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Championship Golf for
Everyman.
A links of the first order on
Northern Ireland’s
Causeway Coast
Portstewart
Golf Club has accepted the challenge of keeping up with the Joneses. For 100 years,
Portstewart has lived in the shadow of its famous neighbor, Royal Portrush Golf Club.
Portrush lies about 2 miles to the east of Portstewart in a very similar landscape: the
dunesland of Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast. But, while Royal Portrush’s
Dunluce Course has gained a stellar international reputation and is currently ranked
number 3 in the world outside of the United States by GolfDigest.com, Portstewart Golf
Club has remained largely anonymous outside of Northern Ireland. Then, in 1992, the board
of Portstewart Golf Club took the daring step of redesigning its property, and its
resulting three courses (each 18 holes) offer golfers of every level top quality linkses.
Led by its championship 6,779-yard, par-72 Strand Course, Portstewart Golf Club deserves
to be mentioned in any discussion of top Irish courses. Indeed, visiting golfers to
Northern Ireland should be sure to include a round at Portstewart in their itinerary.
LOCATION:
Portstewart Golf Club
117 Strand Road
Portstewart, County Londonderry
Northern Ireland BT55 7PG
Tel: +44 (0)28 70832015
Fax: +44 (0)28 70834097
e-mail: bill@portstewartgc.co.uk
web site: http://www.portstewartgc.co.uk/
Open & Playable Year Round.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
Strand Course: Championship links redesigned in 1992 with 7 new holes among
huge sand hills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Features views of Portstewart beach and
the distant mountains of County Donegal Hills.
Riverside Course: 18 holes with fewer hills and less challenge winding alongside
the River Bann. Ideal for moderate level golfers.
Old (Town) Course: This, the original site of golf at Portstewart (dating from
1889) is a traditional links with views of Ireland’s north coast and the town of
Portstewart. Eight par threes and ten par fours combine to offer a short course but one
with substantial challenge.
LENGTH & PAR:
Strand Course:
Championship: 6,895
yards, Par 72, SSS 73
Medal Tees:
6,571 yards, Par 72
Ladies’ Tees:
5,853 yards, Par 74
Riverside Course:
5,725 yards, Par 68
Old (Town) Course:
4,730 yards, Par 64
GREENS FEES:
MO-FR
SA-SU
Strand Course: £70
£90
Riverside
Course: £20
£25
Old (Town) Course: £10
£15
VISITORS WELCOME:
Strand Course: Reservations mandatory.
Best days: Mo-Tu-Th-Fr.
Handicap minimum: Men–28, Women–45
Riverside Course: Reservations necessary for weekends.
Visitors welcome any day.
Old (Town) Course: Reservations recommended.
Visitors welcome any day.
RESERVATIONS OF TEE-TIMES:
Strand & Riverside
Courses: Advance bookings required.
Reservations may be made by telephone but must
be confirmed
immediately in writing (e-mail preferred: bill@portstewartgc.co.uk).
Telephone: +44 (0)28 70832015.
Old Course: Book
your tee-time direct by telephone:
Tel: +44 (0)28 70832549.
PAYMENTS
FOR THE STRAND COURSE: Payment in full is due 1 month prior to the date of play. A 75% refund
will be made in the event of proper notification of cancellation prior to the date of
play. All payments must be in pounds sterling and may be made by VISA, or
MasterCard.
FACILITIES:
• Club House with Locker Rooms
• Restaurant & Bars
• Pro Shop
• Caddies available
• Pull Cart (trolley) Rental
• Motorized Cart Rental
• Club Rental
• Practice Putting Green
LOCATION: Just off the
main A2 coastal route near the Londonderry-Antrim border,
approximately 5 miles northwest of Coleraine, and 4 miles southwest of
Portrush.
TRAVEL TO THE ANTRIM COAST: More information about travel with HOME AT FIRST to NORTHERN IRELAND.
NEAREST HOME AT FIRST LODGINGS:
in and near Portstewart and Portrush,
within 3 miles of the Portstewart Golf Club.
See: HOME
AT FIRST in NORTHERN IRELAND
TRAVELING TO IRELAND TO PLAY GOLF? Let Home At First make your advance tee-times at Portstewart Golf Club Golf Club and many other Ireland golf courses as part of your pre-reserved Ireland trip itinerary. There’s no extra charge for this service.
OTHER COURSES IN THE AREA:
More information
about GOLF IN IRELAND
•
Royal Portrush – 2 miles east – site of the only British Open ever to
be held
away from Britain – in 1951.
• Castlerock – 3 miles west – another top quality links on Northern
Ireland’s north
coast.
HISTORY OF PORTSTEWART GOLF CLUB:
Golf has been played at Portstewart since at least 1889. Even then the town was a seaside
resort that attracted the leisure classes. The great Scottish golfer and course designer
Willie Park, Jr., was brought in to design the town’s first course, portions of which
still make up the Old (or Town) Course at Portstewart Golf Club. Over the years the
courses have evolved and been added at Portstewart, taking advantage of the natural high
dunes, the river, and the beach that all come together west of town. The course first
gained some international attention when it served as a British Open qualifying course in
1951, the year the Open was played just two miles away at Royal Portrush Golf Club. Forty
years later the club decided to revamp the property and take advantage of some remaining
untouched sand hills. For a paltry £100,000, seven new holes were created by course
architect Des Giffin, adding great challenge to Portstewart’s Strand Course that had
long been the poor sister of neighboring Royal Portrush’s Dunluce Course. The
Strand’s coming out party occurred in 1992 when it hosted the Irish Amateur
Championships.
THE STRAND COURSE AND TWO NOTEWORTHY HOLES:
In Portstewart’s flagship course, the Strand, went from 90-pound weakling to
2,000-pound gorilla virtually overnight. Its seven totally new holes made possible the
elimination of seven weaker or non-links holes, so that these days there’s not a
moment’s respite during a round on the Strand. Still, you’ll be tempted to enjoy
some of the grand views of ocean, the river, the beach, and the distant mountains of
County Donegal, Ireland. The greens at Portstewart are fast, the rough is high and
treacherous, and the wind off the ocean can be ferocious. Walking the course can be
daunting, too, as the sand hills and dunes topography means you are constantly changing
elevation.
• Hole #1, Par 4, 425 yards:
The Strand’s signature hole is its famous #1, included on many lists as the best
start hole in Ireland (and elsewhere). The first tee is elevated, commanding an imposing
view of the beach and the Atlantic. Its dogleg right demands accuracy right off the tee.
• Hole #6, Par 3, 140 yards: If
you successfully negotiate the challenge of the first hole you dare not relax — the
next seven holes are the new ones tucked among the great sand hills of the Portstewart
dunes. Although all seven of these are memorable, perhaps most challenging is the par-3
6th hole, a short 140 yards, but to a plateau green exposed to the tricky winds off the
Atlantic.
THE REGION: Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast is named after the world
famous Giant’s Causeway east of Portrush, the remarkable UNESCO
World Heritage Site made up of hexagonal basalt columns pointing across the waters to
Scotland.
Three more notable sites are within close range
of Portstewart:
• Dunluce Castle, a
dramatic castle ruin hanging on a craggy cliff along the coast
between Portstewart and Portrush.
• Bushmills Distillery,
famous producer of one of Ireland’s iconic whiskeys, located
not far from the entrance to the Giant’s Causeway east of Dunluce Castle.
The old Irish whiskey distillery has its own heritage village attached.
• Carrick-a-Rede Bridge
— a spindly rope suspension bridge connecting a coastal
cliff with a small island just offshore. Erected annually for use by
fishermen during
the April to September fishing season, the bridge draws many more tourists
than
fishermen. Not everyone who reaches the bridge crosses it, due to its open
heights and sway in the sea winds.
HOME AT FIRST offers independent, flexible, fly/drive travel to IRELAND
and other great golfing destinations in SCOTLAND,
WALES, and NEW
ZEALAND.
Plan your own trip, with our expert help.
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