Golfweek's Best 2025: Top 50 modern courses in Great Britain and Ireland
Welcome to Golfweek’s Best 2025 rankings of the Top 50 Modern Courses in Great Britain and Ireland – built in or after 1960 – as determined by Golfweek’s Best Raters.
The members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged to produce a final rating for each course. Then each course is ranked against other courses in Great Britain and Ireland to produce the final rankings.
Listed with each course below is its average ranking, location, designers and year opened.
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1. Kingsbarns
Average rating: 7.89
Location: Kingsbarns, Scotland
Designer(s): Kyle Phillips
Year opened: 2000
2. Trump International Golf Links Scotland
Average rating: 7.87
Location: Balmedie, Scotland
Designer(s): Martin Hawtree
Year opened: 2012
3. Ardfin
Average rating: 7.72
Location: Isle of Jura, Scotland
Designer(s): Bob Harrison
Year opened: 2017
4. Loch Lomond
Average rating: 7.67
Location: Dunbartonshire, Scotland
Designer(s): Jay Morrish, Tom Weiskopf
Year opened: 1993
5. Rosapenna (St. Patrick’s Links)
Average rating: 7.66
Location: Letterkenny, Ireland
Designer(s): Tom Doak
Year opened: 2021
6. Cabot Highlands (Castle Stuart)
Average rating: 7.63
Location: Inverness, Scotland
Designer(s): Gil Hanse, Mark Parsinen
Year opened: 2009
7. Old Head of Kinsale
Average rating: 7.58
Location: Kinsale, Ireland
Designer(s): Eddie Hackett, Joe Carr, Ron Kirby, Paddy Merrigan, Liam Higgins
Year opened: 1997
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8. Waterville
Average rating: 7.50
Location: Waterville, Ireland
Designer(s): Eddie Hackett, Tom Fazio
Year opened: 1973
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9. Queenwood
Average rating: 7.38
Location: Ottershaw, England
Designer(s): David McLay Kidd
Year opened: 2001
10. Carne (Wild Atlantic Dunes)*
Average rating: 7.30
Location: Belmullet, Ireland
Designer(s): Eddie Hackett, Ally McIntosh, Jim Engh
Year opened: 2017
Editor's note: Carne appears on this list twice, with the Wild Atlantic Way routing and the Hackett Links routing both among the top 20. The Wild Atlantic Way routing incorporates nine newer holes and combines with nine holes from the original 18 (Hackett Links) at Carne, and we chose to break them out as separate courses this year to better reflect that there are two routings.
11. The European Club
Average rating: 7.28
Location: Brittas Bay, Ireland
Designer(s): Pat Ruddy
Year opened: 1992
12. The Renaissance Club
Average rating: 7.24
Location: North Berwick, Scotland
Designer(s): Tom Doak
Year opened: 2008
13. Tralee
Average rating: 7.21
Location: Tralee, Ireland
Designer(s): Arnold Palmer, Ed Seay
Year opened: 1984
14. Hogs Head
Average rating: 7.19
Location: Waterville, Ireland
Designer(s): Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Year opened: 2018
15. Enniscrone (Dunes)
Average rating: 7.01
Location: Enniscrone, Ireland
Designer(s): Eddie Hackett, Donald Steel
Year opened: 1970
16. Hillside Golf Club
Average rating: 7.00
Location: Southport, England
Designer(s): Fred Hawtree
Year opened: 1967
17. Dumbarnie Links
Average rating: 6.98
Location: Elie, Scotland
Designer(s): Clive Clark
Year opened: 2020
18. Carne (Hackett Links)
Average rating: 6.97
Location: Belmullet, Ireland
Designer(s): Eddie Hackett
Year opened: 1992
19. Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg
Average rating: 6.88
Location: Doonbeg, Ireland
Designer(s): Greg Norman, Martin Hawtree
Year opened: 2002
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T20. Ballyliffin (Glashedy)
Average rating: 6.74
Location: Ballyliffin, Ireland
Designer(s): Pat Ruddy, Tom Craddock
Year opened: 1995
T20. Killeen Castle
Average rating: 6.74
Location: Dunsany, Ireland
Designer(s): Jack Nicklaus
Year opened: 2009
22. Trump Turnberry Resort (King Robert the Bruce)
Average rating: 6.70
Location: Turnberry, Scotland
Designer(s): Donald Steel, Martin Ebert
Year opened: 2001
23. Rosapenna (Sandy Hills)
Average rating: 6.69
Location: Letterkenny, Ireland
Designer(s): Pat Ruddy
Year opened: 2003
24. Lough Erne (Faldo)
Average rating: 6.62
Location: Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
Designer(s): Nick Faldo
Year opened: 2009
25. Portmarnock Resort (Jameson Golf Links)
Average rating: 6.59
Location: Portmarnock, Ireland
Designer(s): Bernhard Langer, Jeff Lynch
Year opened: 1995
T26. Adare Manor Golf Resort
Average rating: 6.58
Location: Adare, Ireland
Designer(s): Tom Fazio
Year opened: 1995
T26. Carnegie Links at Skibo
Average rating: 6.58
Location: Dornoch, Scotland
Designer(s): Donald Steel
Year opened: 1991
28. The Grove
Average rating: 6.46
Location: Chandler’s Cross, England
Designer(s): Kyle Phillips
Year opened: 2003
29. Cruit Island
Average rating: 6.44
Location: Kincasslagh, Ireland
Designer(s): Michael Doherty
Year opened: 1986
30. Woburn (Marquess)
Average rating: 6.43
Location: Milton Keynes, England
Designer(s): Ross McMurray, Clive Clark, Peter Alliss, Alex Hay
Year opened: 2000
31. Saunton (West)*
Average rating: 6.40
Location: Braunton, England
Designer(s): Frank Pennink
Year opened: 2022
32. St. Andrews (Castle)
Average rating: 6.38
Location: St. Andrews, Scotland
Designer(s): David McLay Kidd
Year opened: 2008
T33. Dundonald Links
Average rating: 6.35
Location: Gailes, Scotland
Designer(s): Kyle Phillips
Year opened: 2003
T33. Machrihanish Dunes
Average rating: 6.35
Location: Machrihanish, Scotland
Designer(s): David McLay Kidd
Year opened: 2009
35. Carton House (Montgomerie)
Average rating: 6.34
Location: Maynooth, Ireland
Designer(s): Colin Montgomerie, Design European Golf
Year opened: 2003
36. Donegal
Average rating: 6.29
Location: Murvagh, Ireland
Designer(s): Eddie Hackett, Pat Ruddy
Year opened: 1973
T37. Crail (Craighead)
Average rating: 6.24
Location: Crail, Scotland
Designer(s): Gil Hanse
Year opened: 1998
T37. Woburn (Dukes)
Average rating: 6.24
Location: Milton Keynes, England
Designer(s): Charles Lawrie
Year opened: 1976
39. Fairmont St. Andrews (Kittocks)
Average rating: 6.23
Location: St. Andrews, Scotland
Designer(s): Bruce Devlin, Gary Stephenson
Year opened: 2001
40. Celtic Manor (Twenty Ten)
Average rating: 6.22
Location: Newport, Wales
Designer(s): Ross McMurray
Year opened: 2007
41. Fairmont St. Andrews (Torrance)
Average rating: 6.18
Location: St. Andrews, Scotland
Designer(s): Sam Torrance
Year opened: 2001
42. Bearwood Lakes
Average rating: 6.14
Location: Wokingham, England
Designer(s): Martin Hawtree
Year opened: 1996
43. Gleneagles (PGA Centenary)
Average rating: 6.13
Location: Auchterarder, Scotland
Designer(s): Jack Nicklaus
Year opened: 1993
44. Druid’s Glen
Average rating: 6.09
Location: Newtownmountkennedy, Ireland
Designer(s): Pat Ruddy, Tom Craddock
Year opened: 1995
45. Remedy Oak
Average rating: 6.07
Location: Ringwood, England
Designer(s): John Jacobs
Year opened: 2005
46. Craigielaw
Average rating: 6.03
Location: Aberlady, Scotland
Designer(s): Donald Steel
Year opened: 2001
47. K Club (Palmer North)
Average rating: 5.99
Location: Straffan, Ireland
Designer(s): Arnold Palmer, Ed Seay
Year opened: 1991
48. St. Andrews (The Dukes)
Average rating: 5.93
Location: St. Andrews, Scotland
Designer(s): Tim Liddy, Peter Thomson
Year opened: 1995
T49. Archerfield Links (Fidra)*
Average rating: 5.92
Location: Dirleton, Scotland
Designer(s): David J. Russell
Year opened: 2004
T49. The Carrick
Average rating: 5.92
Location: Loch Lomond, Scotland
Designer(s): Doug Carrick
Year opened: 2007
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This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 50 best modern golf courses in Ireland, Great Britain: We rated them
