Ireland’s Most Expensive Golf Links — Courses over €350 in 2025
We have finally reached the conclusion of this series of articles examining the green fee prices of the best visitor golf courses in Ireland. Eight of the most popular courses that all charge over €350 per round include 4 of the the premier southwest links and Old Head. They are joined by the top-3 golf courses in Ireland from many lists – Portmarnock, Royal Portrush and Royal County Down.
Golf Green Fee Prices Ireland
The €350+ Club
This top bracket is priced by reputation, proximity spillover, spectacle, and rankings. Ballybunion leads one, Old Head exemplifies another, and the Northern corridor shows the appeal of major tournament coverage and golf course rankings. There is no argument against the quality of the golf courses, the price tag is purely a function of demand and, in some cases, deliberate limits on supply.
Old Course at Ballybunion
Tom Watson visited Ballybunion in 1981 and the Irish golf tourism industry we know today was born. In 2024 up to 15,000 visitors, 98% from the United States, played the Old Course. Together with Royal Portrush and Royal County Down we would consider Ballybunion to be the most sought after teet-ime in Ireland.
Old Course at Lahinch
As golf visitors flocked to Ireland the links courses that had co-existed with Ballybunion began to see visitor traffic. Foremost amongst these was Lahinch – an Old Tom Morris designed course that was modified in 1926 by Alister Mackenzie. Indeed two of Lahinch’s famous holes — The Klondyke and The Dell — are the original Old Tom holes. Lahinch, unlike Ballybunion, hosts regular tournaments, most notably the annual South of Ireland Championship at the end of July. Lahinch will also host the Walker Cup in September 2026.
Tralee Golf Links
Coinciding with the timeframe of Tom Watson’s visit to Ballybunion, the members of Tralee Golf Club planned a move from their 9-hole course to a full eighteen holes. The site selected was on the coast overlooking Barrow Strand and as luck would have it Ed Seay, a partner in Arnold Palmer’s design company became involved. The rest is history and Tralee undoubtedly has one of the most spectacular and memorable back 9’s anywhere in the world.
Doonbeg Golf Links
Jumping on the golf tourism boom the owners of Kiawah Island bought the site at Doonbeg in the late 1990s. The site had been proposed for Lahinch Golf Club in the late 19th century but the lack of a railway connection meant Lahinch ended up where it is. Alongside a luxury hotel, Greg Norman designed the original course. Mother Nature intervened with a massive storm in 2014 that destroyed several greens. The property was bought by the Trump Group and Martin Hawtree was then engaged. He has succeeded in bringing Doonbeg to the same standard as Lahinch or Ballybunion.
Old Head Golf Links
Not a true links, Old Head is a spectacular clifftop offering billed as ‘the most spectacular golf course on Earth’. Three separate ownerships were required before a golf course that withstood the exposed nature of the site was ready for play. A private enterprise from the start Old Head has always been exclusive and on a fine day the experience is well worth the splash. As Old Head membership, mainly overseas residents, have increased the availability for causal visitors has decreased and Old Head is a course that requires tee-times to be requested well in advance.
Portmarnock
Portmarnock is one of the world’s greatest links and a true golfer’s golf course. Historically one of Dublin’s more exclusive golf clubs, Portmarnock’s visitor policy has made the course surprisingly accessible over the years. A recent shift however, perhaps related to the expected announcement as a venue for The Open (yes the British one), means visitors are now welcome on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday only. To boot the green fee has increased more than the other Dublin links.
Royal County Down
Always popular and always deserving of its high ranking, Royal County Down got a further boost when Golf Monthly voted it the best course in the world. Many would not disagree and as demand surged the green fees surged (overtaking Old Head as the most expensive round in Ireland), terms and conditions got stricter and it is believed that visitor numbers were reduced. In fact we now consider a tee-time at Royal County Down to be a golden ticket, harder to secure than a tee-time on the Old Course at St. Andrews!
Royal Portrush – Dunluce Links
The Dunluce links at Royal Portrush has always been a premier links in a somewhat understated fashion. As with Portmarnock it is a golfer’s golf course although previously ‘let down’ by its closing holes. Everything changed with the announcement of the 2019 Open: 2 new holes (7 & 8) were added to replace 17 &18 along with further upgrades to bring it to Open standard. The resultant publicity, including the players’ overwhelmingly positive verdict, propelled Portrush onto the more commercial trajectory and onto this list.
The Full List
| Course Name | Golf Region | County | 2025 Fee | Sample Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballybunion – Old | Southwest | Kerry | € 400 | |
| Doonbeg | Southwest | Kerry | € 425 | |
| Lahinch | West | Clare | € 375 | |
| Old Head | Southwest | Cork | € 475 | |
| Portmarnock | East | Dublin | € 405 | |
| Royal County Down | North | Down | £ 425 | |
| Royal Portruish – Dunluce | North | Antrim | £ | |
| Tralee | Southwest | Kerry | € 375 |
Final Thoughts
There are an awful lot of people with an awful lot of money! It was not that long ago when a line (4 golfers) at Old Head went to €1,000 and ordinary Irish golfers were gobsmacked! Now Old Head isn’t even the most expensive green fee in Ireland and high flying guests continue to drive green fee prices up and up. Where or when it will end is anybody’s guess. In the meantime whether member owned and run clubs should participate in the dash for cash is a good point to debate.
There is still great golf and great value golf to be played in Ireland. What are you waiting for? Explore our website and contact us for a free and no obligation quote!
Part of a 5-Part Value Series
This is the final instalment in our series examining the best visitor golf courses in Ireland by green fee tier. If you missed the first articles, check out our guide to Courses Under €75, the courses that charge €76 – €150, the mid-tier price range of between €151 and €250 and the eight courses charging between €251 and €350.
