Old Tom Morris-designed Castletown Golf Links easily ranks among the top links courses in Great Britain and Ireland. (Image: Castletown Golf Links)
The perfect next-stop destination for golfers seeking new horizons in the British Isles, the Isle of Man offers a roster of nine courses, including two beauties by the immortal Old Tom Morris.
(Last updated April 2022.)
Looking for a new golf destination in the British Isles now that you’ve played Scotland, Ireland and England’s northwest coast?
The Isle of Man, a largely pastoral and bucolic island in the Irish Sea, offers year-round golf and a roster of eight courses, including two built in the late 19th century by Old Tom Morris.
Old Tom Morris (Image: St. Andrews Links Trust)
Castletown Golf Links is the undisputed headliner. Set on a craggy peninsula, the links was built by Morris, later tweaked by Mackenzie Ross, and finally updated by Donald Steel. Castletown easily ranks among the top 100 links in Britain and Ireland.
Dating from 1893, King Edward Bay Golf Club is another strong Morris design. This links offers sweeping views of the bay and the town of Douglas, the island’s capital.
Other popular courses include: Ramsey Golf Club, a James Braid-designed parkland layout dating from 1929 defined by the meandering Leighney River; Peel Golf Club, another Braid design, this one a captivating moorland-style layout; Douglas Golf Club, an inland parkland course designed by Alister MacKenzie, famous as the co-creator (with Bobby Jones) of Augusta National; and Mount Murray Golf Club, a demanding layout in the south of the isle known for its superb greens.
Between rounds, make time for a visit to Tynwald Hill, site of the world’s oldest continuous parliament. Though a British Crown dependency, the Isle of Man is largely self-governing. Civic leaders have met once a year in the open air at Tynwald Hill for more than a thousand years.
Flights to the island are available from London and other major cities in the British Isles. Ferry service is offered from Liverpool, Heysham in Lancashire, as well as Belfast and Dublin.
