An island built for links golf
The Isle of Man packs a serious amount of golfing pedigree into a small space. Seven clubs serve the island, spread from Derbyhaven in the south-east round to Peel on the west coast, and the majority sit on the coast rather than tucked inland. Three of the seven are proper links, with a moorland course and a coastal layout adding variety, so anyone visiting for a few days can string together a run of very different rounds without travelling far between them.
The standout is Castletown Golf Club on the Langness Peninsula near Derbyhaven, a course surrounded by sea on three sides and rated among the top ten most spectacular in the UK and Ireland. What makes it remarkable isn't just the setting, wild flowers, gorse and heather running down to the water on an area of special scientific interest, but the roll call of architects who've shaped it over 128 years: Old Tom Morris laid it out in 1892, Alister Mackenzie reworked it around 1910-1914, and Philip Mackenzie Ross updated it again after the Second World War. Grey seals haul out nearby and the course attracts over 100 bird species through the year, which tells you something about how untouched the surrounding land still is.
More links, and a taste of moorland
Further round the coast at Onchan, King Edward Bay Golf Club sits in an elevated position with views over Douglas Bay, and its Ocean Drop par 3 plays across heather with the sea as a backdrop. The mountain turf here has a springiness that's typical of the island's better links ground. Down in Port St Mary, the nine-hole course is a different proposition altogether: designed by former Open Champion George Duncan and reopened in its current form in 1936, it looks out over Perwick Bay, the village itself and Bay Ny Carrickey, and it's the sort of place where the golf and the fishing-village scenery are inseparable.
Rowany Golf Club at Port Erin, founded in 1895, is classed as coastal rather than pure links, and its 18th hole is one to remember, with Port Erin Bay, the Irish Sea and, on a clear day, the Mountains of Mourne all visible from the tee. Peel Golf Club, founded in 1895 on the west coast, has just had a course development plan approved in March 2025, so there's fresh investment going into the game there even on a course with well over a century of history behind it.
Inland golf and getting started
For a change of terrain, Comis at Mount Murray in Santon offers a moorland championship course set in the island's countryside, playable year-round, with PGA professional Stephen Crooks on hand for lessons or a warm-up before you head to the coast. It's a useful counterpoint to the links-heavy diet elsewhere on the island and a sensible base if you want one course that won't be at the mercy of a sea breeze.
Douglas Golf Club rounds out the island's offering in the capital itself, giving golfers based there a course within easy reach of the town.
Green fees on the island start from as little as £17, which is remarkable given the quality on offer, particularly at Castletown and King Edward Bay. With courses concentrated in Derbyhaven, Douglas, Onchan, Peel, Port Erin, Port St Mary and Santon, none of them are far apart, and the mix of championship links, a historic George Duncan design, coastal cliff-top golf and inland moorland means a short trip to the Isle of Man can feel like a proper tour of golf course architecture rather than a single-course break.