Ireland's credentials as a golf powerhouse are so remarkable that it feels like making a list of its best courses one for the world's best courses. Next only to Scotland in significance to the history of the great game, Ireland gives the illusion that being the host of beautiful golf courses was sculpted.

Host to over 25 per cent of all the planet's natural links courses, the tiny island has an immense amount of character. The fact that many of the great golf players come from the Emerald Isle, including Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, and Paul McGinley likes, is hardly surprising given the standard of the courses on which they have evolved.