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Royal Portrush (Dunluce Links)
| Site of the only British Open played in Ireland, the Dunluce links at Royal Portrush Golf Club is one of the masterpieces of golf architecture. Compared to some Irish links, the terrain is rather sedate, and the natural setting, while nice enough, is not in a league with County Down or even nearby Portstewart. It is the intelligence, precision and balance of the design that captivates at Portrush. Each hole presents a new and elegant challenge, yet each seems cut from the same cloth. Then there is Calamity, one of the world's most famous par 3s, and the glorious exclamation point that every great course seems to have. |
Portstewart
| With the addition of seven splendid holes, the venerable links at Portstewart well and truly emerged from the shadow of its magnificent neighbor, Royal Portrush, in the 1990s. There are actually 54 links holes here, but it is only the championship course, The Strand, that you will need to play. The front nine is among the best anywhere, and the first hole is in a class by itself. Wonderfully situated between a gorgeous stretch of Atlantic beach and the River Bann, Portstewart offers links golf at its thrilling and scenic best. |
Ballycastle
| At times, Ballycastle just seems kind of slapped together -- part parkland, part links, with fairways that run too close together, a couple of holes that appear too quirky by half, and a clubhouse that almost touches the eighteenth green. It shouldn't really work as a golf course, yet there is an undeniable exhilaration to be had in playing golf on the high linksland they call the Warren, which overlooks so much beauty, and so much Irish history. Amidst the views and legends you will also find many testing and intriguing golf holes. |
Castlerock
| A true Irish-style links on the Causeway Coast, Castlerock may be Northern Ireland's most rugged golf course, with a host of long, demanding holes through impressive and intimidating sandhills. When the wind is up, as it often is, Castlerock can be a tiger -- everything seems to be played uphill or upwind, and approach shots bound off the hard and fast greens. An underrated course and very enjoyable to play. |
Ardglass
| Venturing forth into the wind to subdue the first four holes at Ardglass is one of golf's most formidable missions. Scrambling up the ridge of a rocky cliff, with the crashing surf of the Irish Sea filling the ears, it seems fitting that your progress should be covered by a battery of cannons, poised in front of Ardglass Castle, and pointed directly at the first green. For this is golf's version of a military siege, with shots rejected by all manner of rock formations, earth embankments and stone walls. So what if the rest of the course can't keep up to the spectacular drama of the opening quartet (though the three new holes added by David Jones – nine through eleven - strengthen the course considerably). If it did, you might never reach the nineteenth hole, with its promise of a pint in one of the most intriguing clubhouses anywhere. |
Royal County Down
| Set dramatically in the foothills of the Mountains of Mourne, Royal County Down is recognized by all who have played it as one of the finest and most beautiful golf courses in the world. And best of all, even the paying customer can play it in blissful solitude. Ironically, much of the course's unique beauty comes from its fiercest hazard -- the flowering gorse and heather that line its fairways. Then there is Slieve Donard, the graceful peak that rises up behind the town of Newcastle, creating a perfect backdrop for a course that seems to have been created with a postcard in mind. As striking as they are, photographs don't do County Down justice. On a sunny day, when the gorse is in full bloom and the scent of peat fires is on the breeze, the combination of scenic splendor, world class links golf and the marvelous sense of isolation can be transporting. These are the links of heaven. You won't want the day to end. |