Britain & Ireland

Northern Ireland

Antrim

Royal Portrush has the honour of being the only club outside mainland Britain to host the Open Championship.

"Portrush stands on a rocky promontory that juts out into the Atlantic, and, if I may allude to such trivialities," wrote Bernard Darwin in, 

, "the scenery of the coast is wonderfully striking. On the east are the White Rocks, tall limestone cliffs that lead to Dunluce Castle and the headlands of the Giant's Causeway. On the west are the hills of Inishowen, beyond which lie Portsalon and Buncrana and the links of Donegal."

Since its foundation in 1888, Royal Portrush Golf Club has undergone a transformation in more ways than one. It was originally a 9-hole course, known as the County Club. The following year it was extended to 18 holes. In 1892, its name changed to the Royal County Club, with the Duke of York as patron. In 1895, the Prince of Wales came along and the name finally changed to Royal Portrush. Why who knows?

However, the biggest transformation came along when Harry S Colt redesigned the course in 1932, including two holes in an area known as “The Triangle”. Just before the Second World War, when it became apparent that the clubhouse would have to be relocated, the professional at that time, a Mr P.G. Stevenson, designed the current 10th and 11th holes, allowing the old 1st and 18th in the Triangle to be released. It would take until 1946 though before club members moved to their present premises, the former Holyrood Hotel.

The Dunluce links is named after the ruined Dunluce castle that overlooks the course. It was the venue for the first professional golf tournament in Ireland, won by Sandy Herd in 1895. Until 2019, The Open Championship has been held outside of Scotland and England only once; that occasion was here at Royal Portrush in 1951 when Max Faulkner triumphed. Faulkner was the last British Open champion until Tony Jacklin lifted the claret jug in 1969 at 

. More recently, American Pete Oakley won the Senior British Open here in July 2004.

In 2014 it was confirmed that Royal Portrush would return to the Open Championship rotation in 2019. 2011 Open Champion, Darren Clarke, was thrilled to hear that his home club will stage the tournament. “It is wonderful for the area, for Northern Ireland and the whole of Ireland that one of the biggest sporting events in the world is coming here," he said. “It's just massive, with pictures of Royal Portrush being beamed around the world to people who haven't seen how beautiful it is.”

Royal Portrush is certainly beautiful and it has one of the most dramatic entrances to any golf course. As you wind your way towards the course along the coastal road, the crumpled, undulating links land suddenly appears in front of you, flags fluttering in the breeze. It's a classic seaside links, located in an evocative setting on the north Antrim coastline, blessed with magnificent ocean views. On a clear day (from the 3rd tee) you can see the Paps of Jura and the island of Islay.

The fairways nestle in natural valleys between towering sand dunes. The small greens blend perfectly into the landscape, one of Colt’s masterstrokes. The greens are generally protected by natural grassy hummocks rather than sand bunkers, further adding to the understatement.

The most spectacular parts of the course are down by the shore. The 5th hole (called “White Rocks”) is an absolute stunner. It’s a short, downhill par four with a left to right dogleg. The elevated tee provides a platform to soak up the vista. The green is perched on the very edge of the course some 50 feet above the seashore. The 16th, called “Calamity”, is a 210-yard par three; a deep chasm to the right of the green makes it a nervous tee shot.

The Dunluce is a seriously tough cookie and requires solid driving to hold together a decent score. It will intimidate many golfers; the rough is penal (and sprinkled with heather and briar). It has very few bunkers but frankly, it doesn’t need them. The course has enough natural hazards to wreck a card, not to mention the ever-present wind. However, at all costs avoid "Big Nellie" at the new 7th—it's one of the biggest bunkers in Ireland.

A trip to the Giant’s Causeway may provide some respite after a gruelling round, followed by a nip of whiskey at nearby Bushmills, the world’s oldest distillery. Failing that, you could head directly to the first tee of the 

. It may be the second course at Royal Portrush but it’s a little cracker.

In preparation for the return of the Open, architects Mackenzie & Ebert proposed a number of course changes to the course, the most significant of which was the replacement of holes 17 and 18 on the Dunluce with two new holes, located where the old 5th and 6th holes lay on the Valley course.

The new hole 7 is a par five, played over much of the former 6th on the Valley course, but in the opposite direction. The famous “Big Nellie” bunker from the old 17th on the Dunluce has been recreated in the dunes to the right of this new fairway. The new par four 8th is then played from close to the tee boxes on the old Valley hole number 5, back to a green perched in the dunes at a slightly higher elevation.

Although the four par threes remain untouched, except for mowing the green further out at the back of “Calamity Corner”, additional tees and bunkers at several holes have been added, as well as extending the greens at holes 5 and (the newly sequenced) 15.


Mackenzie and Ebert commented as follows:

"As part of the course review exercise, investigation of the evolution of golf at Portrush was undertaken to assess how the layout had changed over the years and especially since Harry Colt laid out his final design for the Dunluce Course in 1932. That highlighted a fundamental issue. When Harry Colt designed the Dunluce in 1932, the clubhouse was over 1,200 yards away from the present clubhouse in the town of Portrush. Two of his original holes - the key 1st & 18th holes – had been lost. They provided a link from the old clubhouse to the current 17th and 18th. The existing 8th and 9th holes did not exist. Although Harry Colt was consulted over the addition of the replacement 8th and 9th holes, they were the conception of the Club’s professional, P.G. Stevenson, and Colt was not involved with the detail of the holes. This shows that Harry Colt was open to adjustments to the course required by changing circumstances.

The Club found themselves at another juncture of its evolution with the opportunities presented by the possibility of The Open Championship coming to Royal Portrush again. The Championship has grown in scale tremendously since Max Faulkner lifted the Claret Jug when the event was held over the links in 1951. If The Open was to make a return, The R&A were clear from the outset of the negotiations that sufficient room had to be available in the right areas to allow all of the usual infrastructure to be put in place to support the Championship. Following an intensive study of all options, the inescapable conclusion was drawn that the existing 17th and 18th holes of the Dunluce Course would have to be made available for the majority of the tented village area.


Following a detailed study of the opportunities to replace the 17th and 18th holes, the conclusion was that two replacement holes for the Dunluce could be forged from the area of the old 5th and 6th holes of the Valley Course. This will provide a tremendous arena for two dramatic and iconic holes which should quickly achieve world fame. The knock on effect was that replacement holes were required for the Valley Course. In fact three new Valley holes have been formed with the last of them giving incredible views to the beach and the sea, something which the old course did not enjoy. The Valley element of the project also involved the restoration of one of the original holes at Portrush.

It will be fascinating to see how the world’s best players handle the reconfigured links in July 2019."


Fittingly is was Irishman Shane Lowry who dominated the final two days of the 148th Open championship to win his maiden major title by six shots from England's Tommy Fleetwood amid exuberant scenes at Royal Portrush. Tough weather conditions on Sunday saw every contender fall away, allowing Lowry to cruise home for a comfortable victory.

Royal Portrush (Dunluce)

The Dunluce links at Royal Portrush Golf Club is named after the ruined Dunluce castle that overlooks the course. Seven years after the club's formation, the first professional golf tournament in Ireland, won by Sandy Herd in 1895, was staged here.

The Valley course at Royal Portrush Golf Club was originally nominated by Stuart as gem and was added to the Top 100 site on 15th February 2005. Since then, the Valley has become a ranked course. Stuart’s original nomination article follows: “I’d played the 

 course a few times before finally deciding to play the Valley and pound for pound, the Valley is significantly better value at about a quarter of the price of the big Dunluce. For dune lovers, the Valley is set in more tumbling terrain with the holes cut between the dunes. You feel much more enclosed here than you do on the Dunluce. I certainly think Royal Portrush is missing a trick with the Valley course. They should market the course better than they do so that a few more people can get to know and love it like I do.”

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.

Jim visits the Rathmore Club to see Graeme McDowell’s US Open Trophy. 

Although owned by Royal Portrush Golf Club, the Valley has been the home club to the members of Rathmore Golf Club since its formation in 1947. Royal Portrush Ladies are also based at the Valley and it is very hard to avoid the impression that Royal Portrush are happy to keep all bar the gentleman members and the big spending golfing tourists off the Dunluce.

How many people have made a point of playing Royal Portrush Golf Club and never given a thought to playing the sadly underrated Valley – something approaching 90%, perhaps even more? And that’s a real pity as the 6,304-yard, par 70, Valley is a very fine test of links golf, with greens, in particular, every bit as well tended as those next door. 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.

James W Finegan on the course: “The Valley Links, as its name suggests, is tucked away, down in the lower reaches of the club property, tall sand hills enclosing the acreage and blocking out any view of the sea. A sheltered quality, an attractive snugness, if you will, characterizes the course… The Valley course is full of very good golf holes. Even accomplished players are challenged – and all of us are charmed.” From 

Where Golf is Great – the finest courses of Scotland and Ireland

To accommodate changes to the Dunluce course, the existing 5th and 6th holes on the Valley have been replaced with a new par three 15th, played after the existing 16th (the new 14th), and a new short par four 18th, which will start from a new tee position in the dunes and progress to a green close to the 1st tee on the Valley course.

Two feature holes on the card are played back-to-back on the front nine and they are situated at the furthest point from the clubhouse. They epitomise all that is good about golf at Portrush. The 336-yard, short par four, 5th hole is played from an elevated tee in the sand hills to a green with steep drop offs left and right framed by towering dunes and protected by menacing, deep bunkers. The 237-yard, par three, 6th hole is then played slightly uphill to a green with its right hand edge obscured by a dune tongue. Beware of the bunker sited short and left of the green and also the steep drop off to the left of the apron.

In addition to these changes, the existing 17th (the new 16th) has been extended to a doglegged par five and the new 17th restored from old, obsolete tees to one of the greens on the 9-hole Skerries course.

Exciting times ahead for the Valley course.

Royal Portrush (Valley)

How many people have made a point of playing Royal Portrush Golf Club and never given a thought to playing the sadly underrated Valley course – something approaching 90%, perhaps even more?

Malone Golf Club is one of Ireland’s best parkland golf courses and it is virtually unknown. The club was founded way back in 1895, but the course has moved location no fewer than four times since its inauguration. Dunmurry became home to Malone Golf Club in 1962, and it’s situated 5 miles south of Belfast, in the lower Lagan Valley at Ballydrain.

The first architect who drew up plans for the course was John Morrison from Harry Colt’s design company but ill health forced him to withdraw from the project. Commander John Harris from C.K Cotton & Associates then stepped in to lay out the first eighteen holes. Two years later, Mrs Peggy Valentine, the Lady Captain, opened a third nine, which was originally called the Inner course, as it was laid out within the front nine of the main 18-hole layout.

In 1965, moves were already afoot to redesign the course and Fred Hawtree drew up a plan which largely reflects the Ballydrain nine that’s in play today. This included a spectacular new par three 15th which would make good use of the lake. Due to financial constraints, it took another five years before the alterations were carried out, along with the introduction of a new 4th hole at the expense of the old 11th.

In the 1980s, a decision was made to move some of the holes of the main course away from the low-lying area of the Lagan River. This resulted in holes 7, 8 and 9 being moved to higher ground, allowing Frank Ainsworth and David McLean to use their old location in the redevelopment of the Edenderry nine.

The front nine is called Drumbridge and the back nine is called Ballydrain – named after the local area. Measuring almost 6,600 yards, Malone is a solid test of golf. Accuracy from the tee is demanded, because many mature trees wait to stymie the wayward tee-shot. Malone has seen some serious professional action: In 1966, Tony Jacklin recorded his first professional victory and in 1993, Gary Player claimed his umpteenth title when he won the Irish Senior Masters. Additionally, the course has hosted a number of prestigious amateur championships. Given that Malone has played host to all these events, we are very surprised that the course isn’t more widely recognised, because this is a parkland beauty.

James W Finegan on the course: “It’s a spacious beauty (on 270 acres), with an abundance of mature oaks, sycamores and pines, rolling terrain, the river Lagan bordering it on the east, and 27-acre Ballydrain Lake the centrepiece of the second nine. Black Mountain and the chequered fields of the Antrim Plateau provide a stirring vista from the 10th, one of the half dozen par 4s measuring well over 400 yards.” From 

. One of the best and most comprehensive golf course books we’ve ever read.

Malone offers a good deal of interest and variety – there are many memorable holes. None more so than Malone’s signature hole – the charming short par three 15th. We are only talking about a short pitch, but the tee-shot must be played across a gorgeous lake. It’s amazing what such an expanse of water can do for the nerves! The same lake comes into play on the 18th, where the drive must carry the corner of the lake – anything hit to the right, all the way along this hole will be consumed by the water – it’s a cracking end to a lovely parkland golf course.

If you are in Belfast and you’ve got your clubs handy, make sure you play Malone. You won’t be disappointed – the course is maintained immaculately and you’ll be hard pressed to find a better parkland course in Northern Ireland. Architect David Jones has consulted at Malone in recent years and this has resulted in the construction of a number of new greenside bunkers and the rebuilding of greens at holes 1, 3, 6, 7, 8 and 18. David was also responsible for the initial design of the sleeper edging at the par three 15th hole.

Architect Ken Kearney was engaged in 2019 to undertake an extensive bunker project, which was carried out over a couple of years and resulted in improved playability of the course. In addition to the bunker work, five new green complexes were fashioned (on holes 9, 11, 14, 16 and 18) and seven new teeing areas were created. New drainage was also installed, a significant tree management programme was instigated, and new practice facilities were brought into play.


Malone (Drumbridge & Ballydrain)

If you are in Belfast and you’ve got your golf clubs handy, make sure you play the immaculately conditioned Malone Golf Club. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better parkland course in Northern Ireland.

The course at Galgorm Castle Golf Club lies within a spacious 220-acre estate that was once the ancestral home of the McQuillan clan and the Castle that looms over the 10th green dates back to 1618, when it was commissioned by Sir Faithful Fortescue.

The lush fairways of the course are laid out in mature parkland, bordered on two sides by the rivers Main and Braid, with several small lakes adding further aquatic interest. Because of the low-lying aspect of the site, four of the fairways were actually raised during construction to cope with potential flooding problems in the future.

The short par four 4th is a hole to be reckoned with on the front nine (even though it only ranks as stroke index 10 on the card) as the fast flowing waters of the Braid River race past the front of the green. “Treasury,” the 141-yard 7th is another hole where water must be crossed between tee and putting surface.

On the inward half, locals will tell you the only way to play the 177-yard 14th, named “Devil’s Elbow,” is to “aim at the Slemish Mountains on the horizon,” but don't go too long or too far right, otherwise your golf ball will probably end up wet on the river bed.

Mount Juliet was due to host the Irish Open in May 2020 for the first time since 1995, but the event was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The European Tour hoped to stage the tournament later in the year at Mount Juliet, but quarantine restrictions for travellers into the Republic of Ireland forced the European Tour to move the event to Galgorm Castle.


The club’s signature project at the 18th has completely revamped the closing hole, with a new water feature installed to the left of the putting surface and stadium-like mounding around the green complex creating an exciting finish to the round.


Galgorm Castle

The course at Galgorm Castle Golf Club lies within a spacious 220-acre estate that was once the ancestral home of the McQuillan clan and the Castle that looms over the 10th green dates back to 1618...

Massereene Golf Club was formed back in 1895 so members have enjoyed playing in a lovely parkland setting on the shores of Lough Neagh for over one hundred years. Fred W. Hawtree is credited with the design of the course as it is played now in the new millennium.

Measuring 6,605 yards in total, the Championship course has a par of 35 for the outward half. The back nine is three hundred yards longer – three of the four par fives on the course are located here – with a par of 37 for a total of 72. The inward half is also more undulating and links-like due to the free draining land they lie on.

Holes are generally tight, with relatively narrow, tree-lined, lush fairways, well-placed bunkers and small but smooth greens – all of which makes this a course for the strategist where accuracy is rewarded rather than raw power. Consequently, Massereene is a popular venue with visiting societies and lady golfers as the layout is not overly punishing.

In 2021, the club co-hosted (along with Galgorm Castle) the ISPS HANDA World Invitational, with the course lengthened by around 200 yards to just over 6,800 yards in total after the introduction of eleven new tee positions. It was the first time an event of this kind was tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour in the northern hemisphere, following in the footsteps of the ISPS HANDA Vic Open in Australia which has the same format.

A total of 144 men and 144 women competed over the first two days of competition, with the men’s and women’s tournament playing one round on the two host courses. A 36-hole cut was then made, with a further cut after 54 holes to allow only the top 30 men and women to play on the final day.

Massereene

Massereene Golf Club was formed back in 1895 so members have enjoyed playing in a lovely parkland setting on the shores of Lough Neagh for over one hundred years.

The 400-year-old Castle Upton Estate at Templepatrick, near Belfast’s International Airport, had 220 acres of its grounds transformed in the late 1990s into an hotel and leisure complex, complete with a championship quality golf course.

Designed by David Jones and David Feherty, the par 71 layout can be set up from between 5,565 and 7,077 yards in length. Holes are routed in two loops of nine through lovely parkland, bounded on one side by Six Mile Water as it flows to Lough Neagh.

The Templepatrick terrain is fairly level and fairways are generous, bounded mainly by light rough. Bunker complexes are sensible and blend in nicely to the landscape. There are many tall stands of trees – some set in long lines – to admire on the property as the round progresses.

Difficulty in scoring can be attributed to two factors, the first of which is water – ponds at holes 3, 8, 9, 16 and 18 can prove to be very costly. The other element to beware is the quality of the putting surfaces – undulating greens constructed to USGA specification that demand concentration right up until the last putt drops.

A feature hole is the 12th, a 461-yard par four with a slight right dogleg where two mighty blows are required to have any chance of recording a par score. Trees screen the hole from the river all the way down the right side and there are sand traps to be negotiated left of the landing area and right of the putting surface – all in all, a formidable hole that rightly claims its status as number 1 on the stroke index.

The club have held the Ulster PGA Championships in 2000 and 2001 and additionally hosted the Northern Ireland Ladies Open in the summer of 2007.

Templepatrick

Designed by David Jones and David Feherty, the par 71 Hilton Belfast Templepatrick Golf & Country Club layout can be set up from between 5,565 and 7,077 yards in length.

From the formation of Dunmurry Golf Club in 1905, right up to 1977, golfers seemed content enough to hone their golfing skills on a modest 9-hole course close to the city centre of Belfast.

It’s rather ironic therefor, to learn that the club – after a wait of sixty-eight years for a full sized course – then moved to another site within six years of its first 18-hole layout being installed.

Architect Tom Macauley laid out Dunmurry’s new fairways on land next to the River Lagan, and Peter Alliss officially opened the course in 1983.

Feature holes on the front nine include the 529-yard 4th, “Trossachs,” a gentle right hand dog legged par five that leads to an elevated, two-tiered green and the 418-yard 9th, “Fortfield,” where a ditch and a small lake must be avoided en route to the green.

On the inward half, the strongest hole arrives at the 365-yard 15th, “Coach House,” a right dog leg that requires a pinpoint accurate tee shot through a very narrow tree-lined section of fairway with out of bounds running all the way down the right to the green.

Architect David Jones kindly provided us with the following comments:

“I did quite a bit of upgrading at Dunmurry between the Spring of 2000 and the winter of 2004. The course was very weak on bunkering, with a near total lack of fairway bunkers and poorly placed greenside traps. I introduced strategically placed bunkers off the tees on twelve holes, while relocating and improving many of the old greenside bunkers.

I also redesigned the rather flat 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th 14th and 15th greens, contouring more imaginative surfaces with a better range of pin positions. Length was added to a number of holes with new back tees installed - in the process enlarging the teeing areas overall on nine separate holes - and some forward tees repositioned.

There was also an intensive tree-planting programme undertaken, introducing blocks of trees to improve definition and safety, as well as adding some more strategic value to the course.

Dunmurry moved to its present site in the 1980s and had to undertake a huge works programme to create a playable, well-drained course out of what initially was not a promising site, although it had the benefit of some lovely trees.

My contribution was really to improve the interest and challenge to what had been a fairly basic layout and it seems to have worked well.”

Dunmurry

Architect Tom Macauley laid out Dunmurry Golf Club's new fairways on land next to the River Lagan, and Peter Alliss officially opened the course in 1983.

Cairndhu Golf Club was formed in 1928 as Larne Town Golf Club and the members played on a 9-hole course designed by C.A. MacKenzie (brother of Alister MacKenzie) at The Roddins, in Larne. Due to industrial development in the town, the club was forced to move to its present location, just north of Larne, thirty years later. John S.F. Morrison – a partner of the famous golf architect Harry Colt – designed another 9-hole course which was quickly extended to a full 18-hole layout by the same architect in 1963.

Sir Thomas Dixon once owned the land and his wife was a keen botanist – this explains why there is such a great variety of trees and shrubs throughout the course.

Cairndhu is a hilly seaside course, laid out on cliffs which offer absolutely sensational views of the Antrim coastline with Drains Bay to the southeast and Ballygally Bay on the other side of the property.

The signature hole is the 159-yard par three 2nd called “Head” which is the closest point on the course to the headland. The tee sits a hundred yards above the Antrim coast road which hugs the shoreline below. The tee shot – which can be a short iron or a three wood, depending on wind direction – is played to a long, narrow green that slopes to the left and is bunkered to the front right.

Cairndhu really is a joy to play but it is not only a course that makes a club special – don’t forget about the members. Speaking about all the changes that have occurred over the years, the club says: “There are some things that have not changed and never will – the warm welcome afforded to visitors, the stunning views and a first class golf course.” That sounds like you’ve just been extended an invitation to visit Cairndhu.

Cairndhu

Cairndhu Golf Club is a hilly seaside course, laid out on cliffs which offer absolutely sensational views of the Antrim coastline...

The Gillan family purchased the land in 1971 on which the course at Gracehill House is built. Twenty years later, they decided to close their farm and open an 18-hole golf course in its place. Old estate buildings were converted to form a modern clubhouse and Frank Ainsworth – designer of other courses in Northern Ireland like Roe Park and Adminnan – was entrusted with the layout of the holes.

And so, in 1995, the 6,525-yard par 72 Gracehill course was opened for play. It is a parkland track laid out on gently undulating terrain with many mature stands of trees, though none are too encroaching on the fairways. Water comes into play at many of the holes in the form of streams or ponds, though bunkering has been kept to a minimum and greens are generally large and level.

The incorporation of so many water features may not sit comfortably with many golfing purists but there’s no denying this American design influence has had everything to do with making this a very challenging, contemporary course.

Three feature holes are worthy of special mention. First, the testing 440-yard 5th, called “Iderown”, is a long par four where, if the second shot is over clubbed, the ball will end up in the pond behind the green. Second, the 455-yard 10th, named “Doughery Burn”, is another tough par four where the second shot is played to a green protected by a large pond on the left. Lastly, the 200-yard par three 14th, entitled “Wing ‘n a Prayer”, requires the tee shot to be played over (yet another) pond to a large green with a central spine.

Investors spent around £5 million in the property after they acquired the Gracehill House estate in 2015. But by June 2020, with the hospitality industry in covid lockdown, receivers were appointed. Gracehill House, along with the 18-hole course and licensed restaurant were sold to a couple of local businessmen who continue to operate the business as a pay and play facility.


Gracehill

Set in peaceful rural surroundings, the golf course at Gracehill House is challenging and considered to be one of the best parkland layouts in Northern Ireland.

Every June, there is a major amateur golf competition held on the Antrim coast which attracts over one thousand golfers from all parts of Ireland, the United Kingdom and beyond. Formerly known as the “Black Bush” tournament – after a whiskey product of Bushmills, the sponsor – it is now called the Causeway Coast Amateur Golf Tournament.

Competitors play a stableford format on four out of five days over the Mussenden at Castlerock, the Strand at Portstewart, the Valley at Portrush and here at Ballycastle. The club is justifiably proud of its involvement in such a prestigious Ulster golfing event where golfers return year after year for a week of great golf played over four top-notch neighbouring courses.

Ballycastle Golf Club was one of nine founding members of the Golf Union of Ireland back in 1891 – the year after the club itself was formed – and members originally played on a 9-hole course that was redesigned in 1906 then extended to 18 holes twenty years after that.

Measuring 5,876 yards, it is regarded by some as a quirky little course with many changes in elevation. Quirky it may be – but uninteresting? Never! The first five holes are played on parkland beside the Margy River and ruins of the Bonamargy Abbey, with the remaining holes laid out along the coast – holes 11 to 17 run up one side of a cliff, along the top, then back down the other side.

Views across to Rathlin Island – and the Mull of Kintyre on a good day – are simply sensational and are an important factor in the golfing experience to be had at Ballycastle. The vista from the tee of the 17th (a 180-yard par three known as “The Pitch”) is also fantastic, with the green lying over 100 feet below. It's just one of many memorable holes at Ballycastle.

Ballycastle

Ballycastle Golf Club is regarded by some as a quirky little course with many changes in elevation. Quirky it may be – but uninteresting? Never!

Situated in the north east of Northern Ireland, County Antrim extends north from Lisburn, taking in the city of Belfast before the coastal boundary sweeps round Belfast Lough, Larne and Ballycastle on its way to Portrush. Close to Bushmills on the Antrim coast, some say the volcanic basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway is where the legendary warrior Finn McCool once walked across to Scotland to joust with his Scottish counterpart in years long gone by.

The main golf club in County Antrim is undoubtedly Royal Portrush, where members play over two fantastic championship 18-hole links courses, the world famous 

. Most golfers will know that Graeme McDowell, US Open winner in 2010, played his amateur golf at Portrush but many won’t know he was actually a member of Rathmore GC (attached to the Valley course) and not the Royal club.
