Rosses Point and Enniscrone: Two of the West of Ireland's Best
The west of Ireland gets talked about for Ballybunion and Lahinch. Rightly so. But there are two courses further up the coast that don’t get nearly enough attention — and if you’re putting together a golf trip to Ireland, they should be on the list.
I played both during a trip to Sligo this summer. Here’s what happened.
Enniscrone — The Dunes
Enniscrone was first. The course sits on the edge of Killala Bay in north County Mayo, though most people arrive from Sligo — it’s about 45 minutes south-west. It runs through enormous sand dunes, some of the most dramatic dune terrain in Irish golf, with the Atlantic visible from most of the high points.
The weather was about as good as it gets on the west coast: near perfect, a slight one-club wind, warm towards the middle of the round.
The round improved as the day went on, which is about the best you can say when you’re on a course this good for the first time. The dune holes are the highlight — the course opens up properly in the second half, and that’s when Enniscrone really gets into your head.
It’s quieter than Rosses Point. On a weekday you can feel like you have the place to yourself, and that solitude is part of what makes it special. This is golf as it was meant to be played, in a landscape that hasn’t changed in centuries.
The verdict: Enniscrone is the kind of course you tell people about quietly, because you’re half afraid it’ll get crowded if it gets the attention it deserves. The drive along the coast road from Sligo is part of the experience.
Strandhill — The One That Got Away
After Enniscrone, Strandhill was next — there was an open competition on and I’d been looking forward to it. Then a lightning warning came in and that was that.
Golf teaches you not to hold onto things too tightly. I’ll be back.
Rosses Point — County Sligo Golf Club
Rosses Point instead, first thing in the morning, on my own. I had the course almost entirely to myself. That alone is worth something.
The course sits on a peninsula between Sligo Bay and the Atlantic, with Benbulben — the flat-topped mountain that dominates the Sligo skyline — rising behind it on the eastern horizon. On a clear morning with the light coming in low, it’s one of the most visually dramatic golf settings in Ireland.
It also has a history to match. Rosses Point is home to the West of Ireland Amateur Championship, one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur events in the country. The roll of honour reads like a who’s who of Irish golf — Rory McIlroy won it multiple times as a teenager, and Shane Lowry claimed it in 2009, the year before he won the Irish Open as an amateur and turned professional. If you want to understand where Irish golf comes from, this is one of the places you start.
None of that history made the first hole any easier. I ground out a good par on it, which felt like the right way to start a round on a course of that standing.
The round built from there. A proper links: undulating fairways, deep rough, greens that ask questions the wind decides to answer for you. It’s not long by modern standards but it doesn’t need to be — the conditions do the work. A bit of rain crept in towards the finish, but by then the course had already done its job.
Absolute top class.
The verdict: One of the genuinely great links courses in Ireland. Underplayed, underrated, and carrying a history that most golfers don’t know about. If you’re in the west, there’s no excuse not to go.
Making a Trip of It
Sligo as a base works well. The town has decent accommodation, good food, and Benbulben and Yeats Country make for a worthwhile day off the course if you’re travelling with non-golfers.
The two courses are different enough that playing both doesn’t feel repetitive. Enniscrone is quieter, more personal — the kind of round that creeps up on you. Rosses Point is the showpiece: history, views, a course that rewards anyone willing to make the drive.
If you can play both in the same trip, do it. And rebook Strandhill while you’re at it — I will be.
Low Chaser grips were on the bag for both rounds. Shop here →