County Louth Golf Club

County Louth Golf Club was founded in 1892 and is located an hour north of Dublin on Ireland’s east coast, making it a perfect stop when combining a trip to the Republic’s capital with Northern Ireland. The host of the European Tour’s Irish Open in 2004 and 2009, when the 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry famously won as an amateur, this magnificent links course is affectionately known as ‘Baltray’ due to its proximity to the village.

Ranked 8th best course in Ireland by Golf Digest in 2019, County Louth also offers wonderful practice facilities with two driving ranges and a new short game facility that boats separate chipping and putting greens.

County Louth Golf Course overview

County Louth or ‘Baltray’ underwent a complete redesign in 1938 by golf architects Tom Simpson and Molly Gourlay and is now regarded as one of Ireland’s true hidden gems, hugging the Irish Sea coastline and providing the purest test of links golf.

Measuring just over 7000 yards from the tips and a par-72, the 2014 victorious European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley ranks this as his favorite links course in Ireland, due to the towering sandhills and testing rough which demand accurate hitting and strategic course management.