Value golf in the Republic of Ireland is a weekday round on the Golf Ireland member rate, which most clubs now print alongside a higher rate for everyone else, or an entry in one of a club's Open competitions, booked through its own timesheet for a fraction of the standard fee. The courses below run from €15 for nine holes at Stepaside, Dublin's own council course, to €70 for an eighteen-hole round on the Golf Ireland member rate at Narin & Portnoo in Donegal, with Open entries from €20.
Prices were read from each club's own website on 23 August 2026. Green fees change by season and by day; check the club's page or timesheet before you travel.
How does an Open competition work, and why is it the best value in Ireland?
An Open competition is a club's own competition thrown open to visiting golfers who hold a handicap. You enter through the club's own timesheet or an online entry form, and the fee is a fraction of the standard green fee: Dunfanaghy's Monday and Wednesday Opens are €20 against a standard visitor rate of €100, and Rosslare's Open Weeks in late July and early August are €50 against a rack rate of up to €135.
What you need is a current handicap index through your own club, entry in advance, and an acceptance of the club's dress and pace expectations; Dooks caps its Kerry Scratch Cup at a handicap index of 2.4, and Rosslare's Open Weeks are closed to iGolf members. The honest caveat is that you play the club's format on the day, often a Stableford or a scramble, frequently in a three-ball drawn by the club, and you take the tee time you are given.
What is the Golf Ireland member rate, and does it apply to you?
Most Republic of Ireland clubs now publish two or three visitor tiers rather than one. A golfer who holds a handicap through a club affiliated to Golf Ireland pays the lower figure; everyone else pays a second, higher rate, usually printed as "Non-Golf Ireland" or "International". At Narin & Portnoo the gap is stark, €70 against €300, and at Dunfanaghy it is €50 against €100. Gort publishes only the Golf Ireland figure and does not say what a non-affiliated visitor pays.
None of this is available simply by asking: a visitor without a Golf Ireland handicap pays the higher figure regardless of ability. A club's own guest, brought in by a member, pays a separate rate again, printed at most clubs as the member's guest rate: Athlone calls it "Green Fee with Member" and Dunfanaghy "Green Fee with a Member"; others print "Member Guest", "Playing With A Member" or "With a Member", which all mean the same thing. A society booking a group pays a fourth rate again, the society rate, which West Waterford and Narin & Portnoo both publish.
Dublin, Louth and the east coast
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stepaside Golf Course | €15 (9 holes, weekday); €18 (9 holes, weekend) | no Opens published | not published |
| Elmgreen Golf Club | €30 (weekday, from); €36 (weekend, from) | €27 (GUI cardholders, from, as the club words it) | not published |
| Greenore Golf Club | €50 (Golf Ireland affiliate, from); €60 (non-Golf Ireland affiliate, from) | €35 (weekly Open competitions) | not published |
| Seapoint Golf Links | €150 (Mon-Thu, Apr-Oct); €55 (Golf Ireland affiliate, from) | €50 or €55 (weekly Open; the club's own pages disagree) | not published |
Stepaside is a nine-hole public course in the Dublin foothills, designed by Eddie Hackett and opened in the early 1980s, its grounds maintained by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. A weekday round is €15, the cheapest fee in this list, with concession rates before 6pm on weekdays only.
Elmgreen is an eighteen-hole parkland course in Castleknock, another Eddie Hackett design, run as a pay-and-play course by a private operator rather than a council. Visitor fees start from €30 midweek, and Opens are open to what the club's page still calls GUI cardholders from €27.
Greenore, on the Cooley Peninsula overlooking Carlingford Lough, opened with twelve holes in 1896 and became eighteen the following year, with Eddie Hackett upgrading the course in 1973; the club describes it as a mix of links and heathland holes. A Golf Ireland affiliate pays from €50, and the weekly Open is €35.
Seapoint is a true links opened in 1993, host to European Tour and Irish PGA events and the Irish Amateur Championship, playing to a par of 72 over 6,439 metres. Its standard rate is €150 on a summer weekday, well above this list's range, but a Golf Ireland affiliate pays from €55, and the weekly Open is €50 on one page of the club's own site and €55 on another.
The south-east
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courtown Golf Club | €40 (low season, midweek); €70 (high season, weekend) | Opens only on the booking engine, not read | not published |
| West Waterford Golf Club | €35 (Mon-Fri, 2026); €40 (Sat-Sun, 2026) | Opens listed, fees not shown | not published |
| Dungarvan Golf Club | €40 (18 holes, weekday); €45 (18 holes, weekend) | €20 to €25 (several weekly Opens) | €35 (weekday); €40 (weekend) |
| Rosslare Golf Links, Old Course | €90 (Mon-Fri, high season); €135 (weekend, high season) | €50 (Open Weeks, late Jul-early Aug 2026) | not published |
Courtown, at Kiltennel near Gorey, is a mature parkland course founded in 1936 and extended to eighteen holes in 1974, playing to a par of 71. Its published rate runs from €40 at low season midweek to €70 at high season weekends, and its Open events are booked and priced only inside the club's own booking engine.
West Waterford, at Dungarvan, is an eighteen-hole parkland course by Eddie Hackett, home club of Séamus Power and Gary Hurley, playing to a par of 73 over 6,736 yards from the blue tees. Its 2026 rate is €35 on a weekday, and its fixture list of Open events runs from April to August without a published entry fee.
Dungarvan Golf Club is an eighteen-hole championship parkland course beside Dungarvan Bay, set up in 1924 and moved to its present site in 1993. Eighteen holes is €40 on a weekday, and a run of weekly Opens, from Monday seniors to the Friday gents' and ladies' singles, run from €20 to €25.
Rosslare Golf Links, the Old Course, is a championship eighteen-hole links laid out by Hawtree & Taylor in 1926, founded in 1905 and playing to a par of 72 over 6,702 yards. Its standard high-season weekday rate of €90 sits above this list's usual range, but its Open Weeks at the end of July and start of August charge a visitor €50 a round.
Cork and Kerry, the south-west
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mahon Golf Course | €25 (weekday peak, Mon-Thu); €30 (weekend, Fri-Sun) | no Opens published | €15 (weekday); €20 (weekend) |
| Douglas Golf Club | €65 (weekday); €75 (weekend) | no Opens published | €40 (weekday); €45 (weekend) |
| Castlegregory Golf Links | €55 (Golf Ireland member, 18 holes, peak); €100 (visitor, 18 holes, peak) | no Opens published | €40 (18 holes, peak) |
| Dooks Golf Club | €260 (midweek, 20 Apr-19 Oct); €280 (weekend) | €50 (Ladies Open Days); €60 (Kerry Scratch Cup, max handicap 2.4) | not published |
Mahon Golf Course, on the Cork estuary at Blackrock, is an eighteen-hole course listed by Cork City Council among its sports facilities. A weekday round in peak hours is €25, and a member's guest pays €15, among the lowest figures on this list.
Douglas, at Maryborough Hill in Cork, was founded in 1909 to a course by Harry Vardon and extended by Alister MacKenzie in 1924; the club hosted the 2023 European Senior Men's and Women's Championships and was voted best parkland course in Munster in 2019. A weekday round is €65, and an early-bird round before 10.30am is €50.
Castlegregory Golf Links, in Kerry, is a nine-hole links played twice for eighteen, laid out from 1989 by Dr Arthur Spring and ranked 21st among the world's best nine-hole courses. A Golf Ireland member pays €55 for eighteen holes in peak season against €100 for a visitor without that affiliation.
Dooks, on Dingle Bay, is a links founded in 1889, redesigned by Martin Hawtree in 2006, host to the Irish Mixed Foursomes in 2015. Its standard midweek rate of €260 is the highest in this list, but its Ladies Open Days and handicap-limited Kerry Scratch Cup let a visitor play for €50 to €60.
Clare and the Shannon
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ennis Golf Club | €45 (18 holes, summer); €35 (18 holes, winter) | €30 (Friday Open Singles, summer) | €30 (adult guest with member) |
| Spanish Point Golf Club | €55 (May-Sep, without member); €35 (Nov-Apr, without member) | no Opens published | €30 (May-Sep); €25 (Nov-Apr) |
| Lahinch Golf Club, Castle Course | €60 (27 Apr-16 Oct 2026, any day) | no Opens published | not published |
Ennis Golf Club is an eighteen-hole parkland course founded in 1907, known for lush fairways and mature trees. A summer round is €45, and a Friday Open Singles entry is €30.
Spanish Point is a traditional nine-hole links on the Atlantic coast at Miltown Malbay, voted best nine-hole course in Munster in 2024. Its 2026 rate without a member is €55 between May and September, the same fee whether nine holes or eighteen.
The Castle Course is the second course at the 1892 club of Lahinch, running along the tidal River Inagh and named for Dough Castle behind its seventh green. A round between late April and mid October 2026 is €60, against €450 for the club's own Old Course.
The west and Mayo
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballina Golf Club | €50 (Mon-Fri, May-Sep); €70 (weekend/bank holiday, May-Sep) | €30 (visitors with a Golf Ireland handicap; 2025 dates on the 2026/27 rate card) | €25 (Mon-Fri, peak); €30 (weekend, peak) |
| Westport Golf Club | €55 (Golf Ireland, midweek, summer); €110 (International, midweek, summer) | Opens only on the booking engine, not read | not published |
| Gort Golf Club | €40 (Golf Ireland members, midweek); €50 (Golf Ireland members, weekend); non-member rate not published | €25 (visitors, Open Day Competitions) | €10 discount on the green fee |
Ballina Golf Club has existed since 1910 and opened its nine-hole course at Mossgrove in 1924; the club calls today's eighteen holes one of the most scenic parkland courses in the West of Ireland, set against the Ox Mountains. A summer weekday round is €50, and a twilight round after 6.30pm drops to €25; its 2026/27 rate card still carries 2025 dates for its summer Opens, so confirm the year before entering.
Westport Golf Club, at Carrowholly on Clew Bay, was designed by Fred W. Hawtree in 1973 and has hosted the Irish Amateur Close, the Irish PGA Championship and the Irish Ladies Close. A Golf Ireland golfer pays €55 on a summer midweek round against €110 for an international visitor, and its Opens are booked and priced only through its own booking engine.
Gort Golf Club, on the edge of the Burren, was designed by Christy O'Connor Jnr and officially opened in 1996, though the club itself dates to 1924. The published rate of €40 midweek is for a Golf Ireland member only, with no non-affiliated rate published, and its Open Day Competitions charge a visitor €25.
Donegal and the north-west
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bundoran Golf Club | €50 (Golf Ireland/UK, Mon-Fri); €60 (Golf Ireland/UK, Sat-Sun); €100 (International) | €35 (Open Days) | €15 discount on the daily green fee |
| Narin & Portnoo Links | €70 (Golf Ireland affiliate, summer, from); €300 (International, summer) | €50 to €60 (midweek, by season); €80 (Saturday) | €45 (both seasons) |
| Cruit Island Golf Club | €50 (Golf Ireland member, 18 holes); €80 (non-Golf Ireland member, 18 holes) | no Opens published | €20 (playing with a member) |
| Dunfanaghy Golf Club | €100 (visitor, non-Golf Ireland member, every day); €50 (Golf Ireland member) | €20 (Monday and Wednesday Opens); €25 (Saturday Open) | €30 (weekday); €40 (weekend/bank holiday) |
| North West Golf Club | €175 (rack rate, Apr-Sep); €50 (Golf Ireland member, midweek) | €40 (midweek); €45 (weekend/bank holiday) | €40 (midweek); €45 (weekend/bank holiday) |
Bundoran Golf Club, founded in 1894 on the cliffs above Donegal Bay, was set out as a championship course by Harry Vardon in 1927 and plays to a par of 70. A Golf Ireland or UK golfer pays €50 on a weekday against €100 for an international visitor, and its Open Days, held most weekends and bank holidays from March to October, are €35.
Narin & Portnoo, established in 1905, was recently re-established by architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner for new ownership. A Golf Ireland affiliate pays from €70 in summer against €300 for an international guest, the widest gap on this list, and its midweek Open runs from €50 to €60 by season.
Cruit Island is a nine-hole links off the Donegal coast, one of its par threes measuring only 137 metres. A Golf Ireland member pays €50 for eighteen holes against €80 for a non-affiliated visitor, and playing with a member costs €20.
Dunfanaghy, at Sheephaven Bay, is a true links laid out in 1906 by Harry Vardon. A visitor without a Golf Ireland handicap pays €100 every day, but the same course is €50 for a Golf Ireland member, and its Monday and Wednesday Opens charge a visitor €20.
North West Golf Club, at Lisfannon on Lough Swilly, was established as an eighteen-hole links in 1891, a founding member of the Golfing Union of Ireland. Its rack rate of €175 between April and September is the second highest in this list, but a Golf Ireland member pays €50 midweek and its Open is €40 midweek.
The midlands
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tullamore Golf Club | €50 (weekday, Jun-Oct); €60 (weekend, Jun-Oct) | €35 (Monday Opens) | €35 (weekday, Jun-Oct); €40 (weekend, Jun-Oct) |
| County Cavan Golf Club | €30 (Mon-Fri); €35 (Sat-Sun) | Opens listed, fees not shown | not published |
| Athlone Golf Club | €40 (Mon-Fri, summer); €50 (weekend/bank holiday, summer) | €35 (Wednesday Open Day) | €30 (all week) |
| Royal Curragh Golf Club | €60 (weekday, winter 2025/2026); €75 (weekend, winter); summer rate not published | Opens listed, fees not shown | €25 per guest (weekday); €30 (weekend) |
Tullamore Golf Club has been at Brookfield, part of the Charleville Estate, since 1926; James Braid inspected the course in 1938 and Patrick Merrigan redeveloped seven greens and three lakes in 1995. A round from June to October is €50 on a weekday, and its Monday Opens are €35.
County Cavan Golf Club, at Drumelis, calls its layout one of the region's most admired parkland courses, established over a century ago. A weekday round is €30, and its fixtures list a Thursday Open series with no published entry fee.
Athlone Golf Club, at Hodson Bay on Lough Ree, dates its golf to 1892 and has hosted the All-Ireland Cups and Shields Finals. A summer weekday round is €40, and its Wednesday Open Day is €35.
Royal Curragh calls itself Ireland's oldest golf club and golf course, tracing play on the Curragh plains to 1852. Only its winter rate is published, €60 on a weekday, with its summer figure behind the club's own booking system; its summer Opens, run every Thursday, are listed without a fee.
What counts as value here?
The fees above buy a full round on ground with real pedigree at a fraction of what the championship links on the same coasts charge. The Castle Course at Lahinch is €60 a round at the same club whose Old Course is €450. What the fee in this list does not buy is the famous name itself, or a tee time at the hour you choose on a summer Saturday.
A visitor pays less than the standard figure in several ways the tables show. The weekday: Dungarvan is €40 against €45 at the weekend, Bundoran €50 against €60. The Golf Ireland member rate, published by more than a third of the clubs in this list as a separate and lower figure. The Open: Dunfanaghy is €20 against a standard rate of €100, and Rosslare's Open Weeks are €50 against a rack rate of up to €135. And the season: Narin & Portnoo's Golf Ireland rate falls from €70 in summer to €60 in winter, Castlegregory's from €55 to €30.
How do I get a tee time as a visitor in Ireland?
Almost every club above takes visitor bookings through its own online timesheet, and several also take a phone call: Mahon by phone or email, Douglas by a call to its Pro Shop to check availability, County Cavan either online or by phone. Open competitions are usually entered separately, through an online form or the club's own competitions page, and you should know your current handicap index before you start: Dooks caps its Kerry Scratch Cup at 2.4, and Rosslare's Open Weeks are closed to iGolf members.
Where a club publishes a Golf Ireland member rate, say which club you are affiliated to when you book and be ready to show it, and where a county rate sits on top, as Dunfanaghy's Donegal Golf Ireland Member figure does, say that too.
What this list leaves out
Every figure above was read from a club's own website on one day, 23 August 2026, and the tables hold only courses whose standard rate, or whose Golf Ireland member rate, was published and sat at or under seventy euros, plus a small number kept in solely for a cheap Open entry. Clubs that publish no price at all, or price their rounds only inside an online booking engine this research could not read, are not in this list, and that rule left out well known names across Dublin, Sligo, Kerry and Donegal that may be just as good value by phone. Prices are one day's reading: Ballina's Open dates were still 2025 on a 2026/27 rate card, Skerries' rate card was headed 2025, and Royal Curragh publishes only a winter figure. Opens are seasonal and the fixture list changes every year, so a fee against a named 2026 date is what the club asked that year, not a promise for the next.
What this list cannot carry, the club's own page can: the date. Read that before the fee, and where a page carries an old date or two figures that disagree, as Seapoint's own two pages do, the Pro Shop will tell you which one is current.
Where to start
A weekday at Mahon for €25 is the cheapest eighteen holes here, and Gort at €40 on the Golf Ireland rate shows what that card is worth. The cheapest way onto good links is an Open: Dunfanaghy's and Dungarvan's weekday competitions run from €20, and Rosslare's Open Weeks put a visitor on a championship course for €50. Carry your handicap, know which tier is yours, and the rest is the golf.