Golf Courses
Ardglass Golf Club
Located on the north-eastern coast of Ireland with many stunning views and unique holes, Ardglass Golf Course is a particularly true test on a windy day. At least four holes, the 1st, the 2nd, the unforgiving 11th and the picturesque par-3 12th each require a carry across the coastline or cliff tops of the Irish Sea, ranking them among the most photographed and talked-about golf holes in Ireland, leading at least one reviewer to remark that “the view from the elevated 12th tee, with the backdrop of the Irish Sea and Mourne Mountains is to die for.”
After the Royals of Portrush and County Down, Northern Ireland’s more famous golfing son, Rory McIlroy named Ardglass as his favorite links. High praise indeed!
And it’s not just about the course… the clubhouse is more than just a bit special too. A 14th-century castle that was once home to the Earls of Kildare, this remarkable building is the perfect retreat for a pint and a bite to eat… the friendly staff might even tell you about the resident ghosts!
Royal Portrush – Valley Course
The Valley lies between the East Strand and the Dunluce golf course in Portrush. As its name suggests, the course is situated between the huge sand hills immediately along the Atlantic shore and the higher ground on which the Championship course is laid out. That is not to say the holes of the course are routed over anything like plain, level lying land, far from it, as the Valley has more than its fair share of the humps, hollows and undulations to be found on any links worthy of the name.
Designed by Harry Colt
The 6,304-yard, par 70, Valley is a very fine test of links golf, with greens, in particular, every bit as well tended on the Dunluce Course. Harry Colt is credited with designing the course three years after the Dunluce and he was never known to put his name to many, if any, poor courses.
Portstewart Golf Club- Strand Course
The Strand Course at Portstewart is a bit of a hybrid, a mix of holes carved out in the early 1890’s and seven new holes built out of the virgin sand dunes known as “Thistly Hollow” by Des Griffin in the early 1990’s.
And what an exhilarating golf course this is, set amidst imposing, gigantic sand dunes with panoramic views across the Atlantic mouth of Lough Foyle to the Inishowen peninsula beyond. Griffin designed the new holes to blend seamlessly with the old. The par-3 third and sixth holes are two of the newer ones, but you’d never know. Portstewart will be a perfect sandwich between the two Royals, County Down and Portrush.
Royal Portrush Golf Club- Dunluce Course
The home club of 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke, Royal Portrush is still the only club outside of mainland Great Britain to host the Open Championship, which was played here in 1951, and will make its long-awaited encore in 2019. The Dunluce links is named for the ruined Dunluce castle that overlooks the course.
The course features one of the most dramatic entrances to any golf course anywhere, the crumpled, undulating links land suddenly appears along the coastal road, flag fluttering in the breeze. The classic seaside links on the north Antrim coastline offers views on a clear day of the Paps of Jura and the island of Islay. The fairways cut through towering sand dunes and the small greens blend perfectly into the landscape, one of Harry Colt’s masterstrokes.
With shore holes named “White Rocks”(the par-4 5th) and “Calamity” (the par-3 14th), and a bunker at the 17th known as “Big Nellie”, you’re in for a test, and a chance to play the course ‘before’ the R&A tinkers with it for the 2019 Open.
Castlerock Golf Club
Though better-known as a clubmaker, Scotsman Ben Sayers took the course from 9 holes to 18 in 1908, aiming to equal the links of Troon, North Berwick and Sandwich. Left for sheep-grazing during World War I, Harry Colt was consulted on helping bring the course back to life around 1930.
Comprising a mixture of inland and links holes, a round at Castlerock will test every area of your game, exemplified by the opening hole, a shortish (348 yards) par-4, but with a prevailing wind blowing toward the out-of-bounds right and an elevated green challenging your approach.
Great courses offer great closing holes and the short par-4 18th at Castlerock is no different. Even with a good drive on this slight dogleg, due to the contours of the fairway, you are often left with a relatively blind approach to a plateaued green.
Ballyliffin Golf Club- Glashedy Course
Ballyliffin is Ireland’s most northerly golf club, located off Tullagh Point on the Atlantic edge of the Irishowen Peninsula. And maybe one of its newest. Barely 20 years old, the course was created to alleviate the pressure on the overplayed Old Course. Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock took two years to carve out the Glashedy links, named after Glashedy Rock, Ballyliffin’s equivalent of Turnberry’s Ailsa Craig.
Ruddy and Craddock considered the links land the finest they’d ever seen. Their layout is intertwined with the Old Course, featuring huge greens with some frightening undulations and are well-protected by bunkers, leading to an alarming number of 3-putts.
Ballyliffin is often described as the ‘Ballybunion of the North’ or the ‘Dornoch of Ireland’ for its design of fairways set amidst towering natural sand dunes, though the Glashedy links have been flattened out a bit, ensuring that the fairways are relatively even, ala Royal Birkdale. You’ll describe it as the perfect finish to an amazing tour of Northern Ireland’s best.