Antrim

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 Dunluce and the much underrated Valley. 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.

Top 100 Golf Courses - Antrim

Royal Portrush (Dunluce)

1^st

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.

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Royal Portrush (Valley)

2^nd

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?

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Malone (Drumbridge & Ballydrain)

3^rd

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.

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Galgorm Castle

4^th

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...

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Templepatrick

5^th

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.

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Massereene

6^th

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.

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Ballycastle

7^th

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

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Gracehill

8^th

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.

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Cairndhu

9^th

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

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Dunmurry

10^th

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.

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