ailsa Course

The lighthouse stretch on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry.

For sheer drama, nothing beats the Ailsa Course at Turnberry. The links served as an airfield in both world wars and was rebuilt by Mackenzie Ross in 1951, then sharpened again by Martin Ebert in 2016, whose new ninth, tenth and eleventh holes around the lighthouse created the most photographed stretch in British golf. It has staged four Open Championships, most famously the 1977 Duel in the Sun between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. With Ailsa Craig out to sea and the Atlantic crashing below the lighthouse, its one of the most beautiful courses in Britain. Stay on site at the magnificent Trump Turnberry Hotel for the full experience.

Ayrshire is stacked, with Royal Troon, Prestwick, the birthplace of The Open, and Western Gailes all close by. Our West Scotland sample trip ties them together.

Trump International Golf Links

Trump International Golf Links, weaving through some of the largest dunes in Britain north of Aberdeen.

One of the most dramatic modern links anywhere, Trump International Golf Links opened in 2012 on the Menie Estate just north of Aberdeen, designed by Martin Hawtree through some of the largest coastal sand dunes in Britain. It climbed into the UK top 100 almost at once and has hosted the Scottish Championship on the DP World Tour, with a second championship links, the MacLeod Course, named after Donald Trump's Scottish-born mother, since added to the resort. The scale of the dunes genuinely has to be seen to be believed. I had heard all the stories before my first visit and still was not ready for the sheer size of the place, and the run of holes along the coast is among the most exhilarating walks in Scottish golf.

This corner of the north-east coast is criminally underrated, with the wonderfully quirky Cruden Bay, the ancient Royal Aberdeen, founded in 1780 and host of the 2014 Scottish Open, and Murcar Links all close by. Stay on the estate at the five-star Trump MacLeod House, a restored 15th-century baronial mansion. Our Aberdeenshire sample trip shows how to build a few days around it.

Royal Dornoch

Royal Dornoch in the far north, a pilgrimage every golfer should make.

The long drive north to Royal Dornoch is a pilgrimage, and everyone who makes it returns evangelical. Golf was recorded here as far back as 1616, the club was founded in 1877, and Old Tom Morris extended it to eighteen holes in 1886, with the legendary secretary John Sutherland shaping it over the following decades. It sits permanently inside the world's top twenty, and Tom Watson famously called it the most fun he had ever had on a golf course. The raised, crowned greens and natural, tumbling fairways feel like the blueprint every other links was drawn from. A smart new clubhouse opened in 2025, and the boutique Links House Hotel is the perfect base. I would drive twice as far to play it.

The Highlands reward the effort, with Castle Stuart, Nairn, Brora and Golspie all part of the adventure. Our Highlands sample trip maps the route north.

Castle Stuart, Cabot Highlands

Castle Stuart, now Cabot Highlands, on the shore of the Moray Firth.

Just outside Inverness, Castle Stuart, now part of Cabot Highlands, opened in 2009 to immediate acclaim. Designed by Gil Hanse, who went on to build the Olympic course in Rio, with developer Mark Parsinen, it pairs an art-deco clubhouse with wide, generous fairways and infinity greens that frame the Moray Firth, the Kessock Bridge and the Chanonry lighthouse. It hosted the Scottish Open four times in its first six years, and a second course by Tom Doak is on the way. It is proof that a course need not be ancient to belong on a bucket list, and I love how playable yet strategic it is, fun for every level. Stay in Inverness at the riverside Ness Walk.

It pairs perfectly with Royal Dornoch, Nairn and Fortrose for a Highlands week, and combines superbly with Ayrshire too in our Highlands and West Scotland sample trip.

North Berwick, the West Links

The quirky, wall-crossing West Links at North Berwick.

No bucket list is complete without the gloriously quirky West Links at North Berwick. Dating to 1832, it is one of the oldest courses in the world still played over its original ground, and it gave golf the original Redan, the par-three 15th that has been copied on great courses the world over. You play over stone walls, around a beach and across blind humps in a way no modern architect would ever dare, and it is simply the most fun you can have with a club in your hand. I take my own family here, and the smiles on the 13th and 15th tees never change.

It sits alongside Muirfield and Gullane in East Lothian and pairs beautifully with a leg in England's north west, as in our Liverpool and East Lothian sample trip.

England

"England is where you'll find some of the most refined and exclusive experiences on my bucket-list journey, with immaculate conditions and exceptional attention to detail par for the course. Its heathland layouts also bring welcome variety, bursting with colour and offering a more peaceful setting in which to enjoy the game."

Jack Sallis, Founder, Halcyon Golf Travel

England offers the most variety of the three: a run of Open links on the north-west coast, the great Kent shore, and the finest inland heathland golf in the world an hour from London. Our golf trips to England cover all of it.

Royal St George's

Royal St George's at Sandwich, the only Open links in the south of England.

Down on the Kent coast at Sandwich, Royal St George's was founded in 1887 by Dr Laidlaw Purves and, in 1894, became the first course outside Scotland to host The Open. It has now staged the Championship fifteen times, most recently Collin Morikawa's win in 2021. Its enormous, rumpled dunes, hidden bunkers and tumbling fairways give it a wild, untamed feel, and Ian Fleming, a member here, used it as the model for the golf showdown in Goldfinger. It is the one true Open links within easy reach of London, and the closing stretch in a stiff breeze is a proper examination. I love its sense of mischief, no two lies ever quite the same.

The Kent coast is a links cluster all of its own, with Royal Cinque Ports at Deal and Prince's next door. Our Southern England sample trip combines the Kent links with the heathland inland.

Sunningdale, the Old Course

Sunningdale's Old Course, the heathland ideal west of London.

Just west of London, the Old Course at Sunningdale is the heathland ideal. It was designed by Willie Park Junior in 1901 and refined by Harry Colt, who served as the club's secretary and went on to become one of the game's greatest architects. Both the Old and the New rank inside the world's top 100. It was here in 1926 that Bobby Jones played what many still call the perfect round in Open qualifying, and the famous oak behind the 18th green has watched over the game ever since. Heather, pine and silver birch frame fairways of pure strategic genius. For me, a round on the Old followed by a sandwich at the halfway hut and lunch in the clubhouse is one of the great days in golf. Stay nearby in five-star style at Coworth Park in Ascot.

The Surrey and Berkshire heathland belt is the richest inland golf anywhere, with Wentworth, Walton Heath, The Berkshire and Swinley Forest all close by. Our Dublin and Southern England sample trip is a clever way to combine it with Ireland.

Hankley Common

Hankley Common, a firm, fast Surrey heathland gem.

My slightly left-field pick, and one I will happily defend. Hankley Common is ranked among the very best heathland courses in England, founded in 1896 and substantially shaped by five-times Open champion James Braid in the 1920s, with later input from Harry Colt. Firm, fast fairways run through heather and silver birch, and it builds to one of the great closing holes in English golf, a long par four to a green guarded by a deep grassy chasm. The surrounding heath has even doubled for the Scottish Highlands on screen, including the finale of the Bond film Skyfall. It flies under the radar next to its famous neighbours, which is exactly why I love taking American golfers there to surprise them. Halcyon clients consistently comment on the quality of the course conditioning at Hankley, adding further to an already refined experience.

Hankley pairs naturally with Sunningdale, Walton Heath and the rest of the heathland belt, and works brilliantly bolted onto a links trip, as in our Liverpool and Southern England sample trip.

Royal Birkdale

Royal Birkdale in Southport, host of The Open in 2026.

On England's Golf Coast north of Liverpool, Royal Birkdale is, in the view of many good judges, the fairest course on the Open rota. Founded in 1889, it was redesigned in the 1930s by Fred Hawtree and JH Taylor, with modern refinements by Mackenzie and Ebert, and its generous valleys between the dunes reward an honest drive rather than punishing it. It has hosted ten Opens, from Johnny Miller in 1976 to Jordan Spieth's brilliant win in 2017, and it stages the Championship again in 2026, so there has never been a better year to tick it off. The art-deco clubhouse is a joy. I have walked these fairways countless times and the buzz before this year's Open is something else.

Birkdale sits in an unrivalled cluster with Hillside next door, Royal Liverpool, Formby and Royal Lytham all within easy reach. Build a week around it with our Liverpool sample trip.

Royal Lytham & St Annes

Royal Lytham & St Annes, ringed by red brick and bristling with bunkers.

Unlike any other Open links, Royal Lytham & St Annes sits inland among red-brick houses and a railway line rather than beside the sea, and it opens with a par three, which always unnerves first-timers. Founded in 1886 and shaped over the years by George Lowe, Harry Colt and Herbert Fowler, it bristles with more than 200 bunkers and asks relentless questions of your accuracy. Its Open roll of honour runs from Bobby Jones in 1926 to Seve Ballesteros, twice, to Ernie Els in 2012, and Seve's famous winner from the car park in 1979 is part of its folklore. It is a thinking golfer's course, and I always feel I have truly earned a good score here.

Lytham completes the great north-west links quartet with Birkdale, Hoylake and Formby. As a serious Open pilgrim's course, it features in our Every Open Course sample trip, which strings together the entire current rota.

How to Plan Your Bucket-List Golf Trip

No, and you should not try. These seventeen courses are spread across Ireland, Scotland and England, so almost no one plays them in a single visit. The smart approach is to tackle them region by region over several trips of a lifetime, building each week around one or two anchor courses and the strong courses nearby. A week in the south west of Ireland, a Highlands run to Dornoch and Castle Stuart, an East Lothian base around Muirfield, or the north-west English links coast each make a perfect self-contained trip, which is exactly how our sample itineraries are designed.

A few practical notes from years of doing this. The most sought-after courses need booking 12 to 18 months ahead, and Muirfield, Royal County Down and Royal Portrush all close their diaries for the following year in late February, so they reward early planning above all else. Handicap limits vary, from a friendly 36 at the Old Course to a strict 18 at Sunningdale, and several clubs ask for a recognised handicap certificate. Caddies are available everywhere and are worth every penny on the courses with blind shots, particularly County Down, Portrush, Ballybunion and Dornoch. The season runs May to September for the best weather, with April and October quieter but still excellent.

For US visitors, remember you now need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation for Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, which costs £20 and lasts two years, while the Republic of Ireland uses the Euro and has its own entry rules, so a trip spanning both needs a little extra thought. As a budget guide, our bespoke trips start from around £4,000 per person for seven nights and rise to £10,000 or more per week, covering accommodation, breakfast, green fees and travel.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best bucket list golf courses in the UK and Ireland?

Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Ballybunion, Muirfield, Turnberry and Royal Dornoch are the most revered bucket-list courses, with Royal St George's and Sunningdale leading England's links and heathland. Royal County Down is frequently ranked the number one course in the world. In total we rate seventeen courses across Ireland, Scotland and England as must-plays for any American golfer.

How far in advance should you book a UK and Ireland golf trip?

Book a UK and Ireland golf trip 12 to 18 months ahead, especially for the marquee courses and for groups needing consecutive tee times. The spring before you travel is the ideal planning window. Summer dates and the famous Open venues fill first, so the earlier you commit your dates, the better your access to the courses you most want to play.

How do you get a tee time at Muirfield?

Muirfield offers visitor tee times on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and applications must be in by late February for the following year. You choose three preferred dates and are entered into a ballot for each, and a jacket and tie are required for the famous long-table lunch. Because access is so limited, most visitors book through a specialist with an established relationship at the club.

Can you play Royal County Down as a visitor?

Yes, Royal County Down welcomes visitors on limited days, but its diary opens for only a short window in February for the following summer and fills almost immediately. It is widely ranked the number one course in the world, so demand far outstrips supply. The surest route is to book well over a year ahead, ideally pairing it with Royal Portrush up the coast.

How much does a UK and Ireland golf trip cost?

A bespoke UK and Ireland golf trip costs from around £4,000 per person for seven nights and rises to £10,000 or more per week, including accommodation, breakfast, green fees and travel. Green fees at flagship Open venues such as Muirfield, Turnberry and Royal County Down sit at the top end, so a week built solely around the biggest names lands higher than a mixed itinerary.

When is the best time of year to play golf in the UK and Ireland?

The best time to play golf in the UK and Ireland is May to September, when the weather is warmest and the links run firm and fast. April and October are quieter and better value, with fine conditions but shorter daylight. The famous Open venues and marquee links book up earliest across the peak summer months, so plan those dates first.

Do American golfers need a visa or ETA for the UK and Ireland?

American golfers do not need a visa, but you now need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. It costs £20, lasts two years and takes five to ten minutes to apply for online. The Republic of Ireland is a separate country with its own entry rules and uses the Euro, so a trip spanning both needs each arranged.

Do you need a handicap certificate to play these courses?

Several of these clubs ask for a recognised handicap certificate, and limits vary, from a friendly 36 at many clubs to a stricter 18 at Muirfield and Sunningdale. Carry a physical or digital handicap card, as clubs may ask for proof on arrival. We confirm each club's exact requirement for your group and dates before you travel.

Do you have to walk these courses or can you take a buggy?

You walk almost everywhere on this list, as buggies are reserved for golfers with a genuine medical need. Caddies are available at every course and are well worth the fee at Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Ballybunion and Royal Dornoch, where knowing the lines on the blind shots helps both your score and your enjoyment. Tell us early if walking is a concern.

Jack Sallis

Founder, Halcyon Golf Travel

Jack Sallis is the founder of Halcyon Golf Travel, a UK-based specialist designing bespoke golf trips across Scotland, Ireland and England. A +4 handicap golfer, he represented England at junior level and continues to compete regularly for Nottinghamshire and the Old Wellingtonians.

He is a member at Hollinwell and Rye Golf Club, two of England's most respected traditional clubs, and a member of the British Golf Collectors Society.

With deep, first-hand knowledge of courses and hospitality throughout the UK and Ireland, Jack combines elite playing credentials with on-the-ground insight to create exceptional, detail-driven golf travel experiences built around access, authenticity and a genuine understanding of the game.