County Sligo Golf Club

County Sligo Golf Club (also known as Rosses Point) was formed in 1894 with an initial nine holes that got extended to 18 in 1907. Harry Colt was then commissioned in the late 1920s to redesign the course, the result of which we still play to this day except for a few modifications.

Located in the heart of Yeats country (W.B. Yeats won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923), County Sligo is set on sand dunes and cliffs overlooking two large beaches with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.

Bernard Langer came here as a young professional starting out on the Tour circuit, the first links he had ever seen and played, to play one round and ended up staying for two weeks.

County Sligo Golf Course overview

There are 27 holes at County Sligo with the main course called ‘The Colt’ and shorter nine ‘the Bomore’. In a spectacular setting overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Sligo harbour with mountains as a backdrop, The Colt Championship Links is one of the most scenic in Ireland.

As a golf course, it has it all with dramatic undulations, raised plateau greens, run-offs, challenging bunkering, burns and dunes. At over 7200 yards off the tips, it is a formidable challenge that offers great variety, with holes 11 to 17 out on the headland and truly magnificent.

Signature hole

The 17th is a long par-4 measuring 500 yards that plays parallel to the ocean before doglegging inland and climbing uphill to a green set at the base of a large dune. Tough to reach in regulation unless the wind is coming off the water and is at your back on the approach. The views looking back from behind the putting surface are some of the best views of Rosses Point.

Did You Know?

George Combe, who designed the first nine holes at County Sligo in 1894, also has the distinction of devising the world’s first handicapping system in 1896.