The Island Golf Club: Course Review, Tee Times and Key Info

The links course at The Island, ranked 72nd in our Top 100 UK&I Course Rankings in association with Peter Millar, gets off to a flier with a superb opening hole and never lets up

Towering dunes at The Island Golf Club
The Island Golf Club takes you on a thrilling ride through often-towering dunes
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)

Top 100 banners no.72

(Image credit: Future)

The Island Golf Club Key Information

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Address

Donabate, Dublin, Ireland.

Phone Number

+353 (0)1 843 6205

Website

theislandgolfclub.com

Email

info@theislandgolfclub.com

Visitor Times

No stated restrictions

Par

Men: 72 blue, white, green, 71 red, 68 yellow; Ladies: 75 red

Slope Rating

Men: 132 blue, 130 white, 126 green, 122 red, 113 yellow; Ladies: 130 red

Opened

1890

Designed by

Unknown, Fred W Hawtree, Eddie Hackett, Martin Hawtree

Golf Monthly Verdict

The Island Golf Club 12th hole

(Image credit: Steve Carr Golf)

The Island is a good test of golf demanding a variety of shot-making skills. The new holes on the front nine have elevated the course further, adding greater balance to an outward loop that used to comprise eight consecutive par 4s and a short par 3 back to the clubhouse.

For many, though, the par-4 14th coming home remains the standout hole with its narrow fairway and wasteland estuary edge waiting on the right to catch any errant tee shots.

REASONS TO PLAY THE ISLAND

- It plays through some of the most dramatic dunes of any older links course

- Recent work by Martin Ebert has given the whole links greater balance

- One of the most visually stirring opening holes you'll play anywhere

RANKINGS

UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2025/26 - 72

The Island has made good progress in our Top 100 Golf Courses UK & Ireland rankings over the past two decades yet, for some reason, it perhaps remains less well-known than it deserves to be given its location just ten miles from the centre of Dublin and its idyllic setting, surrounded on three sides by water and marshland with holes that weave through some of the tallest and most awe-inspiring dunes of any older links course.

I was certainly impressed by the towering dunes you often play through on my visit, the kind of holes that I have now seen many times elsewhere but rarely on a links course of this vintage.

Word of its quality is spreading rapidly, and that looks set to continue apace following extensive recent work to remodel the opening half to take fuller advantage of the terrain. This work has added greater balance to a front nine that used to comprise eight consecutive par 4s and a short par 3 back to the clubhouse, and therefore greater balance to the overall course as well.

The club was born in 1890 out of the desire of certain Royal Dublin members to have somewhere they were allowed to play golf on the Sabbath. They would take a ferry over the estuary to a links that was originally routed from the seaward end of the promontory.

The ferry was still in use for arriving golfers until the clubhouse was re-sited in 1973, and the latest course revisions follow a number of other substantial improvements through the years at the hands of Martin Hawtree and others. Few would deny that The Island really is now one of the best golf courses in Ireland.

After that newly rebalanced front nine, the back nine features two further par 5s, the intimidating par-4 14th, with its fearsomely narrow fairway, and a stirring approach on 15, where the spectacular amphitheatre green is reminiscent of Doonbeg’s 1st or Carne’s 10th. It certainly whetted my appetite for the shot ahead when I managed to find that particular fairway.

The 13th is one of two great par 3s coming home, a classic one-shotter at the southern end of the promontory that could require literally any club in the bag depending on wind strength and direction. It's devoid of sand, with a cavernous pit and OOB all the way along the right-hand side deemed testing enough. I think that's more than fair enough!

The Island is surrounded by water on three sides

The Island is surrounded by water on three sides

(Image credit: Steve Carr Golf)

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

Nicholas Hercules 2025
Nicholas Hercules

A breath-taking Dublin Bay gem with towering dunes and divine views throughout that requires strategic golf. Straight shots are rewarded and will avoid the deep bunkers, which can be navigated relatively easily. Each hole is memorable and poses a different question. The course is great fun (even in a constant drizzle), immensely playable for a 16-handicapper and packed full of risk-and-reward options off the tee and when attacking greens. I’d be delighted to return many times to learn its many nuances and seek to crack some of its hidden codes.

Rob Fear 2025
Rob Fear

A great mix of holes. Sometimes the dunes allow you just a glimpse of where to hit your ball, but nothing more. My favourite holes included the 10th, 12th and 14th. I’d wanted to play here for many years and it lived up to my expectations. Even getting to the club creates a sense of anticipation and there's a lovely sense of history, with many references to how players travelled to the club by boat until 1973.

The Island Golf Club location

Book tee-times at The Island Golf Club direct

The Island Golf Club scorecard

The Island Golf Club scorecard

(Image credit: The Island Golf Club)

Best Courses Near The Island

PORTMARNOCK

PORTMARNOCK
Set on a relatively flat and wonderfully sandy peninsula to the north of Dublin, the land at Portmarnock looks like it was always destined for golf. And while it may not have the towering dunes that feature elsewhere in the country, this is a serious championship test that is extremely highly regarded and has long been ranked as one of the country’s very finest golfing examinations. There are 27 holes here.

PORTMARNOCK HOTEL & GOLF LINKS

PORTMARNOCK HOTEL & GOLF LINKS
Situated next door to the far older and more celebrated 27 holes at Portmarnock, this challenging links belies its youth and is blessed with arguably more dramatic dunes than its neighbour. There are elevated tees and greens, doglegs, and plenty of well-placed bunkers. Despite the occasional blind shot, there are no tricks and what you see is what you get on this fair test of golf.

Best Places To Stay Near The Island

Grand Hotel, Malahide - Book now at Booking.com
The Grand Hotel is located in Malahide just 2.5 miles from The Island. Boasting a 20-yard swimming pool, a spa bath and a steam room, this four-star hotel with satellite TV in the rooms is just a ten-minute drive from Dublin Airport. The Coast Restaurant serves fine cuisine with views of Malahide estuary.

Shoreline Hotel, Donabate - Book now at Booking.com
The Shoreline Hotel is situated on the beach in Donabate just a mile and a half from The Island and close to other fine courses. Dublin city centre is just 25 minutes away. The newly refurbished bedrooms offer balcony views of Lambay Island and Howth Head, or the Corballis golf links.

The Island Gallery

THE ISLAND HISTORICAL TOP 100 RANKING UK&I

  • 2025/26 - 72
  • 2023/24 - 71
  • 2021/22 - 72
  • 2019/20 - 75
  • 2017/18 - 72
  • 2015/16 - 75
  • 2013/14 - 79
  • 2011/12 - 92
  • 2009/10 - 95

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Island the best golf course around Dublin?

It's certainly one of the best, but it's up against some pretty stiff competition in Portmarnock (26th), which ranks highly in many course ranking lists, including Golf Monthly's UK&I Top 100. But The Island (72nd), with its towering dunes, impressive setting and fine recent improvements works, is the only other course in the Dublin area in our Top 100, so for us - and others - it's the second-best course in the region.

Why is it called The Island Golf Club?

A good question as it's not situated on an island, unless you're talking about the whole of Ireland being an island! The reality is that Sunday golf was forbidden at Royal Dublin Golf Club, so in 1887, a group of men keen to find somewhere to play on a Sunday rowed across the channel separating Malahide from a spur of land to the north known locally as the Island (even though it isn't an island) to find somewhere suitable for a new golf links.

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: Srixon ZX, EvenFlow Riptide 6.0 S 50g shaft

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

Irons 3- to 8-iron: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Irons 9-iron and PW: Honma TWorld TW747Vx, Nippon NS Pro regular shaft

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

Putter: Kramski HPP 325

Ball: Any premium ball I can find in a charity shop or similar (or out on the course!)

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