Royal County Down is located in one of the world’s most naturally beautiful links settings in the Murlough Nature Reserve, amazing location for golf holidays in Ireland. Against the magnificent backdrop of the Mountains of Mourne, the links stretches along the shores of Dundrum Bay, zigzagging back and forth to provide a different vista from virtually every hole.

The narrowest ribbons of fairways thread their way through as impressive a set of sand dunes as could be imagined. The fairways are surrounded by purple heather and golden gorse, so beautiful to look at but so punishing for any who may stray from the prescribed path.

The ninth hole is one of the most photographed holes in world golf. A 486 yard par 4, it is played from one side of a huge mound down to a fairway some 60 ft below and 260 yards from the tee. From the bottom of the slope the second shot is played over two bunkers to a raised green.

Situated on Northern Ireland’s magnificent Causeway Coast, Portstewart Golf Club presents a difficult but fair game. The Strand Course is indisputably the jewel in Portstewart’s crown for golf holidays in Northern Ireland.

The course is set in classic links country amid towering sand dunes with views at every turn of the Donegal hills, the Atlantic and the River Bann. The opening hole with its elevated tee, dogleg right to the green and sandy strip on the right, was always a particularly memorable opening hole.

For something a little less challenging, the Riverside Course stretches from the clubhouse down to the River Bann. And if you like a little heritage in your game, the original Old Course situated at the eastern end of Portstewart along the rocky shore, has tested players since 1889. Without doubt championship pedigree, Portstewart has hosted the Irish Amateur Championship in 1992 and held a qualifying round of The Open in 1951.

Royal Portrush Golf Club is home to one of the best and most challenging links golf courses in the world, the Dunluce Links, and the hidden gem, the Valley Links. The only club in Ireland to have hosted The Open Championship, Royal Portrush is a members club which welcomes visitors all year round to face the challenges of its courses and to enjoy golf holidays in Northern Ireland.

The Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club ranks amongst the world’s greatest courses. Voted Number 12 in the world by Golf Magazine, it is a masterpiece of golf course architecture. Unimaginable rough and testing greens, combined with the unpredictable weather of the roaring North Atlantic make this course an admirable test for even the most seasoned golf aficionado.

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.

Golf Experience Award (Northern Ireland)

Ardglass, located in Northern Ireland, is a dramatic links golf course set on a rugged coastline, with cliff tops and an ancient town as a backdrop. With water playing a prominent part in this courses, there are no fewer than 8 holes where the Irish Sea coastline comes into play.

Just 30 south of Belfast and 25 miles from Royal County Down, Ardglass is perfectly situated to start your golf holiday in Northern Ireland.

“The course is just incredible. Parts of it remind me of Pebble Beach in California: the par-5 11th skirts a bay where any sliced shot is wet; then you climb a hill to an elevated tee at the par-3 12th, where the green juts out into the water.. – Chris Jones, Deputy Editor “Today’s Golfer”.

Castlerock Golf Club is situated in the seaside village of Castlerock, which lies approximately 5 miles due West of the town of Coleraine on the North Coast of Northern Ireland.

Castlerock is a fabulous links course set among rolling sand dunes. Its scenic qualities embrace the river Bann flowing out to the Atlantic, and also eye-catching views of Donegal and on a clear day towards Scotland and the Isle of Islay. An ideal retreat for golf holidays in Northern Ireland.

The Championship Mussenden Course is a par 73 with five par-5’s, four par-3’s, and nine par-4’s. The best-known hole is the fourth, called the Leg o’Mutton, a 200 yard par-3 with a railway line to the right, a burn to the left and a raised green. Additionally the 9 hole Bann course has widened the appeal of the Club and contains a par-5 which has been described as one of the most scenic holes in Irish golf.

Malone Golf Club has been a part of the sporting and social life of Belfast for more than one hundred years.

From its first location at Stranmillis to the current site at Ballydrain the club has welcomed golfers of all levels and those that simply want to enjoy the surroundings and bar banter or, as it is called in Ulster ‘craic’. Since those early days Malone has become famous across Ireland and well around the golfing world with many excellent amateur golfers and successful teams that have won multiple All Ireland pennants in various competitions.

The members are always delighted for others to enjoy their course and the club facilities. Malone Golf Club have twenty seven holes made up of Ballydrain, Drumbridge and Edenderry nines. The first two usually make up the main course but the Edenderry is a great venue for younger and newer golfers to enjoy the game. In addition to the splendid holes of golf, they have a bowling green set in a walled garden and a well stocked lake where members of the fishing section may be seen enjoying tranquility that often eludes the golfer.

The Golfhouse offers a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere in which to relax after a game of golf. The Ballydrain Bar, opened in June 2003, affords breathtaking views over the eighteenth green, Ballydrain Lake and the surrounding countryside. The in house bar and catering staff provide friendly and courteous service with excellent food and drink at very affordable prices. Bar snacks and high teas are available in the Ballydrain Bar.