Welcome to Talking Golf Travel: No.15.
Unbelievably, considering it’s December, your final issue of 2025 features an astonishing amount of must-see content for travelling golfers.
You’ve got rounds at legendary links, hidden gems and championship classics across Ireland and Scotland.
Now, let’s tee off…
For millions of golfers, even playing the hallowed Old Course would be the ultimate dream.
But winning a championship at St Andrews – like Nicklaus, Faldo, and Woods – is simply beyond imagination.
Still, you can catch a glimpse of the glorious experience.
This gripping new film gives you an all-access pass to the thrilling 2025 St Andrews Links Collegiate.
Speaking of The Home of Golf, meet its latest addition here.
Fun and framing.
That was Paul McGinley’s criteria for his popular Golf’s Greatest Holes series on Sky Sports.
As for the courses, there’s no better place to start than home.
McGinley journeyed to Old Head Golf Links, where you play on a narrow strip of land 300 feet above the booming Atlantic Ocean.
Next, 250 miles north, he visited Ardglass Golf Club, where the scenery and routing are similarly spellbinding.
Mr McGinley is not wrong – golf courses should be fun.
But you never remember the pushovers like those layouts that keep challenging you.
So, after releasing its latest top 100, GOLF.com handpicked the toughest tests on the list.
In Scotland, Carnoustie (No.39) is a remorseless beast with unforgiving rough, howling gales, and countless bunkers.
Meanwhile, Royal Portrush (No.14) is as unpredictable as the weather in Northern Ireland!
Learn more here.
Welcome to the modern three-storey, five-star home of a club that turns 150 in 2027.
Finally, following a two-year project, Royal Dornoch opened the doors of its spectacular new clubhouse on December 15.
Fittingly, three of the club’s longest-standing members were among the first to see inside the £13.9m facility that overlooks its fabled Championship Course.
Take a look and then explore the extraordinary visitor experience that awaits you here.
Fantasy landscapes. Sky-scraping peaks. Golden beaches. Vibrant wildflowers.
The great Scottish and Irish courses are your gateway to a staggering variety of natural splendour.
Just ask the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler.
Among its 50 Most Beautiful Places in the World, the magazine highlights three beloved golfing hotspots.
The astounding Cliffs of Moher in Southwest Ireland, the windswept Scottish Highlands, and the haunting Dark Hedges of Northern Ireland.
Learn more here.
Ranked No.25 in the world, the West Links at North Berwick is an intoxicating mix of stunning backdrops, ingenious routing, and memorable holes.
In fact, this East Lothian classic has inspired many other courses.
Recently, the club announced a historic collaboration to polish and protect its prized asset.
Gil Hanse, who also masterfully revamped Narin & Portnoo, will design and deliver the enhancements.
Learn more in Golf Course Architecture here.
The competition in these categories was fierce. After all, we’re talking about Irish and Scottish links courses.
For Scotland, the finalists included St Andrews and Turnberry.
Likewise, for Ireland, you had County Sligo and Royal Dublin.
Ultimately, the judges selected two deserving Golf Course of the Year winners.
The lesser-known, though absolutely epic, Dunes at Enniscrone Golf Club. And the legendary Championship Course at Carnoustie Golf Links.
Learn more here.
4 golfers | 7 rounds | 17 nights
Meet our Pascuzzi group.
Their Golfer Journeys itinerary reads like the combined greatest hits of Scotland and Ireland.
First, enchanting Fife brought the Old Course, Kingsbarns and the Castle Course for the perfect blend of tradition and modernity.
Next, our guests arrived in vibrant Belfast for the unbeatable combination that is the Royals of Portrush and County Down.
Finally, to charming Kerry, where Waterville and Ballybunion delivered an unforgettable finale.
Quite often, a top-class course is within putting distance of a top-notch hotel.
That’s certainly true of Scotland, where your post-round pleasures include excellent restaurants, bars and spas.
In the Highlands, the palatial Royal Golf Hotel is just 50 yards from Royal Dornoch.
And in East Lothian, the boutique Marine offers cosy accommodations and enviable views of the Firth of Forth and North Berwick.
Learn more in The Times here.
Ballyliffin Golf Club in Donegal is a picture of savage beauty.
Located in splendid isolation on the stirring Inishowen Peninsula, it offers you the quintessential Wild Atlantic Way links experience across 36 rip-roaring championship holes.
Expect lush, rolling terrain, towering dunes, golden sands, and crashing waves.
Jim Callaghan, The Senior Golfer, took on the Old course and needed every shot in his locker to navigate the rollercoaster par-4 15th hole.
If you’re a Talking Golf Travel reader, you’ll be familiar with Tom Doak’s recent endeavours.
The acclaimed architect sculpted a sublime new course out of what was once billowing farmland in the bedazzling Scottish Highlands.
Old Petty premiered to rapturous applause last August and officially opens at Cabot Highlands next Spring.
This video from LINKS Magazine, with commentary from Doak, is a wonderful introduction to his elegant but eccentric layout.
Like Carne and Ballyliffin, the marvellous Murvagh Links at Donegal Golf Club was originally crafted by Eddie Hackett, the ‘father of golf course design’ in Ireland.
It’s a big, beautiful brute set amidst spectacular seclusion.
In recent years, Paul McGinley (the same one) has revamped the course to universal acclaim.
And, as Irish Golf Desk reports, club members just greenlit the next exciting stage of his masterplan.
Learn more here.
It’s probably safe to say that Michael Brisbane enjoys golfing in Ireland.
The Alabama-based PGA professional has played 27 courses on his five visits to the Emerald Isle.
And like many others who’ve made the momentous trek to the rugged, remote and wind-blown Mullet Peninsula in County Mayo, Carne Golf Links left an indelible impression on him.
How could it not? Just look at the mind-blowing dunescape and seaside vistas.
We’re back at Old Petty.
Why? Because your last Course of the Month for 2025 is set to make waves in 2026
Already home to the world-class Castle Stuart, Cabot Highlands is a dashing 420-acre estate on the banks of the magnificent Moray Fifth, just 10 minutes from Inverness.
This picture-postcard place transports you to bygone eras of golf.
And Old Petty is a remarkable testament to that storied history.
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Author: Tom Rooney
