Jameson Golf Links runs through the dunes beside Velvet Strand, north of Dublin, where the Jameson family played golf long before the modern resort existed. Bernhard Langer and Stan Eby designed the eighteen-hole Portmarnock Links that opened in 1995; Jeff Lynch and (re)GOLF later reshaped its most distinctive sections. Relaunched in 2023, Jameson is separate from the historic Portmarnock Golf Club nearby.
The reconstruction brought five new green complexes, four tee areas and a dramatically altered inward nine. Elevated targets and coastal winds now define a stretch where par fours became par fives and vice versa. With views towards Lambay Island, Ireland's Eye and Howth Head, Jameson combines modern links strategy with the convenience of a full resort hotel.
Why You Should Play Jameson Golf Links
Jameson's greatest attraction is not merely that it provides golf beside a comfortable hotel. It is the opportunity to play a modern links whose recent reconstruction materially changed the golf itself. Jeff Lynch's new green complexes and rerouting shifted tees and fairways to make the coastline more present. In one part of the round, a player sees a generous landing area; elsewhere the best line is determined by a raised target and a dune shoulder that can deflect a slightly misplaced approach.
It is particularly interesting for golfers who appreciate how changing the par of a hole can change the decisions. The twelfth is now a par five, asking the player to leave a useful angle for the approach to its elevated green. The thirteenth, formerly a par five, is now a demanding par four and became stroke index one. The fourteenth was lengthened into a par five, while the fifteenth became a par three. The sequence asks for a change of strategy almost every hole, and rewards restraint where an aggressive advance may leave a poor next shot.
The newly elevated ground also reveals Velvet Strand, Lambay, Ireland's Eye and Howth Head. From the raised ninth tee, parts of the course that previously felt less visible can be understood together. Wind is part of the challenge, but the main interest is the combination of flight and release: a high shot into an exposed plateau green may need as much care as a low-running approach along a firm entrance.
Jameson can suit a confident mid-handicapper as well as a strong links golfer, provided the group chooses sensible tees. White measures 6,169 metres and Green 5,760 metres, against a demanding 6,605 metres from Blue. Some golfers will prefer the idiosyncratic routing and centuries of tradition at Portmarnock Golf Club; others will enjoy Jameson's newer green shapes, exposed coastline and resort amenities. Its merits are best judged independently, not as a cheaper copy of its famous neighbor.
For a traveling fourball, the hotel's position can transform the itinerary. Playing a proper links after arriving in Dublin, staying on the property and moving to The Island or Portmarnock the following day is practical without being merely convenient. The renewed inward holes give the Jameson round enough individuality to deserve a place in that sequence.
The Seventh, Eighth and the Reimagined Back Nine
Jameson Golf Links has an unusually visible divide between the heritage of the Portmarnock estate and the architecture introduced by the recent redesign. The dunes and coastal wind still influence every decision, but revised fairway lines, green sites and playing approaches have changed how the modern round unfolds.
The eighth gives one concise illustration. Once a dogleg, it now plays as a straighter par four with redesigned fairway and green. That work matters less as a construction statistic than for the decisions it creates: a golfer must consider the angle into the new green and what the ball will do when it reaches its contours.
The wider round should be judged as a coherent modern coastal course rather than a catalogue of isolated alterations. There is enough natural movement in the dunes to reward placement over brute length, and enough architectural intervention that today's Jameson plays very differently from the former Portmarnock Links routing.
The Ladies Irish Open and a Course with Its Own Past
The Jameson property had a significant tournament history even before the recent rebuild. When known as Portmarnock Links, it hosted the 2008 Ladies Irish Open, won by Suzann Pettersen by five strokes, and the 2009 event, won by Diana Luna by four. It also staged the 2021 Irish Challenge. Those competitions belong to this resort course, not to the historical Portmarnock Golf Club nearby.
Pettersen's and Luna's victories belong to the earlier routing; Lynch's later redesign changed the inward holes, greens and par distribution. The distinction adds interest: a golfer can appreciate both the championship record of the land and the decisions created by its renewed architecture.
The Jameson Family, Bernhard Langer and Jeff Lynch
The peninsula's golfing story began long before the resort. In the 1850s, John Jameson arranged a private nine-hole course in the dunes. The family later leased land to founders of Portmarnock Golf Club, which opened in 1894. The Jameson family's name therefore has a genuine connection to the area's golfing origins, rather than being simply an association with an Irish whiskey brand.
In the early 1990s, Bernhard Langer and Stan Eby, working with European Golf Design, created a new resort eighteen. It opened in 1995 as Portmarnock Links, incorporating three holes of the earlier family course. A resort hotel followed a year later.
Starting in 2022, Jeff Lynch of (re)GOLF led a substantial redevelopment, with five new green complexes and four new tee areas. Portmarnock Links was renamed Jameson Golf Links in 2023, giving the modern course a more distinct identity. Its current shot values must be assessed as Lynch's adaptation of the Langer and Eby links, rather than a simple continuation of the scorecard familiar to earlier visitors.
Jameson Golf Links versus Portmarnock Golf Club
The two are separate courses with different ownership, histories, golf operations and bookings. Jameson is the resort links that opened in 1995 and has undergone significant rebuilding; Portmarnock Golf Club is the historic championship links nearby, with its own longstanding tournament record. Travelers should book the exact course intended rather than use the word Portmarnock as though it identified a single golf destination.
Portmarnock Golf Club is a priority for players seeking traditional championship links history. Jameson appeals to those who enjoy modern architecture, a reworked course and the practical benefit of a hotel beside the first tee. Playing both can be more revealing than treating one as a substitute for the other.
2026 Green Fees, Caddies and Resort Golf
Jameson's official 2026 standard visitor green fee is €320 per person between April 1 and October 31, and €150 in winter (January through March and November through December). Eligible resort residents have different products, including €260 for a summer resident round and €435 for a hotel-guest all-day ticket. Those offers serve different types of visitor and should not be confused with the normal single-round fee.
Optional caddie services are priced at €80 for a single-bag caddie or €120 for a forecaddie, with gratuity additional. Anyone wanting a caddie or making group arrangements should contact the resort ahead of play to discuss the exact service. Carts are not normally available during winter without a valid medical certificate.
For travelers beginning or finishing in Dublin, the hotel is a genuine asset. The group can settle in and enjoy the round without following a flight with a much longer road transfer. There is enough length and strategic interest here to justify taking the time to warm up and appreciate the coastline before planning the next day.
The 2024 Scorecard: Read the Distances in Metres
The 2024 Jameson scorecard measures tee distances in metres. Blue measures 6,605 metres (7,223 yards), White 6,169 metres (6,747 yards), Green 5,760 metres (6,299 yards) and Red 5,093 metres (5,570 yards), all par 72. The remodeled layout includes four par threes, four par fives and ten par fours.
Choosing the correct tees matters, because the elevated green complexes and exposed wind will challenge a golfer even when the overall distance becomes manageable. Blue is a substantial championship test. White or Green can preserve the intended questions of angles and approaches without requiring a strong long-iron swing at every hole.
The course's modern par distribution is important: the twelfth and fourteenth now play as par fives, while the fifteenth is a par three. Today's routing and par distribution differ from the former Portmarnock Links configuration.
A Dublin Links Itinerary That Makes Sense
Portmarnock Resort is the natural place to stay for Jameson, with the hotel and course together and the Velvet Strand just beyond the dunes. It is an especially logical arrival or departure chapter for visitors using Dublin Airport. A full day here need not feel like a compromise when the next day's golf is at a more traditional links.
Portmarnock Golf Club makes the obvious championship pairing. The Island brings higher dunes and a secluded estuary atmosphere, while Royal Dublin offers Harry Colt's strategic out-and-back routing on North Bull Island. The difference among the four courses is the reason to build a north-Dublin trip, not simply their proximity.
A central Dublin hotel can be appealing for nightlife and city culture; for a golf-first group with consecutive northern coastal tee times, staying near Portmarnock may give the day a more relaxed rhythm.
Judging the Redesigned Course on Its Own Golf
Jameson's renewed appeal lies in the questions its raised greens and altered inward holes create. The fifteenth's short-iron precision, the par-five choices at twelve and fourteen and the pressure of the new thirteenth make the second half a different challenge from the one that existed a decade ago. It is a good course to choose because that modern coastal golf sounds intriguing, not because the name Portmarnock happens to be attached to the peninsula.