The European Club: Golf Course Review, Green Fees, Tee Times and Key Info

This modern-day County Wicklow links offers a superb experience mixing fun and challenge with more than a hint of quirkiness at times

The European Club
The European Club is an impressive modern links playing through tall dunes at times on the Wicklow coast
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Top 100 Courses UK & Ireland 2023/24

(Image credit: Future)

The European Club Key Information

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Header Cell - Column 0 Header Cell - Column 1
AddressBrittas Bay, Wicklow, Ireland
Phone Number+353 (0)404 47415
Websitetheeuropeanclub.com
Emailinfo@theeuropeanclub.com
Green Fees€250-€275 April to Oct; €140 Nov-Mar
Visitor TimesEvery day but not before 10am Sunday
ParMen: 71 blue, white, yellow; Ladies: 71 red
Slope RatingMen: 135 blue, 132 white, 130 yellow; Ladies: 128 red
Opened1993
Designed byPat Ruddy
Golf Monthly Verdict

The European Club

(Image credit: Getty Images)

A fine modern links where glorious sea views and distinctive sleepered bunkers abound, and where the emphasis is very much on fun, despite the course being more than capable of testing the very best, as it did when hosting the Irish PGA Championship for three years from 2007.

The long and testing 7th, flanked by reeds and imposing dunes, has achieved worldwide renown and takes you down to a run of five memorable holes set along or close to the beach, among them the head-turning par-3 14th, with its well-bunkered plateau green nestling in the dunes.

REASONS TO PLAY THE EUROPEAN CLUB

- An exciting modern links with visual drama aplenty and sea views for much of the round

- Enough little design touches to distinguish it from other modern links, including those sleepered bunkers

- The chance to play 20 holes for the price of 18 as the two extra par 3s are in play most days

RANKINGS

UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2023/24 - 19

Back in the 1980s, Irish golf writer and golf course architect, Pat Ruddy, who also created the fine parkland course at Druid's Glen, was determined to have a golf course of his own.

Perhaps fearing that the scope to develop classic linksland into little pieces of golfing heaven would only diminish over time, he set out on a helicopter reconnaissance mission in 1987 to find the perfect spot.

The fruits of that mission turned out to be Brittas Bay in County Wicklow, and six years later, dream became reality when his European Club opened for play there. It has enjoyed a place in the upper echelons of our Top 100 golf courses in the UK and Ireland rankings from the start. It also ranks very near the top when it comes to the best golf courses in Ireland.

This is a course where glorious sea views and distinctive sleepered bunkers abound, and where the emphasis is very much on fun, despite the course being more than capable of testing the very best, as it did when hosting the Irish PGA Championship for three years from 2007. Padraig Harrington won them all!

On the topic of fun, the widening of the fairways in recent years has enhanced that element for many, and there are also a few quirky touches that speak to the creator’s character and make things just a little bit different here.

For a start, there are two cracking extra par 3s at 7a and 12a which you are more than welcome to play most days. Then there’s the tongue-in-cheek 127-yard-long 12th green that sends the potential for misclubbing into a whole new dimension.

The long and testing 7th, flanked by reeds and imposing dunes, has achieved worldwide renown and takes you down to a run of five memorable holes set along or close to the beach, among them the head-turning par-3 14th, with its well-bunkered plateau green nestling in the dunes.

Ruddy’s dream was to build a glorious links playground of his own, and golfers everywhere should be eternally grateful that he took to the skies in 1987 to fulfil that dream.

The European Club

Sea views abound at The European Club (Photo: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

What The Top 100 Panel Said

Chris Boakes Golf Monthly Top 100 panel
Chris Boakes

The European Club provides a true links experience where the element of luck is kept minimal while good golf will reap rewards against an exacting test. The landscape has been utilised to maximise the huge dunes with the rises and falls requiring careful club selection to compensate. Pushing boundaries in golf course design for the benefit of a tough but fair challenge.

Jamie Hudson UK&I Top 100 panel
Jamie Hudson

I’m salivating just writing this and I’m not even on the links. The imagery it leaves in one’s mind is like no other. When visiting a new place, golfers and reviewers alike often find comfort in suggesting this course reminds them of another. It's impossible to do so with The European Club - a design, a test, an atmosphere and an owner that are incomparable. Simply the best 20-hole golf course on earth

The European Club location

The European Club Green Fees

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April to October - 2023 weekdays€250Row 0 - Cell 2
April to October - 2023 weekends€275Row 1 - Cell 2
November to March€140Row 2 - Cell 2

Contact The European Club to book a round

The European Club Course Scorecard

The European Club scorecard

(Image credit: The European Club)

Best Courses Near The European Club

DRUIDS GLEN

<a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/courses/top-100-courses/druids-glen-golf-course-review-60762" data-link-merchant="golfmonthly.com"">DRUIDS GLEN
A short distance from the Wicklow coast and now into its second quarter of a century, Druid’s Glen is a lush golfing oasis, complete with majestic tree-lined fairways, thought-provoking water features and considerably more than a splash of colour at the right time of year. The course is currently undergoing a major renovation and is set to reopen in summer 2023.

POWERSCOURT

<a href="https://powerscourt.com/attractions/golf/" data-link-merchant="powerscourt.com"" target="_blank">POWERSCOURT
There are two 18-hole courses here (East and West) and the biggest challenge is which one to play first. The West wastes no time in getting you onto the hillside that is home to this David McLay Kidd design. It gives every hole so much shape. Play the East, too, and enjoy 36 of the best greens anywhere plus great views of the Sugar Loaf Mountain from across the estate.

Best Places To Stay Near The European Club

Arklow Bay Hotel and Leisure Club, Arklow -  Book now at Booking.com
Overlooking the sea and just a short walk from Arklow town, this hotel offers tasty food, an impressive leisure club and 91 rooms, some with spectacular sea views. The Arklow Bay Hotel and Leisure Club’s impressive leisure facilities include an indoor swimming pool, a sauna, a steam room and a gymnasium. Arklow is a charming and historic town six miles from the European Club surrounded by hills and beautifully located by the sea. 

The Meetings B&B, Avoca - Book now at Booking.com
The Meetings B&B is located directly at The Meeting of the Waters. Guests can enjoy the property's communal balcony, which directly overlooks the Avonmore and Avonbeg rivers. Situated in Avoca, this bed and breakfast boasts a bar and a shop, and offers guests free on-site parking and free WiFi. The property is ideally located for exploring Wicklow, and lies seven miles from the European Club.

The European Club Gallery

THE EUROPEAN CLUB HISTORICAL TOP 100 RANKING UK&I

  • 2023/24 - 19
  • 2021/22 - 19
  • 2019/20 - 18
  • 2017/18 - 19
  • 2015/16 - 20
  • 2013/14 - 17
  • 2011/12 - 14
  • 2009/10 - 15

Frequently Asked Questions

Has the European Club hosted any tour events?

No, it hasn't yet hosted any tour events, although many of the game's biggest stars have played here including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. What it has hosted is the Irish PGA Championship for three years from 2007 the week before The Open. Padraig Harrington won all three, the final one by seven strokes, and it's probably no coincidence that he also went on to win The Open in two of those three years.

Which courses has Pat Ruddy designed?

Ruddy's first design was at Castlecomer in the Irish midlands in 1969. As well as his own course at the European Club, he also designed Ballyliffin's Glashedy links and Rosapenna's Sandy Hills links from concept to completion. Among the other Irish courses he has made significant contributions to are County Sligo, Ballyliffin Old, Rosapenna's Old Tom Morris/Pat Ruddy links, Portsalon and Donegal.

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response