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Royal
Portrush Golf Club |
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The world has been coming to the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland for a couple of centuries now to see the natural wonder known as the Giant’s Causeway. Mythology tells us the Giant’s Causeway, was a connection between Antrim and Scotland used by giants of both lands. Maybe there’s something to this legend. The Giant’s Causeway connects two great golfing countries. On both sides of its span, great golf courses have attracted the giants of the sport. |
| It’s not the basalt hexagonal rock columns of the Giant’s Causeway that dominate the Antrim coast. The scalloped coast flares in and out in a series of inlets, coves, and headlands. It also thrusts upwards from its sandy and rocky beaches, upwards to sea cliffs and rocky outcroppings, like the jagged pinnacle that serves as the base of the spooky ruins of medieval Dunluce Castle just east of Portrush and west of the Giant’s Causeway. Numerous islets just offshore suggest the coast has been torn by the wave action and winds of the Atlantic. Most remarkable of these is the islet of Carrick-a-Rede, 7 miles east of the Giant’s Causeway, accessible from the mainland by a frightening wire & wood footbridge suspended 80 feet over the crashing breakers. All along the coast, walking paths and scenic roadways provide access to its drama, including some of Ireland’s great swaths of sand dunes land. |
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Royal Portrush Golf Club, set among Antrim’s
classic dunes land just west of the Giant’s Causeway UN World Heritage Site, is
a legendary course of a stature to lure golfing giants. Royal Portrush began its
exalted existence rather simply in 1888 as the County Club. It first became
“Royal” four years later when the Duke of York (later King Edward VII) was made
the club’s patron. In another three years, when the Duke of York’s son the
Prince of Wales (later King George V), became club patron, the name changed to
the current Royal Portrush Golf Club. |
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and culminating with the 1951 Open Championship (the
“British Open”, as it’s known in the States) when the world’s most prestigious
golf championship was played away from Britain for the first and (so far) only
time. In the heady post-war years, Royal Portrush became ready for the big time
by hiring the legendary Harry S. Colt (co-designer of Pine Valley, America’s top-ranked
course) to give the course a makeover, and then celebrated the achievement by
hosting the Open. |
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and Scotland’s
the St. Andrews Old Course and
Royal Dornoch. |
LENGTH & PAR of DUNLUCE
CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE:
• Blue Tees: 6,818 yards, Par 72, SSS 73
• White Tees: 6,642 yards, Par 72
• Red (Ladies’) Tees: 6,123 yards, Par 75
LENGTH & PAR of VALLEY
COURSE:
• Blue Tees: 6,273 yards, Par 70, SSS 70
GREEN FEES:
• Dunluce Course: £110/round Mo-Fr; £125/round Sa-Su
• Valley Course: £35/round Mo-Fr; £40/round Sa-Su
VISITORS welcome at the
following times:
• Sunday: 10:30-11:50AM; after 2PM
• Monday: after 2PM
• Tuesday: 9:40-11:50AM; after 2PM
• Wednesday: 9:40-11:50AM
• Thursday: 9:40-11:50AM; after 2PM
• Friday: 9:40-11:50AM
• Saturday: after 3PM
Reservations:
• Tel: +44 (0)28 7082 2311
• Fax: +44 (0)28 7082 3139
• Email:
info@royalportrushgolfclub.com
Advance Tee-Time Reservations are mandatory, and must be confirmed with a
£50/person booking fee that must be paid in full not later than two months in
advance of the planned golf date. Once paid, booking fees are non-refundable.
Minimum Handicap: Men–18; Women–24.
Handicap Certificate and Letter of Introduction from Golf Club of Membership
must be provided prior to play.
Dress Code:
• On the Course: Golf shoes required. Knee-length
shorts acceptable only with knee-length or short
socks. No cell phones permitted.
• In the Clubhouse: Long trousers required. No golf
shoes permitted. No smoking permitted. No cell
phones permitted.
FACILITIES:
• Caddies: £25/round + tip (request in advance)
• Dining Room: open every day with a snack menu
• Pro Shop
• Pull Cart (trolley) rent: £4/round
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LOCATION: Royal Portrush Golf Club is one mile east of the town of
Portrush on Bushmill’s Road. TRAVEL TO NORTHERN IRELAND: Home At First offers a full-featured fly/drive travel program to County Antrim in Northern Ireland using cottages and apartments in Portrush town and along the Antrim Coast. For details and prices, see: NORTHERN IRELAND. GETTING THERE: from Home At First’s nearest lodgings in Portrush, drive east on the scenic A2 coast road. The club entrance is on the north side of the A2 (Bushmill’s Road) just outside of town.
ROYAL
PORTRUSH GOLF CLUB IS NEAR |
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OTHER NOTABLE COURSES IN THE REGION: very close by are
Portstewart Golf
Club (links, 4 miles west of Portrush) and Castlerock Golf Club (links, 7 miles
west of Portrush beyond Coleraine).
Traveling to Ireland to Play Golf?
Let
Home At First make your advance tee-times
at Royal Portrush Golf Club and many other
Irish golf courses as
part of your pre-reserved Irish trip itinerary. There’s
no extra charge for this service.
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THE REGION: Northern Ireland’s Antrim Coast is home to geologic
wonders, great golf courses, spooky medieval castles (Dunluce Castle,
just east of Royal Portrush G.C.), and a notable distillery (Bushmills,
near the entrance to the Giant’s Causeway). Activities include golf (of
course), touring, fishing, and walking (the coast path can be done in
small sections or all in one go).
Home At First's flexible,
independent, fly/drive travel program to the Antrim Coast lets you do it
all, at your pace, according to your lifestyle, and in line with your
budget. |
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