There are golf trips, and then there are golf trips that you know you will be talking about for the rest of your life.

My trip through Ireland and Scotland in September of 2026 was definitely the latter.

Over the course of the trip, I had the opportunity to play five courses, Royal Dublin Golf Club in Ireland and four in Scotland that are ranked Top 15 via Golf Digest’s Top 100 Greatest Golf Courses: 2026-2027: Muirfield, North Berwick’s West Links, the Old Course at St Andrews and Carnoustie Championship Course.

They all were incredible. Every course was in fantastic condition, and I was fortunate enough to have generally great weather throughout the trip. There was plenty of sunshine, some clouds, a little rain and, of course, enough Scottish and Irish wind to remind me that I was playing links golf. The strongest wind came at the Old Course, while Carnoustie saved its rain for my final hole.

What made the trip especially interesting was how different each course felt. They are all historic links courses, but they each offered something completely different. One gave me the best introduction to links golf. Another made me feel like I had stepped into golf history. One became the most fun round I had ever played. Another was the ultimate test of my game. And one, despite being an incredible golf course, simply did not leave the same personal impression as the others.

I went into the trip expecting to play five amazing courses. I left with a very clear ranking of the five, although that ranking is based entirely on my own experience, the memories I made and what I personally value most when I play golf.

Here is how I experienced each one:

Royal Dublin Golf Club

My first round of the trip was at Royal Dublin Golf Club on Bull Island, just outside Dublin, on Sept. 1.

I had an early morning tee time, so I made the trip from downtown Dublin and arrived well before I needed to. That ended up being one of my favorite decisions of the entire round because I got to experience the course as the sun was coming up.

There was something pretty special about standing around the clubhouse and looking out over the course in the early morning light. It was quiet, peaceful and a completely different atmosphere from what I would experience later in the day.

After checking in, I was given a complimentary metal water bottle as part of my tee time and bought a yardage book. The clubhouse had a good merchandise selection as well, which I made sure to check out after the round.

I grabbed a push cart, spent some time chipping and putting and eventually was allowed to head out a little earlier than my scheduled tee time because I had arrived so early. I was paired with a couple from the United States, and we headed out to begin the first round of my Irish and Scottish golf adventure.

The weather could not have been much better.

It was beautiful all day, with very little wind and no rain. Considering how much weather can influence links golf, I felt extremely fortunate.

Royal Dublin was my first real introduction to the style of golf I had come all this way to experience. The course is relatively flat and open, but that does not mean it is easy. There were plenty of pot bunkers scattered throughout the layout, and they seemed to be positioned exactly where you did not want to find them.

Fortunately, I was driving the ball well that day, which helped me avoid a lot of the trouble.

The course was challenging without ever feeling overwhelming, and I really enjoyed the way the links layout forced me to think differently about shots. There was enough room to play, but there were also plenty of places where a poor decision or an inaccurate shot could quickly create problems.

My favorite hole of the round was the 18th, which is a really fun dogleg right that makes you pull off one last great shot before grabbing a drink and lunch at the clubhouse restaurant.

Overall, Royal Dublin ended up being an amazing introduction to Irish links golf.

It may not have the same worldwide name recognition as some of the other courses I played, but I would absolutely recommend it to anyone spending time in Dublin who wants to experience a legitimate links course. The combination of the setting, condition, history and overall experience made it one of the highlights of my time in Ireland.

It also set the bar pretty high for the four courses still to come.

Muirfield

If Royal Dublin was my introduction to links golf, Muirfield was where the trip started to feel truly special.

I played Muirfield on September 3, just after arriving in Scotland.

I was staying in Edinburgh, and because I was still getting comfortable with the transportation system, I decided to take a taxi out to the course. It cost significantly more than taking public transportation, but I wanted to make sure I arrived without any unnecessary stress in the morning.

When I arrived, staff picked me up in a golf cart and took me toward the clubhouse. Callum, the person I had been communicating with for months while arranging the round and asking questions, personally greeted me when I arrived and immediately made the experience feel different.

Callum walked me through the clubhouse, showing me the merchandise area, changing rooms and dining room before explaining how everything would work before my round.

The dining room was probably the first thing that really stopped me in my tracks.

It was filled with historic paintings, trophies and memorabilia from the club’s long history, including items connected to former captains and generations of golfers. It felt less like walking into a golf clubhouse and more like walking into a museum dedicated to the history of the game.

I grabbed a coffee and pastry before heading out to practice.

After warming up on the range and spending some time chipping and putting, I eventually sat on a bench near the clubhouse and watched groups finish their rounds on the 18th hole before it was time for me to head to the first tee.

The weather was beautiful again. There was plenty of sunshine, some clouds and, like any good Scottish links course would have, some coastal wind that changed throughout the round.

Muirfield quickly became one of the most challenging courses I played during the trip. Only Carnoustie felt a little more difficult to me.

Unlike Royal Dublin, Muirfield seemed to have a little more personality in the layout. There was a fun blind shot, more interesting approaches, memorable par 3s and a greater variety of holes that made me constantly think about what I wanted to do with my next shot.

A few holes in particular stood out to me, including the 5th, 11th, 13th and 18th.

The 5th gave me a great view back toward the 4th as I made my way down the hole. The 11th became one of my favorites of the entire course, while the 13th was a particularly memorable par 3. And, of course, the 18th gave me the iconic finish back toward the clubhouse.

Muirfield also ended up being one of those places where I appreciated the entire experience just as much as the golf itself.

After the round, I spent some time in the clubhouse, bought quite a bit of merchandise and went back out to the benches to watch more groups finish on 18.

Then I took the bus back toward Edinburgh.

The ride was considerably longer than the taxi, but I actually enjoyed it. I got to see more of the Scottish countryside and some of the other golf courses along the East Lothian coast and around the Firth of Forth.

By the time I made it back to Edinburgh, I had already decided that Muirfield was one of the best experiences of the trip.

It was expensive. It was difficult. It was historic.

And it was absolutely worth it.

If I were planning another golf trip to Scotland, I would play Muirfield again in a heartbeat. I would love to bring my dad or a group of friends and experience it with them.

North Berwick West Links

I had no idea when I booked North Berwick that it would eventually become my favorite course of the entire trip.

I played the West Links on Sunday, September 6, and it was the only afternoon tee time I had during the entire trip.

That gave Stephanie, my girlfriend, and I the opportunity to spend the morning exploring North Berwick before I played.

We took public transportation from Edinburgh, which by this point had become much easier. We took the bus and train, bought a relatively inexpensive same-day round trip and headed toward the coast.

If you are staying in Edinburgh and planning to play North Berwick, I would absolutely recommend using public transportation. The train station is less than a 10-minute walk from the course, and the journey itself is easy.

North Berwick was also one of my favorite towns we visited during the trip.

It is a small, charming seaside town with people walking dogs, grabbing coffee, enjoying the beach and spending time along the coast. Stephanie and I spent several hours there before heading back toward the course.

When we arrived at North Berwick, we went into the clubhouse, spoke with the staff and dropped my golf bag in the bag room. Because we had arrived so early, we were able to leave the course and explore the town before coming back for my tee time.

The clubhouse itself was smaller and more intimate than some of the others I had visited, but that was part of its charm. The staff told us that visiting golfers are essentially treated like members for the day, and I loved that feeling.

The merchandise selection was also fantastic.

In fact, North Berwick probably had my favorite logo of all five courses, so I bought quite a bit of merchandise before my round. Because the shop would close before I finished playing, I was able to leave everything in the bag room while I played.

Then it was time to experience the West Links.

The course was in fantastic condition, the sun was out and the Firth of Forth was constantly part of the experience.

That is what made North Berwick so different.

The golf course does not just sit near the water. The coastline is integrated into the experience in a way that makes the surroundings impossible to ignore.

The 1st hole immediately establishes that feeling. You stand on an elevated tee with the beach and water immediately to your right.

The 2nd gives you another elevated view down toward the beach and across the course.

Then you reach the stretch of holes that became my favorite part of the entire course.

The 11th, 12th and 13th run right alongside the beach, with the Firth of Forth providing a backdrop that makes it almost impossible to concentrate solely on your golf.

The 12th was probably my favorite green view of the entire trip. While standing over my putt, I could look beyond the green and see the water.

Then came the 13th.

The Pit.

There is an old stone wall running through the hole, creating one of the most unusual shots in golf. My approach was not exactly where I wanted it, so I had to chip up and over the wall toward the green.

I nearly made it.

It was one of those shots that I know I will remember forever, not because it was necessarily the best shot I hit, but because there are very few places in golf where you can stand over a shot like that.

The next hole, the 14th, is called Perfection. After playing the 13th, climbing up to the tee on 14 and turning around to look back at The Pit was breathtaking.

Then came the 15th.

Redan.

North Berwick’s 15th is the original Redan, a famous par 3 design that has been copied at courses all over the world. The green slopes dramatically from right to left, creating an intimidating tee shot and one of the most recognizable short holes in golf.

I did not exactly make things easy on myself.

I chunked my tee shot, then had to hit a blind second shot over a bunker. Somehow, I managed to hit a putt from about 15 feet off the green that hit the flagstick before I eventually made bogey.

Not exactly the way you draw it up, but it was memorable.

And then came 18.

The final hole might have been my favorite visual moment of the entire trip.

The tee box is elevated, and as the sun was setting, I could see the town of North Berwick, the clubhouse and the coastline all around me.

I nearly drove the green.

I made par.

After the round, the club offered me a complimentary beverage, and then I walked back toward the train station to head back to Edinburgh.

Sitting on that train after the round, I knew I had just played my favorite course of the trip. North Berwick was simply the most fun I had playing golf.

Muirfield had the history and the incredible club experience. The Old Course had the name, the history and the sense of occasion. But North Berwick had something different.

It had personality.

It had memorable holes.

It had the beach, the water and the town woven into the round.

And more than anything, it made me want to keep playing.

If I return to Scotland, I will absolutely play North Berwick again. There are plenty of courses I still want to experience, but if someone gave me the opportunity to play one course again from this trip, North Berwick would be very difficult to turn down.

The Old Course at St Andrews

After playing North Berwick on Sunday, Stephanie and I traveled to St Andrews, where we would stay for the remainder of our time in Scotland.

We dropped our bags at our new place, explored the town, and almost immediately, I knew exactly where I needed to go.

I walked down to St Andrews Links and entered the daily singles ballot for the Old Course.

For anyone unfamiliar with the process, the singles ballot is one of the ways an individual golfer can try to get onto the Old Course without already having a tee time arranged. You submit your information for the following day’s available tee times, and after the ballot closes, selections are made based on the available spaces.

When I was there, the staff told me they had been seeing roughly 100 entries a day and selecting somewhere around five-to-15 golfers, depending on availability.

Knowing those odds, I figured staying in St Andrews for a full week gave me a decent chance of getting onto the course at least once, but I did not want to get my hopes up too much.

I entered my information, signed up for text and email notifications and went on with my day.

I had actually already booked a tee time at the Castle Course for Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m., so I had a backup plan.

Then the text came.

The ballot selections had been made, and I had been placed on the waiting list.

I clicked the link to see where I stood.

No. 1.

I was first on the waiting list.

Suddenly, I started thinking that I might actually have a chance to play the Old Course the very next morning.

About 20 minutes later, another text came through.

I had been selected.

I was ecstatic.

I had entered the ballot for the first time and had somehow gone from roughly 100 hopeful golfers to the first position on the waiting list and then, just minutes later, to an actual tee time.

And that tee time was 8:30 a.m. the next morning.

I barely slept.

Finally playing the Old Course

When I arrived at the starter’s hut the next morning, everything became real.

They provided me with a bag containing my scorecard, yardage book, pencil, tees and a bag tag. I eventually took the bag tag into the merchandise shop after the round and had it engraved.

I spent some time putting near the starter’s hut and the first tee, trying to settle my nerves.

It did not work very well.

The weather was beautiful and sunny, but the wind was significantly stronger than it had been at any of the other courses I had played.

It was strong enough that on some holes you could actually see my ball moving while it was sitting on the tee.

Standing over my opening tee shot with all of that wind and the history of the Old Course around me, I was definitely feeling the nerves.

But I hit a good one.

Right down the middle.

I eventually made bogey on the first, which I was more than happy to accept.

From there, I settled in and played the best golf of my entire trip.

The Old Course was not as difficult as I expected it to be from a pure shot-making standpoint. That does not mean it was easy. There are plenty of enormous, strategically placed bunkers that can completely change a hole, and I found more than a few of them.

But one thing I really enjoyed was the amount of room the course gives you.

A tee shot that was slightly left or right did not necessarily mean the hole was over. There was often enough room to find a playable position and figure out how to recover.

That made the course feel very different from some of the other layouts I played.

You still had to think your way around the course, particularly as the wind picked up, but there was also a feeling that the course gave you opportunities to recover.

And I took advantage of some of them.

I had several really good shots, a number of birdie opportunities (made one, my only birdie of the entire trip) and generally played the most consistent golf of time across the pond.

The halfway house after nine was another highlight. I made sure to grab an Irn-Bru, although I probably would have stayed longer if I wasn’t so excited to get back out onto the course.

The back nine became a little more challenging as the wind increased and I got closer to the coastline.

Then I arrived at the 17th.

The Road Hole

The Road Hole is one of those holes that every golfer knows, even if they have never played the Old Course.

You stand on the tee and have to hit your drive over the Old Course Hotel.

My nerves were already high.

Then the player in front of me sliced his tee shot straight into the hotel.

So naturally, I was hoping I would not do the same thing.

Thankfully, I did not.

I absolutely bombed my drive over the hotel and the famous sign. It was one of my best drives of the day.

After spending so much time imagining what it would feel like to play the Road Hole, actually standing on that tee and successfully hitting the shot was one of the biggest moments of the round.

Then I walked to the 18th tee.

I turned around and looked back toward St Andrews.

The town was right there. The Old Course was all around me. People were watching the action on the final hole.

It was one of those moments where you almost have to stop and take it all in.

I hit my tee shot left, but recovered with an approach I will remember for a long time.

I hit a pitching wedge onto the green and left myself about 10 feet for par.

As I walked toward the hole, several people were watching, and one of the couples standing above where my ball had finished called out, “Great shot.”

I missed the birdie putt, but made par on 18.

After everything that had happened to get me onto the course, finishing with a par on the 18th felt like the perfect ending.

Of course, I took a ridiculous number of photos.

Then I went into the merchandise shop, spent a good amount of money and had my Old Course bag tag engraved.

The experience

Playing the Old Course was a bucket-list experience in every possible sense.

There was the anticipation of entering the ballot.

The surprise of getting onto the waiting list.

Seeing that I was No. 1.

The text telling me I had been selected.

The sleepless night before the round.

The nerves on the first tee.

The wind.

The Road Hole.

The approach into 18.

And finally, the par to finish the day.

The Old Course lived up to what I hoped it would be.

It was not necessarily the most challenging course I played on the trip, and it was not the most visually dramatic.

But it was the most surreal.

You are playing a course that has been at the center of golf for centuries, walking over the same ground where so much of the game’s history has been made, while simultaneously playing a completely normal round of golf.

And for me, getting there through the singles ballot made the experience even better.

I went into St Andrews hoping I might get one chance to play the Old Course during the week.

Instead, on my first attempt, I went from roughly 100 hopeful golfers to No. 1 on the waiting list to an 8:30 a.m. tee time the next morning.

Then I went out and played some of the best golf of my trip.

I would absolutely put the Old Course on my itinerary again if I were planning another golf trip to Scotland.

It was a bucket-list experience that genuinely lived up to the hype.

Carnoustie Championship Course

My final round of the trip took me to Carnoustie Championship Course on Thursday, Sept. 10.

By this point, I had already played four incredible courses, which meant the bar was pretty high for my final round.

I had a 10 a.m. tee time and was staying in St Andrews, so I knew I needed to give myself plenty of time to get there, check in and properly warm up.

I decided to use public transportation again.

I took a local bus from St Andrews to the railway station, then rode the train all the way to Carnoustie. From the station, it was less than a 10-minute walk to the golf course.

By this point in the trip, I had become pretty comfortable getting around Scotland without a car, and taking the train directly to Carnoustie felt like another fun part of the experience.

The clubhouse immediately stood out.

It was large and beautiful, with a big merchandise area, plenty of places to lounge and an upstairs bar and grill where you could sit and watch golfers tee off on the first hole.

After checking in, I spent some time exploring the clubhouse before getting ready to play.

I practiced my putting on the green next to the clubhouse, then took the short walk over to the chipping area to work on my bunker shots and short game.

Eventually, I headed back upstairs and grabbed an egg-and-cheese sandwich and a coffee before the round.

Carnoustie also had a very organized process for getting golfers out onto the course. Staff greeted us when we arrived, took our bags and organized them according to tee time. When it was almost time to play, I walked outside and found my bag already waiting for me on the push cart I had requested.

I met the group I would be playing with, along with their caddies, and the starter welcomed us, gave us tees, a yardage book, scorecard and pencil, wished us luck and sent us out for the final round of my trip.

Carnoustie lives up to its reputation

The weather was mostly fantastic again.

It was overcast with periods of sunshine, and there was not a tremendous amount of wind. The rain eventually arrived, but it waited until the 18th hole before making an appearance.

Unfortunately, I did not play my best golf.

The front nine was probably the most difficult nine holes I played during the entire trip, and Carnoustie was not exactly interested in giving me many opportunities to catch my breath.

I was knocking the ball around more than I wanted to, but even while I was struggling, I could not stop appreciating the golf course.

The condition was incredible.

Everything was manicured, firm and maintained to an extremely high standard. There were challenges everywhere, and the course constantly forced you to think about your next shot.

I just was not always executing those shots.

The par 3s ended up being some of my favorite holes.

The 8th, Short, is the first par 3 of the round and is surrounded by trouble. The 13th, Whins, is another memorable short hole, with bunkers surrounding the green. And then there is the 16th, Barry Burn, a long par 3 with the famous burn playing a major role in the challenge.

Those holes really captured what I liked about Carnoustie. They were not simply about hitting the ball far. They were about precision, distance control and understanding where the trouble was.

But the hole that probably gave me the most memorable visual was the 14th, Spectacles.

The hole features two enormous bunkers in the middle of the fairway that create a completely blind second shot. You have to decide whether you are going to play up and over them without being able to see exactly where your ball is going.

It is one of those holes where you stand there and think, How exactly am I supposed to do this?

That was Carnoustie.

Just when you thought you had figured out what the course wanted from you, it presented you with another completely different challenge.

And then there was 18.

Home.

The finishing hole is one of the most recognizable in golf, with the clubhouse providing the backdrop as you make your way toward the finish. By the time I reached 18, the rain had started to arrive, but I was still able to appreciate the moment.

After 18 holes of one of the toughest courses I had ever played, seeing the clubhouse behind the final hole was a pretty fitting way to finish my golf trip.

A great course, but fifth on my list

Interestingly, I played much better on the back nine.

Regardless of the scorecard, the back nine felt like a different round for me. I settled in, started hitting better shots and was able to appreciate the course without feeling like I was constantly trying to recover from the previous hole.

By the time I finished, I was exhausted, but I was also really glad I had played Carnoustie.

From a pure golf-course standpoint, there was very little to criticize.

It was one of the best-conditioned courses I have ever played. It was extremely challenging, incredibly well maintained and filled with unique shots and hazards.

But this is where my personal ranking comes into play.

Despite how good Carnoustie was, it was not the most memorable course of the trip for me.

That might sound strange considering how close the course is to the coast, but one thing that stood out to me was how little of the coastline I actually saw while playing. Compared with North Berwick, where the Firth of Forth and beach were constantly part of the experience, Carnoustie felt much more separated from the water.

There also simply were not as many individual holes that stuck with me in the same way as the other four courses.

That does not make Carnoustie a bad course.

Far from it.

I am extremely glad I played it. Testing my game against Carnoustie was exactly the kind of challenge I wanted from this trip, and I left with an even greater appreciation for just how difficult the course can be.

But if I return to Scotland, Carnoustie probably would not be at the top of my replay list. There are still so many other courses I would love to experience.

And maybe that is the biggest takeaway from playing five world-class courses in one trip:

“Fifth” does not mean “bad.”

Carnoustie was an incredible golf course.

It just happened to be the fifth-best experience of an absolutely incredible week.

My Final Ranking

After playing all five courses, this is how I would rank them based on my personal experience:

1. North Berwick West Links

The most fun.

North Berwick was the course that made me smile the most, gave me the most memorable individual holes and made me want to immediately play another 18. The combination of the golf, the town, the Firth of Forth, the beach and the personality of the course made it my favorite experience of the trip.

2. The Old Course at St Andrews

The most surreal.

The Old Course was the bucket-list experience. Getting selected through the singles ballot made the story even better, and playing some of my best golf of the trip before finishing with a par on 18 made it a day I will never forget.

3. Muirfield

The most impressive overall experience.

Muirfield combined incredible golf with an incredible club experience. The history, clubhouse, course design and overall presentation made it one of the most special places I have ever played.

4. Royal Dublin Golf Club

The perfect introduction to links golf.

Royal Dublin was where the trip really began. The early morning sunrise, fantastic conditions, pot bunkers, coastal setting and memorable finish on 18 made it an excellent first taste of Irish links golf.

5. Carnoustie Championship Course

The ultimate test.

Carnoustie may have finished fifth on my personal list, but it was arguably the most difficult and one of the best-conditioned courses I played. It challenged me from beginning to end and gave me plenty of holes I will remember, even if the overall experience did not stick with me quite as strongly as the other four.

Five Courses, Five Completely Different Experiences

Looking back at the entire trip, I do not think there was a bad round among the five.

That is what made ranking them so difficult.

Royal Dublin introduced me to links golf in Ireland. Muirfield showed me what it feels like to experience one of the game’s most historic clubs. North Berwick became my favorite because it was simply the most fun. The Old Course gave me the bucket-list moment I had dreamed about for years. And Carnoustie tested my game more than anything else.

All five were incredible.

But the best part was that they were not all incredible in the same way.

That is what I will remember most about this trip.

I came to Ireland and Scotland wanting to play some of the most historic golf courses in the world.

I left with five completely different stories, countless memories and a pretty strong desire to start planning the next golf trip.