Championship VenueLinks ClassicWild Atlantic Way

County Sligo Golf Club

Rosses Point, Co. Sligo · Designed by Harry Colt · Est. 1894

The club was founded in 1894 on land owned by an uncle of W.B. Yeats. It sits in the heart of Yeats Country — the landscape that shaped one of the great bodies of poetry in the English language. Ben Bulben, the great flat-topped mountain that towers over north Sligo and appears in poems Yeats wrote across his life, is visible from the fairways throughout the round. Drumcliff churchyard, where Yeats is buried, is 10 minutes up the road. The golf course knows nothing of any of this, and is better for it.

Harry Colt redesigned the course in 1927. Colt himself identified it as one of his four finest works alongside Wentworth, Sunningdale's New Course, and Moor Park West. That is rare company, and the course earns it. The front nine climbs into the dunes before the back nine drops to the shore, where five consecutive holes run along the Atlantic and the wind arrives without sentiment. The 7th hole turns directly toward Ben Bulben and is named for Cecil Ewing, a Sligo native and one of the great Irish amateur players of the 20th century.

The West of Ireland Amateur Championship has been played here since 1923. In 2005, a 15-year-old Rory McIlroy became the youngest player ever to win it. The tournament opens the Irish competitive golf calendar each Easter and draws serious amateur players from across Europe. The course is used to being tested.

Holes worth knowing

17th — "Ewing's Profile": Turns a right angle away from the sea to face Ben Bulben directly. Named after Cecil Ewing, one of Ireland's greatest-ever amateur players. On a clear day the mountain fills the horizon. One of the more unusual and memorable vistas in Irish links golf.
217th (par-4, 500 yards): Starts parallel to the ocean before doglegging left and climbing to a green set on top of a dune. The wind is almost always against you on the second shot, and the green offers no comfort to a ball that drifts right.

Highlights

West of Ireland Championship host
Benbulben mountain views
Classic traditional links

Good to know

→Yeats is buried in Drumcliff churchyard 10 minutes north — the gravestone reads "Cast a cold eye on life, on death, horseman, pass by." Worth the detour before or after your round.
→Rory McIlroy won the West of Ireland here at 15 in 2005 — youngest ever. It was one of the first signs of what was coming.
→Green fee is genuinely good value compared to the marquee west coast courses. The quality is comparable; the crowds are not.
→Sligo town has a good food scene for a city its size. Coach Lane at Donaghy's for serious dining — dry-aged Irish beef, Sligo Bay oysters. Hooked for the best seafood.
→Glencar Waterfall is 20 minutes away — the fall that Yeats wrote about in "The Stolen Child." Short walk from the car park, completely unspoilt.

Visitor Information

Getting There

1h drive

1h 30min drive

Common questions

What makes Rosses Point (County Sligo Golf Club) special?

County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point has hosted the West of Ireland Amateur Championship — one of the oldest amateur events in Irish golf — for over a century. The course is an honest, traditional links on a windswept peninsula overlooking Sligo Bay, with Benbulben mountain as a backdrop on every outward hole. No gimmicks: just links golf where the weather decides the outcome.

How do I book Rosses Point and what do I need?

Book directly through the County Sligo Golf Club website. A handicap certificate is required; men 24 or under, women 36 or under. The club is not on GolfNow.

What is the best time to play Rosses Point?

May, June, and September offer the best conditions. The west of Ireland coast gets significant rainfall in July and August and the wind off Sligo Bay can be punishing. Late spring and early autumn give firmer conditions and more manageable weather.

What other courses are near County Sligo?

Enniscrone Golf Club is forty minutes south — one of the most underrated links in Ireland, with exceptional duneland on Killala Bay. Strandhill is fifteen minutes west of Sligo town. The three together make a strong two or three-day Sligo golf itinerary.