Portmarnock Golf Club

WHY IT BELONGS IN THE CONVERSATION

A classic name in Irish links golf.

Portmarnock’s founders explored the peninsula by boat in 1893 before opening nine holes on 26 December 1894. William Chalmers Pickeman and George Ross were central to the project; Mungo Park supervised the initial design and became the club’s first professional. John Jameson served as president.

Tournament golf soon became part of the club’s character. The Irish Amateur Open arrived in 1899, followed by a long sequence of national and international events. In 1991 Portmarnock hosted the first Walker Cup played in Ireland. The club’s own timeline also records the return of The Amateur Championship in 2019 and The Women’s Amateur in 2024.

1. 1894Nine-hole links formally opens on 26 December.
2. 1899Irish Amateur Open hosted.
3. 1991First Walker Cup staged in Ireland.

History source: the club’s published account

Plan your round.

Check the club’s visitor arrangements and choose the relevant tees when reviewing Course Rating and Slope. A championship reputation is different from an official handicap rating.

Course Rating and Slope measure difficulty from a specific set of tees; they are separate from course style, tournament history or a golfer’s review score. Where we haven’t verified a current scorecard, we leave those numbers unstated.

For a day on an exposed course, choose headwear for the actual forecast. Merino brings natural comfort; selected WINDSTOPPER® styles add wind protection, while AG11 and AG12 provide waterproof GORE-TEX® construction.