Causeway Coast: A golf giant in Northern Ireland

This northernmost part of the Emerald Isle is also where golfers can follow in the spike marks of giants of the game.

Many of the world’s top stars competed in the Open Championship when it was held for the second time on the hallowed links of the Harry Colt-designed Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush in 2019, having previously been staged there in 1953.

And such was the success of the tournament’s visit to County Antrim, when Ireland’s own Shane Lowry lifted the Claret Jug, that it is set to return there for the 2025 Open.

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COURSES

Royal Portrush’s Dunluce Course and its shorter sibling, the Valley Course, are among 18 links and parkland courses draped over the verdant coastal cliffs, hills and valleys of the Causeway Coast and Glens.

I played the Dunluce on my first visit to Northern Ireland a few years ago and the experience was every bit as magical as I had anticipated it would be. Rory McIlroy held the course record at that time with a 61 shot when he was just 16, but following a partial redesign for the 2019 Open the accolade is now held by Shane Lowry with his 63 in the tournament’s third round.

Just a few miles along the coast from Royal Portrush, Portstewart Golf Club boasts three 18-hole courses: the championship, par-72 Strand that hosted the Irish Open in 2017, the par-68 Riverside and the par-64 Old, dating to 1889.

The opening holes on the Strand Course are among the most spectacular in links golf, with the elevated tee box on the 1st hole set high above a dogleg fairway that ends in a small green. Hit your drive too far right and it might end on the roof of Harry’s Shack restaurant on Portstewart Strand beach.

The back nine is mostly devoid of dunes, but the rolling fairways, thick rough, run-off bunkers and tricky greens still provide a stern challenge.

Just across the mouth of the River Bann lies Castlerock Golf Club, its two 18-hole links including the glorious Mussenden Course. The first nine holes were laid out in 1901 and its fairways wind through gentler duneland than its neighbour.

Rounding out the trio of courses on my trip is the tree-studded parkland layout of Roe Park Resort in the picturesque Roe Valley, near Limavady. The first five holes play down to and along the River Roe, while the remaining holes play the other side of the resort, while the final three holes were renovated ahead of the course staging the 2015 Irish Open.

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THINGS TO DO

Take a guided tour of the Giant’s Causeway or explore it on your own, clambering across the hexagonal basalt pillars created by volcanic action 60 million years ago and washed by the Atlantic today.

A few miles east is the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, suspended almost 100 feet (30 metres) above crashing waves and linking the mainland to Carrick-a-Rede Island and its sole fisherman’s cottage.

Between Portrush and the Giant’s Causeway, the skeletal remains of Dunluce Castle are also well worth a visit.

Just inland from there is the town of Bushmills, home to the famous Old Bushmills Distillery, where they have been making whiskey for over 400 years, making it the world’s oldest licenced whiskey distillery.

There are some amazing beaches along the coast, among them Whitepark Bay and Portmarnock Strand, which was a filming location for the Game of Thrones TV series.

The Causeway Coastal Route is an 80-mile driving route that takes in stunning cliffs, beaches and glens between Belfast and Derry-Londonderry.

Heading back to Belfast, I take a detour to see the Dark Hedges, a beautiful avenue of beech trees that also featured in Game of Thrones. Several have been lost to storms, but it is still a magnificent sight.

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This feature first appeared in the 2024 bunkered Travel Guide and was written by Peter Ellegard. For more like this, why not take out a subscription? International subscriptions also available.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.