Ballyliffin Golf Club: Glashedy Links Review, Green Fees, Tee Times and Key Info

This dashing and distinctive modern links at Ballyliffin Golf Club is perfectly designed to be enjoyable by all golfers while still serving as a test to the best

Ballyliffin Golf Club Glashedy Links
The par 3 seventh - Loch na nDeor - on the Glashedy Links
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Top 100 Courses UK & Ireland 2023/24

(Image credit: Future)

Ballyliffin Golf Club Glashedy Links Key Information

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Header Cell - Column 0 Header Cell - Column 1
AddressBallyliffin, Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland
Phone00353 74 937 6119
Websiteballyliffingolfclub.com
Email info@ballyliffingolfclub.com
GFs€220
Visitor TimesWelcome subject to bookings
ParMen 72, Women 72
SlopeWhite/M 124, Red/W 125
Opened1995
ArchitectPat Ruddy and Tom Craddock
Golf Monthly Verdict

Ballyliffin Golf Club Panorama

(Image credit: Ballyliffin Golf Club)

The Glashedy Links offers up a brilliant and consistently exciting mix of all that is great about links golf, somehow managing that delicate balancing act of combining all that is great about traditional links with elements that are new and different.

Reasons To Play Ballyliffin

– Enjoy one of the most thrilling courses in Ireland

– Always presented in great condition

– Compare it with its sibling, the Old Course, a brilliant Next 100 favourite

Rankings

UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2023/24- 70

One of the great joys of a visit to Ballyliffin Golf Club is that is a complete golfing destination with the Glashedy Links in the Top 100 and the excellent Old Course. The Old is really not that old, but nor is the Glashedy Links which opened for play in 1995.

Such is the challenge and stature of this Pat Ruddy design that it was selected to host the 2018 Irish Open, won by Russell Knox and hosted by the Rory Foundation. Both designs here are unquestionably among the very best golf courses in Ireland.

Getting on for 30 years old, there is nonetheless a fresh look and feel to this exciting links which is characterised by its fast-running fairways as well as some punishing bunkers. With some of the holes on higher ground, the views are superb, both internally over the course itself as well as of the surrounding scenery and out the sea.

This is also a serious test of golf which runs over a glorious dunescape. It has large, tricky greens which means that it will test every element of your game. As well as the better views, the exposure of the higher holes also means they are more open to the elements, in particular the wind.

Somewhat unusually for a newish design where there is a huge amount of space, there are just three short holes. However, each of them is very distinctive and memorable, with the 7th the pick of the crop. It is very photogenic, played from way up high down to a green right next to a marshland pond. The views here, and indeed elsewhere, are exceptional.

From start to finish this is a course of constantly high standard, with the left to right closing hole serving as a perfect and demanding climax to your round. This is a very fine and enjoyable course with everything about it on a grand scale. It is also kept in excellent condition.

Ballyliffin Golf Club - Glashedy Hole 14

The fourteenth hole on the Glashedy Links

(Image credit: Ballyliffin Golf Club)

What The Top 100 Panel Said

Top 100 Golf COurses UK and Ireland in association with Peter Millar
Gavyn Cairns

The course is set right on the Atlantic Ocean, and some of the views are simply awesome. The best links greens I have putted on in this Golf Monthly reviewing cycle!

Robert Dunne - Top 100 Panellist
Rob Dunne

I really enjoyed the visit here and would love to come back. The toughness of the opening holes gives a sense of challenge and you realise this place is special. I could spend a week here and wonder at the end of it where all the time went.

Ballyliffin Golf Club Location

Ballyliffin Green Fees

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Glashedy Course€220Row 0 - Cell 2
Old Course€200Row 1 - Cell 2
2 Rounds€340Row 2 - Cell 2

Ballyliffin Golf Club Glashedy Links scorecard

Ballyliffin Golf Club Glashedy course scorecard

(Image credit: Ballyliffin Golf Club)

Best Courses Near To Ballyliffin

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<a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/courses/top-100-courses/rosapenna-hotel-and-golf-resort-sandy-hills-course-review-60570" data-link-merchant="golfmonthly.com"">ROSAPENNA

The excellent resort at nearby Rosapenna now boasts two Top 100 courses. One is the stunning new Tom Doak design, St Patrick’s Links - the other the excellent Pat Ruddy design that opened in 2003, Sandy Hills Links. And if that’s not enough, the Old Tom Morris Links is also very good indeed!

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<a href="http://www.portsalongolfclub.ie" data-link-merchant="portsalongolfclub.ie"" target="_blank">PORTSALON

Benefitting from recent input from former Ryder Cup captain <a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/golfs-greatest-holes-241813" data-link-merchant="golfmonthly.com"" data-link-merchant="portsalongolfclub.ie"">Paul McGinley, the hugely entertaining links at Portsalon offers an exciting and challenging journey through the sandhills. The opening holes hug the shoreline, with the par-4 2nd over the beach and then across a stream a thrilling highlight.

Places To Stay Near Ballyliffin

Ballyliffin Hotel - Book now at Booking.com

The Ballyliffin Hotel offers rooms with satellite TV and power showers, a fine dining restaurant and free parking. Rooms are all accessible by a lift and feature hairdryers, luxury toiletries and tea/coffee making facilities.

The Butterbean - Book now at Booking.com

Just five miles away in the centre of Carndonagh,  this restaurant with stylishly furnished rooms is a short walk from various pubs and amenities.

Ballyliffin Golf Club Glashedy Links Gallery

Historical Top 100 Rankings UK&I

  • 2023/24 - 70
  • 2021/22 - 68
  • 2019/20 - 68
  • 2017/18 - 69
  • 2015/16 - 73
  • 2013/14 - 74
  • 2011/12 - 74
  • 2009/10 - 72

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the better course at Ballyliffin?

The Glashedy Links has always rated a little higher than the Old Links, even though the latter is an extremely fine course in its own right. This is one of those exceptional clubs such as Sunningdale and The Berkshire where golfers can play two courses and make up their own minds as to which they prefer.

Is Ballyliffin in Northern Ireland?

Not quite - it is just to the west of the border but actually the most northerly golf club in all Ireland, five miles or so from the most northerly part of the mainland, Malin Head.

Which is the best hole at Ballyliffin?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the elevated 7th on the Glashedy Links is an excellent par 3 which not only looks terrific but also has wonderful panoramas over both courses and out to sea.

Rob Smith
Contributing Editor

Rob Smith has been playing golf for 45 years and been a contributing editor for Golf Monthly since 2012. He specialises in course reviews and travel, and has played more than 1,200 courses in almost 50 countries. In 2022, he played all 21 courses in East Lothian in 13 days. Last year, his tally was 81, 32 of them for the first time. One of Rob's primary roles is helping to prepare the Top 100 and Next 100 Courses of the UK&I, of which he has played all but seven and a half... i.e. not the new 9 at Carne! Of those missing, some are already booked for 2024. He is a member of Tandridge in Surrey where his handicap hovers around 16. You can contact him at r.smith896@btinternet.com.