County Down golf course ranked best in world by Derek Duncan and Stephen Hennessey

County Down secures first place in the 2026-2027 world rankings.
Fourteen Irish courses feature in Golf Digest’s list.
Ballybunion Golf Club maintains position 10 on the list.
Adare Manor in County Limerick enters the rankings for the first time.
Carne Golf Links in County Mayo receives recognition as a hidden gem.

The top 100 golf courses in the world, ranked by Derek Duncan, Architecture Editor for Golf Digest, and Stephen Hennessey deputy MD of the magazine. Ties are marked (T). See full article here.

England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales take up 55 of the top 100 places, with 21 courses from Scotland, 18 from England, 14 from Ireland, 12 from Australia, nine from Canada, seven from New Zealand, four from Japan, three from Wales, two each from Dominican Republic, France, Mexico and Netherlands and one each from Bermuda, Saint Lucia , Singapore, South Korea, Spain and United Arab Emirates.

Pine Valley came top of a separate top 100 ranking list for the USA, which was not included in the world list.

County Down was holding the top position for the sixth time. Portrush Golf Club ranks at number five. Ballybunion Golf Club in County Kerry holds position 10. Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare rises to number 21.

County Down Golf Club: Championship (Newcastle, county Down)
St. Andrews Links: Old (St Andrews, Scotland)
Muirfield (Muirfield, Scotland)
Dornoch Golf Club: Championship (Dornoch, Scotland)
Portrush Golf Club: Dunluce (Portrush, county Antrim)
Melbourne Golf Club: West (Black Rock, Victoria, Australia)
Tara Iti Golf Club (Manghawai, Northland, New Zealand)
Trump Turnberry: Ailsa (Turnberry, Scotland
Kingston Heath Golf Club (Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia)
Ballybunion Golf Club: Old (Ballybunion, county Kerry)
North Berwick Golf Club (North Berwick, Scotland)
Sunningdale Golf Club: Old (Sunningdale, Berkshire, England)
Cape Wickham Golf Links (Wickham, Tasmania, Australia)
Cabot Cliffs (Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada)
Carnoustie Golf Links: Championship (Carnoustie, Scotland)
Hirono Golf Club (Miki, Hyogo, Japan)
Birkdale Golf Club (Southport, Merseyside, England)
St. George’s Golf Club (Sandwich, Kent, England)
Morfontaine (Morfontaine, France)
Barnbougle Dunes (Bridport, Tasmania, Australia)
Lahinch Golf Club: Old (Lahinch, county Clare)
New South Wales Golf Club: Le Perouse (La Perouse, New South Wales, Australia)
Cabot Saint Lucia: Point Hardy Golf Club (Cas-en-Bas, St. Lucia)
Kingsbarns Golf Links (Kingsbarns, Scotland)
Cabot Links (Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada)
Cruden Bay Golf Club (Cruden Bay, Scotland)
Troon Golf Club: Old (Troon, Scotland)
Victoria Golf Club (Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia)
Swinley Forest Golf Club (Ascot, Berkshire, England)
Trump International Golf Links: Old (Balmedie, Scotland)
Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club (Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England)
The Farm at Cape Kidnapper’s (Te Awanga, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand)
Melbourne Golf Club: East (Black Rock, Victoria, Australia)
Real Club Valderrama (Sotogrande, Cádiz, Spain)
Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club (Jasper, Alberta, Canada)
Sunningdale Golf Club: New (Sunningdale, Berkshire, England)
Porthcawl Golf Club (Porthcawl, Wales)
Barnbougle Lost Farm (Bridport, Tasmania, Australia)
Hamilton Golf & Country Club: West/South (Ancaster, Ontario, Canada)
Kawana Golf Resort: Fuji (Ito, Shizuoka, Japan)
St. George’s Golf & Country Club (Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada)
Te Arai Links: South Course (Tomarata, Auckland, New Zealand)
National Golf Club of Canada (Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada)
Mid Ocean Club (St. George’s, Bermuda)
Portmarnock Golf Club: Championship (Portmarnock, county Dublin)
Te Arai Links: North Course (Tomarata, Auckland, New Zealand)
Machrihanish Golf Club (Machrihanish, Scotland)
Trump Turnberry (King Robert the Bruce) (Turnberry, Scotland)
Loch Lomond Golf Club (Luss by Alexandria, Scotland)
Casa de Campo: Teeth of the Dog (La Romana, Dominican Republic)
Koninklijke Haagsche Golf and Country Club: Hague (Wassenaar, South Holland, Netherlands)
Waterville Golf Links (Waterville, county Kerry)
(T) St. George’s Hill Golf Club (Weybridge, Surrey, England)
(T) Capilano Golf & Country Club (West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
Kauri Cliffs (Matauri Bay, Northland, New Zealand)
Woodhall Spa Golf Club: Hotchkin (Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, England)
Punta Espada Golf Club (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic)
St. Patrick’s Links (Downings, county Donegal)
Metropolitan Golf Club (Oakleigh South, Victoria, Australia)
Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake, Merseyside, England)
Tokyo G.C. (Saiyama, Saitama, Japan)
Prestwick Golf Club (Prestwick, Scotland)
Carne Golf Links (Wild Atlantic Dunes) (Belmullet, county Mayo)
Diamante Golf Club: Dunes (Cabo San Lucas, Baja Sur, Mexico)
Cabot Highlands: Castle Stuart Golf Links (Inverness, Scotland)
Banff Springs Golf Club: Thompson (Banff, Alberta, Canada)
Ganton Golf Club (Ganton, Ryedale, England)
Rye Golf Club: Old (Rye, East Sussex, England)
Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club: North (Frankston, Victoria, Australia)
St. Enodoc Golf Club: Church (Wadebridge, Cornwall, England)
Naruo Golf Club (Kawanishi, Hyogo, Japan)
Old Head of Kinsale (Kinsale, county Cork)
Cabo del Sol (Cove Club; formerly Ocean Course) (Cabo San Lucas, Baja Sur, Mexico)
South Cape Owners Club (Namhae, Gyeongsangnam, South Korea)
Cinque Ports Golf Club (Deal, Kent, England)
Aberdeen Golf Club: Balgownie (Aberdeen, Scotland)
The National: Old (Cape Schanck, Victoria, Australia)
Western Gailes Golf Club (Irvine, Scotland)
(T) Utrecht Golfclub De Pan (Bosch en Duin, Utrecht, Netherlands)
(T) Les Bordes: New (Saint-Laurent-Nouan, France)
Walton Heath Golf Club: Old (Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, England)
Yas Links (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Brittas Bay Golf Club (Brittas Bay, county Wicklow)
Adare Manor (Adare, county Limerick)
Gleneagles Hotel: King’s (Auchterarder, Scotland)
Adelaide Golf Club (Seaton, South Australia, Australia)
(T) Portstewart Golf Club: Strand (Portstewart, county Derry)
(T) Jack’s Point G.C. (Jack’s Point, Queenstown, New Zealand)
Cape Breton Highlands Links (Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada)
County Sligo G.C.-Rosses Point (Colt Championship) (Rosses Point, county Sligo
Tralee Golf Club (Ardfert, county Kerry)
The Renaissance Club (North Berwick, Scotland)
Wentworth Club: West (Virginia Water, Surrey, England)
Gullane Golf Club: No. 1 (Gullane, Scotland)
St. David’s Golf Club (Harlech, Wales)
Sentosa Golf Club: The Serapong (Sentosa Island, Singapore, Singapore)
West Sussex Golf Club (Wiggonholt, West Sussex, England)
Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club (Paraparaumu Beach, Kapiti Coast, New Zealand)
Panmure Golf Club (Barry, Scotland)
Ocean Dunes (King Island, Tasmania, Australia)

Derek Duncan and Stephen Hennessey shared: “On a clear spring day, with Dundrum Bay to the east, the Mountains of Mourne to the south and gorse-covered dunes in golden bloom, there is no lovelier place in golf. The design is attributed to Old Tom Morris but was refined by half a dozen architects in the past 120 years, most recently by Donald Steel. Though the greens are surprisingly flat, as if to compensate for the rugged terrain and numerous blind shots, bunkers are a definite highlight, most with arched eyebrows of dense marram grasses and impenetrable clumps of heather.”

Ireland’s top 25 golf courses

The top 25 golf courses in Ireland, ranked by Derek Duncan and Stephen Hennessey of Golf Digest. See full article here.

Ballybunion Golf Club: Old (Ballybunion, Kerry)
Lahinch Golf Club: Old (Lahinch, County Clare)
Portmarnock Golf Club: Championship (Portmarnock, County Dublin)
Waterville Golf Links (Waterville, County Kerry)
St. Patrick’s Links (Downings, County Donegal)
Carne Golf Links (Wild Atlantic Dunes) (Belmullet, County Mayo)
Old Head Golf Links (Kinsale, County Cork)
Brittas Bay Golf Club (formerly The European Club) (Brittas Bay, County Wicklow)
Adare Manor (Adare, Limerick)
Hogs Head Golf Club (Waterville, County Kerry)
County Sligo G.C.-Rosses Point (Colt Championship) (Rosses Point, County Sligo)
Tralee Golf Club (Ardfert, County Kerry)
Ballyliffin Golf Club: Glashedy (Ballyliffin, County Donegal)
Trump International Golf Links: Doonbeg (Doonbeg, County Clare)
Ballyliffin Golf Club: Old (Ballyliffin, County Donegal)
County Louth Golf Club (Baltray, County Louth)
The Island Golf Club (Donabate, County Dublin)
Enniscrone Golf Club (Enniscrone, County Sligo)
Rosapenna Golf Resort: Sandy Hills (Downings, County Donegal)
Portsalon Golf Club (Portsalon, County Donegal)
Jameson Golf Links (Portmarnock)
Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort: County Wicklow (Newtownmountkennedy, County Wicklow)
The K Club: Palmer South (Straffan, County Kildare)
Donegal Golf Club (Murvagh, County Donegal)
Royal Dublin Golf Club (Dublin)