Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort St Patrick's Links Course Review, Tee Times and Key info

Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort St Patrick's Links Key Information

Back in 2013, renowned architect Tom Doak and his colleague Eric Everson completed designs to turn the 36 holes at St Patrick’s Links just to the south of Rosapenna into 18 new and spectacular holes. The course debuted at 61 in our Top 100 Golf Courses UK & Ireland rankings last time and has climbed sharply to 39th this time round.

What has been built, based on those designs, is something really rather special. Construction began in 2018 and the course was open for play in 2021. Turning an area of land once home to two courses into one absolute stunner means what’s been created is on a huge scale, sprawling and through high dunes, expansive terrain and views, and highly individual and hugely memorable holes.

Tom Doak is used to dealing with stunning settings and stunning parcels of land – He’s created the likes of Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand and the beautiful Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania. So he was exactly the right person to get the job done at St Patrick’s Links. What he has designed is, without doubt, a modern classic. It is wider greens, perplexing greens, strategic choices – it has echoes of Kingsbarns and Castle Stuart.

I have now had the very good fortune to finally play it (twice) with my Top 100 colleague, Rob Smith, in May 2024 along with the other two fine courses at Rosapenna.

It would be safe to say that, even in fairly average weather, it didn't disappoint with thrills and excitement around every corner, both in the visuals and the playing of the holes.

This is wow-factor golf on a grand scale, and I would say the decision to create just one course on this exceptional plot of land rather than two was very much the right one. I'm sure the original two courses were perfectly fine, but this new creation is just exceptional, hence its steep climb up the rankings in 2025/26.

The drama and the fun starts from the outset with a rollercoaster 1st hole, and continues to the 18th, over and through the sometimes rolling, sometimes towering dunes. The layout asks for a full arsenal of shots, particularly around the excellent green complexes. Often the typical, running linksy pitch-and-run is required, but sometimes a more lofted option will suit better.

The fairways are generous, or at least seem to be, but ripples and contours can take the ball away from the centre cut all too easily. This is a course of great subtlety as well as captivating grandeur.

The holes are all memorable but some stand out moments include the 14th – a dogleg that turns along the water of Sheephaven Bay and then the views from the high tee on the par-5 16th.

St Patrick’s Links adds greatly to the offering at Rosapenna – a superb addition to the Old Tom Morris and Sandy Hills links. Without doubt, it’s one of the best courses to have been added to our UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses ranking this century.

What's new for 2025/26? What our panellists said…

Tim Browne

This is a fantastic golf course that you will want to play again and again. I think that it is a course that can offer endless variety due to the huge green complexes, the many tee boxes to choose from and the golfing conditions, which can vary enormously given the course’s location on the very north-west of Ireland facing the Atlantic Ocean. It is a course I could never tire of playing, although it may beat the hell out of me! A fantastic new links that adds greatly to the golfing scene in Donegal, in Ireland, in the British Isles and in the world.

Chris Boakes

St Patrick’s offers an outstanding test of golf over and through some huge dunes and briefly running along the coast at Sheephaven Bay. The design is bold with most fairways wide to promote forgiving drives, followed by tricky green complexes. The greens themselves and the run-offs on the surrounds are heavily undulating, requiring accurate approach shots. The dunes, and how golf architecture works its magic through them at St Patricks, are exceptionally pleasing on the eye. There are numerous elevated tee positions affording stunning views over Sheephaven Bay to the mountains beyond.

Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort St Patrick's Links Location

Best Courses Near to Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort St Patrick's Links

ROSAPENNA SANDY HILLS

The Pat Ruddy designed Sandy Hills Course at Rosapenna opened in 2003 but has a feel of a layout that has existed much longer. Carved through the dunes, it’s a supremely natural layout and a great example of sympathetic modern course design. It’s a course of nuances and subtlety with green complexes featuring some challenging slopes and falloffs.

BALLYLIFFIN (GLASHEDY LINKS)

One of two brilliant courses at Ballyliffin, this was designed by the great Pat Ruddy in the mid-1990s and hosted the 2018 Irish Open. Cleverly, it manages to combine the best of traditional links with a look and feel that is somehow modern. It’s a thrill from start to finish and features punishing bunkers and fast-running fairways.

Best Places To Stay Near Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort St Patrick's Links

Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort - Book Now
Staying at the resort, you're right there on site to hit the fairways. There are also packages available for hotel guests playing the golf courses. The views are superb and the accommodation and facilities are excellent. The food is of a very high standard.

Downings Bay Hotel - Book now at Booking.com
Situated in Sheephaven Bay on the picturesque Atlantic Drive, this is a comfortable hotel serving locally sourced food in the restaurant and there's always a good atmosphere in the bar. Guests can also enjoy free access to the nearby local leisure centre. The leisure centre has a modern, fully equipped gym and a swimming pool

Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort St Patrick's Links Gallery

Image 1 of 3

Frequently Asked Questions