Golf in Northern Ireland

Stunning golf courses

One of the main draws of a golfing trip to Northern Ireland has to be playing the world-renowned links courses dotted along the rugged Causeway Coast. Portstewart Golf Club and Castlerock Golf Club – both in County Londonderry – offer challenging links golf at its finest in a world of towering sand dunes, undulating fairways and tricky manicured greens.

Not to be outdone, County Down also claims a selection of must-play courses. Top of the list is Royal County Down Golf Club – previously named number one in Golf Digest’s Top 100 Courses in the World outside of the US. Add Warrenpoint Golf Club and Ardglass Golf Club into the mix and County Down is just starting to show off.

Yet there’s even more golfing greatness to savour. Lough Erne Resort is a five-star showstopper; a jewel in the shimmering crown of the Fermanagh Lakelands. Another luxurious golf retreat is Galgorm Castle Golf Club, a championship parkland set on a lush 400-acre estate only 30-minutes drive from the bright lights of Belfast.

The Open in Northern Ireland

Royal Portrush Golf Club in County Antrim wowed course visitors and TV viewers alike when it hosted The Open in 2019, the first time the world’s oldest major had returned to Northern Ireland in 68 years! Such was the success of the event, the tournament will be back here again in 2025.

A quarter of a million golf fans thronged the Dunluce Links during the 2019 Open, when local star Shane Lowry lifted the Claret Jug. Here’s hoping for another winner from the island of Ireland in 2025! Will you be there to cheer them on?

The 19th hole

As any golf enthusiast knows, golf is only one side of a golfing holiday; the other is the fun you can have OFF the course. It’s the like-minded golfers you meet in the clubhouse after a round. It’s the locals you mingle with in the pub down the road from the course. It’s meeting up with old friends and making new ones along the way.  The golf is great, but the people and the craic (fun) are even better.

Then you have star attractions that are not to be missed. Embarking on a golf road trip along the Causeway Coastal Route? The Giant’s Causeway is a must-visit UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the other end of the route, Derry~Londonderry is a walled city wonder full of lively bars, tasty eateries and historic landmarks.

Like your whiskey? Tour the Old Bushmills Distillery, the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world. A fan of Game of Thrones®? Visit filming locations from the real-world Westeros! Want to get off the beaten track? Head for breathtaking walks and hikes in the untouched beauty of the Sperrins Mountains. Love history? Follow in the footsteps of St Patrick in the ecclesiastical city of Armagh, where not one but two towering cathedrals stand tall in his name.

We said that golf in Northern Ireland is having a moment. But as you can see, the whole region is buzzing! We’ll see you on the fairways...