NCG Top 100s: Ireland – Where next?
By Matt Coles
Where do our panellists want to visit next in Ireland?
With the compiling of the Ireland list for 2024 at its end, where do our panellists want to visit next in this spectacular golfing country?
Our individual panellists will not have played every course on the new Irish list, meaning that there are some courses that they want to get to as soon as they can!
From courses at the very top of the NCG Top 100s: Ireland list, to those hidden gems that might not have been properly seen yet, our panellists have a wide range of choices.
Royal County Down – which sits at the top of the NCG Top 100s: Ireland list – is at the top of some of our panel’s list, but where else do they want to play next on the Emerald Isle?
Which courses do our panellists believe should be higher?
Mike Robertson: St Patrick’s Links. Heard rave reviews from the panel so cannot wait to see for myself.
Jim Banting: St Patrick’s Links at Rosapenna.
Ed Battye: Tralee – the only links golf course in GB&I that I haven’t played!
Dan Murphy: Mulranney, Portumna and Laytown & Bettystown are three coastal courses that have somehow eluded me to date. I must put that right.
Steve Carroll: Who doesn’t dream of playing Dooks and Old Head?
Mike Hyde: I haven’t ticked off many Irish ‘blockbusters’ yet, so there’s lots on my list, but the various immense links of the southwest are calling loudly.
Lewis Marr: Donegal, as I have yet to play any significant golf in this area, followed by return visits to Mayo and Sligo.
Mike Atkinson: County Donegal’s Rosapenna. Three great links courses encompassing the historic and the modern, showcasing Ireland’s beauty as a golfing destination.
Dove Jones: I’ve played before but excited to see the re-do of Narin & Portnoo by Hanse & Wagner of Hanse Golf Course Design.
Chris Myatt: I will continue the coastal journey south from Donegal into Sligo, Mayo and Galway, possibly extending that to the great south-west links.
Craig Morrison: It’s time to return to Rosapenna and see how Tom Doak’s course interplays with old favourites and certified classics by Pat Ruddy and Old Tom Morris.
- NOW READ: The methodology behind the NCG Top 100s: Ireland list
- NOW READ: Our panellists highlights from their Irish adventures
Which courses have you played in Ireland? Do you agree with where our panellists think they should play next in Ireland? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
