My 6 Favorite Golf Holes in Great Britain & Ireland

Connor Evers, PGA

June 5, 2025

9 Minute Read

When playing golf in Great Britain and Ireland, there’s something almost spiritual about playing there. Maybe it’s the years (centuries, in this case) of the links being shaped by wind and time, or the way the game feels truer and purer on the other side of the Atlantic.

Or how the game of golf is viewed overseas, quite literally the opposite of how we view it at times stateside. Just take it from Dan Wood, a recent guest on our podcast, Golf and the Good Life:

“Golf is still blue collar over there, which I really, really, really like.”

I’ve been incredibly lucky to play some of the finest links courses in the world but a few holes have made a place in my head for good. Not necessarily the most famous, “signature holes”, but ones that made me pause, ponder, wonder, and really be grateful for the experience. To just stop and think to myself:

"This is why I love this game. This is why I play it!"

Royal Cinque Ports - Hole #6

Deal, England

My favorite hole I’ve ever played overseas is the 6th at Royal Cinque Ports. It might seem unassuming to some, but to me, it’s one of the most architecturally sound golf holes on the other side of the Atlantic.

Stretching to 356 yards, the hole begins with a blind tee shot and leads to a green complex that sits roughly 20 feet above the fairway—making the second shot equally blind. The green is sharply sloped from back to front, so a wedge that comes up short might end up rolling right back to your feet. It’s a design that rewards precision and feels distinctly different from many holes across Great Britain and Ireland. That’s part of what makes it so memorable to me.

The 6th is also the first time you play right up to the seawall, which you’ve glimpsed from the earlier holes. The green hugs the wall, sitting on one of the highest points on the property.

While the seawall was built in the 1960s, the club probably wishes it had been constructed much earlier. The course suffered flooding before both the 1939 and 1949 Open Championships, forcing play to be moved next door to Royal St. George's. The Open hasn’t returned to Royal Cinque Ports since 1920.

Once on the green, you get a panoramic view of the closing stretch of holes, especially the 16th, where you can see the old-World War II pillbox still standing watch. It’s a hole steeped not just in Open Championship lore, but in history as a whole. It’s strategic, scenic, and deeply memorable.

How I Last Played It: 2-iron off the tee, lob wedge to 20 feet, two putts for par. Piece of cake.
Conditions: Beautiful November weather—crisp, 10 mph breeze, no rain. Battling jet lag straight off the plane from Washington.

What a green.

Royal Dornoch - Hole #17

Dornoch, Scotland

I’d be remiss not to include a hole from Royal Dornoch. Truthfully, almost every hole there could make this list—and I mean that. But the 17th stands out in a way that really resonates with me.

If you’ve read my other blog posts or listened to our podcast, you know I have a soft spot for quirky golf holes. Anything that feels distinct from what we have here in the States tends to grab my attention—and affection.

Like the 6th at Deal, the 17th at Dornoch might not show up on everyone’s top five list. But it should. Much like Dornoch’s famous 8th, the 17th features two tiers of fairway. The first one ends around 200 to 215 yards out, depending on which tees you're playing. From the teeing grounds, you're faced with a choice: lay up with an iron or take on a blind tee shot to the second level. Even with a caddie, the line isn’t obvious, especially when the wind is up and the bounces unpredictable. My advice? Play an iron and take what the course gives you.

The hole asks for a left-to-right cut off the tee and a right-to-left draw into the green—if you’re a right-handed player, that is. The green itself is a sort of mini punchbowl. You can land your approach left of the green with a draw and let the natural contours funnel your ball toward the hole.

It’s a hole that’s fun and full of character from start to finish. A little quirky, yes—but it makes you think on every shot. It's a hole that I could play over and over. I love it, and I think you will too.

How I Last Played It: 5-iron off the tee, 8-iron missed right. Wedge didn’t help... walked off with bogey.
Conditions: Brisk late October afternoon. 20 mph wind, on-and-off rain. Peaceful though—just after 2 p.m.

Just ride that slope on the left down to the pin.

Lahinch Golf Club - Hole #10

Lahinch, Ireland

One of the biggest differences between the golf we play here in America and the golf played across the Atlantic is in the approach shots. In the States, we play target golf. It’s all about precision and knowing the yardage.

But overseas, it’s an entirely different game. The ground becomes your greatest ally. You might land your ball 30 to 50 yards short of the flag and trust the natural contours and firm turf to feed it toward the hole. It’s a game of imagination and trust. You hit into the unknown and hope for the best. But that unknown is what makes links golf the purest form of the game.

And when I mention the purest form of the game, I constantly think of the 10th hole at Lahinch Golf Club. It’s a challenging, right-to-left sweeping hole from the tee to green. The ideal tee shot for a right-hander is a slight draw, but at Lahinch, the fairways are always hard and fast. Even when the ball seems to have stopped moving, it just keeps rolling with the landscape. That makes the tee shot even more important.

The green is well-guarded with bunkers, and just beyond them, a sharp slope falls away toward a large but subtle putting surface. When hitting your (hopefully) second shot in, there’s a thrill in watching how the ball reacts once it catches that downslope. That anticipation always gets my blood flowing. You’re forced to wait it out and hope for a reward.

Lahinch is a special piece of land. A true links experience everyone should enjoy at least once. I took the photo below after teeing off the 10th hole in June 2019 around 8:00 p.m. It had rained earlier, but the sun broke through, glistening through the clouds. The picture is one of my favorites and I sometimes use it as the background of my iPhone. It’s truly a spiritual walk at Lahinch, if you ask me.

How I Last Played It: Driver to the middle. Overcooked mid-iron long. Good wedge, solid putt—par.
Conditions: Just perfect. Around 8 p.m. in June. Classic Irish evening. Goats were out—which, of course, meant no rain.

Lahinch is a truly special place.

Cruit Island Golf Club - Hole #6

Kincasslagh, Ireland

In the fall of 2022, my colleague D.J. Jones and I, along with my dad, Mike, traveled up to the northwest of Ireland. There had been a growing buzz on social media about a remote 9-hole course called Cruit Island (pronounced “Critch”). The photos looked surreal. Intrigued, we dug in, carved out some time in our itinerary, and after a morning round at Narin & Portnoo, made the journey to see it for ourselves.

Cruit Island is hard to put into words. It’s one of those places that defies explanation—you just have to see it. But what I can say is that it’s truly remarkable—especially the par-3 6th hole, which truly blew us away.

Since that early buzz, Cruit Island and its famous 6th hole have become something of a pilgrimage for adventurous golfers. The Golfer's Journal even put a photo of it on the cover of issue No. 30. And once you see it in person, it’s easy to understand why.

The hole is just 140 yards on the card but feels like something out of a video game. The tee box juts out on a narrow finger of land surrounded by crashing waves. You hit over a series of jagged sea chasms to a green nestled in a mini punchbowl, with the Atlantic looming just beyond. The visuals are staggering. You can’t help but think:

“This can’t be real.”

We played it in what D.J. perfectly described as a “sunny hurricane.” With the wind howling, the 140-yard shot played closer to 240. We spent nearly 30 minutes on that hole, hitting ball after ball—most of which ended up in the ocean. But we couldn’t stop grinning. We snapped photos, laughed, and soaked in the moment. I was so happy and felt alive. I resonated with that feeling when I was a young junior golfer, not caring about my score, just happy to hit the ball and chase it down. True nostalgia.

It’s days like that—when golf takes you somewhere wild and unexpected, where nothing matters but the company and the experience—that remind you just how big and beautiful the world is, and how lucky we are to play this game.

How I Last Played It: 4-iron into the wind? No chance. Re-teed with a 2-iron to the back of the green. Final score… anyone’s guess.
Conditions: Sunny hurricane. No rain, but the windiest golf I’ve ever played. October afternoon.

Favorite golf holes in Great Britain & Ireland

The 6th at Cruit Island really has to be seen to be believed.

Prestwick Golf Club - Hole #18

Prestwick, Scotland

One of my favorite features of links golf overseas is a short par-4 finishing hole. Whether it's The Old Course, North Berwick, Aberdovey, Rye, or Elie, there’s something magical about ending a round with a chance at birdie—and hopefully walking off with a good taste in your mouth after a day on the links.

But one 18th hole stands out above the rest: the finishing hole at Prestwick Golf Club.

After finishing the famous 17th Alps, a hole that’s special in its own right, you climb to an elevated tee for the 18th, a hole that subtly moves left to right. For a right-handed player, a gentle cut is the ideal shape. It's only 288 yards from the back tees, and with the prevailing wind, it often plays even shorter.

The hole is fittingly named Clock, thanks to the large clock in the distance at the clubhouse that serves as a perfect aiming point. A grassy knoll runs nearly the full length of the hole on the right, adding a little nuance to the overall straightforward hole.

I’ve always played this hole downwind, and in those conditions, a driver can be too much. The green is generous, and the bunkers, while well-placed, tend to only factor off the tee. But if you catch one too well, your ball might not stop until it’s bounced into the car park. Or worse, into David Fleming’s golf shop.

It’s a brilliant ending to an unforgettable day. And it’s holes like these that make you want to walk straight back to the first tee and do it all over again.

How I Last Played It: Cut driver to the front of the green. Two putts for birdie. Smiles all around post-round.
Conditions: Glorious for early November—probably mid-60s. Should’ve packed sunscreen. Mid-morning tee time.

The 17th and 18th at Prestwick. There's nowhere else like it.

The Old Course at St. Andrews - Hole #17

St. Andrews, Scotland

I’ve seen the 17th hole at the Old Course more times than I can count. On TV during the Open or the Dunhill Links, in golf magazines, even in video games. Before I ever set foot on the tee, I knew the line: aim over the “C” in the Old Course Hotel sign, right?

But when I actually played it, I was completely shocked.

The angle off the tee is more aggressive than you expect. You really must commit to a line that feels borderline reckless. My friend Larkin hit a drive we were sure was heading for the Jigger Inn, but it somehow found the rough and in play. I thought I had striped one down the middle, only to find myself in the left rough.

It’s wild. You’ve seen the hole a hundred times, but once you're standing there, you feel like you have never seen it before and it’s completely foreign.

And then comes the approach. The second shot is brutally demanding. Watching the pros hit that green in two is even more impressive after you’ve stood over that shot yourself. The Road Hole bunker looms by the green. Long is dead with the road coming into play. It’s a hole that punishes any bad shot and rewards good ones.

I think the best play is to start it right and hope for a draw. If it comes back, great. If not, try to chip it close and take your par. It’s that kind of hole that challenges you from start to finish and leaves you confused and satisfied all at once.

Honestly, I could play it 100 times and walk off feeling just as unsure—and just as fulfilled. And that, to me, is the magic of the Old Course. Not just the 17th, but the whole experience: a course you think you know, but one that always keeps you guessing.

How I Last Played It: Pulled a draw left. Iron missed right. Poor chip, lip-out par putt. One of those days.
Conditions: Cloudy autumn day. Windy—and colder coming in.