Should The Irish Open Be Played Exclusively On Links Courses?

National Open Championships in the British Isles are synonymous with links golf. By the same token, links golf is intrinsically linked with the five countries that make up the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Open Championship is the most famous links event of them all, and that has been exclusively staged around the fringes of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland for over 150 years.

The Scottish Open, while not established for anywhere near as long, has followed a similar path with the likes of Carnoustie, Dundonald and current host, The Renaissance Club welcoming many of the world's best players to its most famous links layouts since 1976.

Royal Porthcawl in south Wales recently hosted the AIG Women's Open with great success while The Amateur Championship culminated in matches at Royal St George's this year.

However, the Irish Open has not always stuck to links courses, despite possessing some of the most unforgettable layouts such as Royal Portrush, Royal County Down, Portmarnock, Lahinch and Ballybunion around its first cut.

Complimenting the aforementioned places, parkland courses such as Mount Juliet (six times), Druids Glen (four), The K Club (three) and Adare Manor - the 2027 Ryder Cup host - have taken turns to host the Irish Open as well.

For many Irish people, they believe their national opens should be an opportunity to show off what incredible links courses sit right on their doorstep while offering the world a chance to view the island's breath-taking beauty as well.

At the same time, plenty of others are also aware of the logistical challenges that come with taking a world-class event to the more rural parts of a country.

Speaking ahead of the 2025 Irish Open at The K Club, Rory McIlroy suggested a hybrid blend of host layouts could work best.

He said: "I think some people would argue they’d like to see the Irish Open played on a links course every year, but I think alternating between a parkland in the K Club and then maybe a links course each year gives it a nice balance."

However, on X, over 75% of more than 250 people who responded to a poll on the Golf Monthly page voted they believe the Irish Open should be played exclusively on links courses moving forward.

A handful of Golf Monthly writers have had their say, too. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Conor Keenan

The Irish Open has an identity crisis - it’s homeless on the golfing calendar and has been damaged greatly by a lot of DP World Tour players leaving for LIV. Despite it being my home tournament, I’m more excited to watch the Walker Cup at Cypress Point solely because of the venue. No offence, K Club.

How do we give it an identity? I have two main ideas that go hand in hand. Firstly and most obviously, you tap into the identity of Irish golf and play it on links golf courses. We are lucky to have some of the best golf courses on earth, the vast majority of which are links.

Fans grow tired of watching golf on largely featureless, lush green golf courses on the PGA Tour every week which is part of what makes links golf so popular.

Secondly, you pair it with the Scottish Open and introduce a ‘Links Swing’ in conjunction with the PGA Tour. If Scotland hosts The Open then the Irish Open is the curtain raiser.

If The Open is held outside of Scotland, the Scottish Open remains in its normal spot and the Irish Open takes place the week before. This will lead to the best players in the world playing the best golf courses in the world - everyone is a winner.

Elliott Heath

The easy answer to this question is yes, the Irish Open should exclusively be held on links courses - but I can’t 100% say that I agree with that as there are a handful of top inland courses that are very fair Irish Open courses.

I think the K Club is a very good venue and would absolutely love to see Adare Manor back on the rota soon - especially with the Ryder Cup heading there in 2027. Adare is undoubtedly one of Ireland’s greatest venues and needs another Irish Open.

The rota seems to have been a little too inland-heavy in recent years, but Royal County Down hosted last year and we’ve seen the likes of Lahinch, Ballyliffin and Portstewart as excellent venues in the past decade.

I think it is fine to mix in the odd parkland course but let’s get Portmarnock, Ballyliffin, Lahinch, Royal Portrush, County Louth and some of the island’s other Top 100 courses back on the rota soon. Rosapenna’s new St Patrick’s Links would be fantastic, too.

Nick Bonfield

No, I don't think the Irish Open should be played exclusively on links courses. While I recognise most of Ireland's highest-ranked layouts are links, I don't see why organisers would needlessly restrict themselves.

We've seen thrilling Irish Opens in the past on parkland courses and the links-only criteria would exclude the likes of Fota Island, The K Club – which has Ryder Cup pedigree and hosts this year's tournament – and Adare Manor, which is set to stage the biennial contest in 2027.

Plus, there are logistical issues to consider. The most dramatic links courses are often in remote locations and away from major transport hubs, which limits the size of the gallery (and the amount of revenue the tournament generates).

I have no issue with the Irish Open alternating between links, parkland and any other style of course in the Emerald Isle – after all, variety is the spice of life.

Matt Cradock

There's plenty of argument for both sides and, in my opinion, I think the Irish Open should be primarily held on a links layout, especially when you look at the golf courses at its disposal and where it's positioned in the schedule - near to the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open Championship.

I say primarily, because there are a few courses like Adare Manor, for example, where it would still be good to watch. However, like the Scottish Open, I feel there are so many links courses that are missing out on staging the world's best.

Obviously, the word 'logistics' needs to be mentioned but, like we saw at Royal County Down and the Irish Open last year, it was one of the best events in terms of competition and viewer experience.

These tournaments need to stand out and, given its position in the calendar a week before Wentworth and the BMW PGA Championship, a links layout is the perfect way to make it more viewable and mix up the calendar.

Rory McIlroy spoke about winning at historic venues after Pebble Beach and, let's be honest, what golfer wouldn't want to end their career with a trophy on a course like Royal County Down, Portmarnock or Lahinch?

WHAT YOU SAID...

"If played prior to [The] open and Scottish then maybe get players committed but if being in the schedule prior to BMW championship then parkland fine. Ireland still has plenty of top class parkland courses."

"With it's currently slot in the schedule it has to be a no. In a Ryder Cup year having a links competition when the players are preparing for 2 big parkland events (BMW and Ryder Cup) then a links tournament wouldn't be supported by the top players."

"The Irish Open should definitely only be played at one of Ireland's excellent links courses (which add so much more visually for the viewers) and (a) as part of a 'swing' incorporating the Open, Scottish Open and Wentworth, and (b) as a warm-up ahead of the Open."

"No!"

"Links courses only, it’s not like we don’t have any. That’s why the Open is always played on links courses only never Parkland."