1 Royal Portrush Golf Club, County Antrim
There’s more to Royal Portrush than two exquisite courses and its notoriously challenging conditions. It’s the course that helped Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke fall madly in love with the game. And in 2019, it hosted one of golf’s biggest events, The Open.
Beyond the fairway: You’re on the Causeway Coastal Route here, so this stretch of road is full of gems. Get your camera out at Dunluce Castle, an epic cliff-side ruin five minutes away. Or keep going until you reach the Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an intriguing geological marvel. If you are looking for another excuse to play the Dunluce Links, then whiskey could be the answer. That's because they've been distilling Old Bushmills just four miles down the road for the last 400 years – take a tour, and maybe sample a wee dram.
Hunger may also strike, so go in search of a bite to eat at The French Rooms or the Tartine Restaurant at The Distillers Arms – both in Bushmills Village. Or pop into the eclectic Harbour Bar in Portrush, part of the Ramore complex of restaurants, which serves mouthwatering steaks on the bone beside roaring fires. Delicious!