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Founded in 1892, County Louth Golf Club — universally known as Baltray — took its modern form in 1938 through a redesign by celebrated architect Tom Simpson and his partner Molly Gourlay. Ranked 8th best in Ireland by Golf Digest, it is celebrated for offering one of the purest and fairest tests of links golf in the world. Laid out in two loops with most holes running in different directions, Baltray has no weak holes — and its greens are widely considered among the very best in all of Ireland. The wind is almost always a factor, and you need to be able to shape the ball both ways to score well.
In 2004 and 2009 Baltray hosted the European Tour’s Irish Open, with the latter occasion etching the club into Irish golfing history when Shane Lowry — later the 2019 Open Champion — won the event as an amateur. The East of Ireland Championship has been held here annually since 1941, with past winners including Darren Clarke. For Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley, Baltray is simply his favourite links course in Ireland.
The course stays low in the dunes before climbing higher at the 13th hole, and when you stand on the 14th tee looking back down the east coast of Ireland towards Dublin, it is a magical moment well worth the wait. From there, holes 11 through 16 provide a delightful stretch through the course’s most interesting topography — a closing run that rewards the accurate and punishes the careless in equal measure.
A classic championship links at the mouth of the River Boyne.
Widely regarded as one of the purest tests of links golf in the world, where strategy matters more than strength.
~7,031 yards, par 72 from the back tees.
Host of the European Tour's Irish Open in 2004 and 2009.
Home of the East of Ireland Amateur Open, held annually since 1941.
A celebrated short par-4 14th of just 332 yards
