Challenging courses for global golfers

Royal County Down Golf Course

With an amazing 90 courses – including two world championship courses at Royal Portrush and Royal Co. Down – it’s no wonder Northern Ireland is now a magnet for golfers.

Parkland, seaside meadow and links courses - the region’s speciality – attract golfers from around the world including golfing professionals and Hollywood movie stars. This is hardly surprising given Northern Ireland’s top-ranking in the island of Ireland and in the top 20 of world courses.

Links golf in Northern Ireland is now a welcome contrast to the target game played to well-watered greens.

Mother Nature is the course designer and, for many traditionalists, the humps and hollows and the frequent accompaniment of testing winds are ingredients for the way golf should be played.

Royal Portrush

Founded in 1888, Royal Portrush has two championship courses - the renowned Dunluce Course and the smaller but equally enjoyable Valley Course. The Dunluce Course was redesigned in 1947 by Mr H.S. Colt and later, in 1951, became host to the first ever Open Championship held in Ireland.

The course offers challenging golf and breathtaking scenery, the green is laid out amid huge sand dunes that gently rise above the ground to provide spectacular views over the Antrim Coast.

Royal County Down

Royal Co. Down, originally laid out in 1889 by ‘Old’ Tom Morris from St Andrews, enjoys a magnificent stage-like setting as it stretches out along the shores of Dundrum Bay beneath the Mourne Mountains. As well as being one of the world’s most beautiful courses it is also one of the most challenging, with great swathes of heather and gorse lining fairways that tumble beneath vast sand hills and bunkers that defend contoured greens. The course is consistently rated among the world’s top ten.