Northern Ireland – the new home of golf
Northern Ireland has always been known for its lush greens and natural landscapes spread all across the country. The local business people and the government bodies have always made use of its beauty and made huge investments in the golf industry.
The country is known for developing some of the best golf courses in the world. Royal Portrush and Royal County Down are known as the best in the country.
Developed in 1889, Royal Cоunty Dоwn Golf Club is one of the oldest golf courses in Northern Ireland. There are a total of two 18-hole courses developed at the site – Championship Course and the Annesley Links.
However, Royal County made its name in the world because of the beautiful Championship Course, which was ranked as the fourth best golf course outside the United States by the Golf Digest in 2005. In 2007, it took the top spot in the list.
Tom Browning, a 7-handicap at the Reader Exit Polls organized by WorldGolf.com, rated Royal County as a five star golf club and said:
"This is the best course in the UK, and I've played The Old Course at St. Andrews, Muirfield, Royal St. Georges and Royal Portrush, among others. I rate it second to Cypress Point. I haven't played Pine Valley or Augusta National yet, but this golf course
is that good. Top 5 in the world".
The Royal Pоrtrush Golf Club is one of most renowned golf clubs that hosted The Open Championship in 1951 and became the only golf course outside the Great Britain to host the oldest major championship in history.
Dunluce Links course is the speciality of Royal Pоrtrush, as it was ranked fourth in the "The 100 greatest courses in the British Isles" published by Golf World in 1996. In 2007, it was the fourth best course outside the United States, as ranked by the Golf
Digest.
Thus far, it is pretty much clear why people rave about visiting the abovementioned golf courses. They always make it to the top-10 in the world rankings and also host the maximum number of international events held in Northern Ireland.
However, these two courses have overshadowed the other beautiful links courses present in the country.
If someone opens up their options, they can easily find some of the finest golf courses in the world in Northern Ireland, names other than Royal Portrush and Royal County Down.
Portstewart’ Strand Course, Castlerock’s Mussenden Course and Ardglass are to name a few.
Portstewart was first developed in 1894 and was redesigned in the 1980’s when seven holes were added to the course. The restructuring process completed in 1992 and the course was opened for public in the same year.
It now features one of the best front-nine in the UK and each of the holes present on the course gives the visitors a completely unique feeling.
Des Griffin was the man who redesigned the course in the 1980’s and the work was done so efficiently than one cannot differentiate older holes from the newly designed ones.
Castlerock is another place one must visit at least once in their life. In 1908, Ben Sayers redesigned it and made it an 18-hole course. The course is known for rapid changes in the weather conditions.
Sometimes, the winds are so strong that it makes it difficult for the players to bring precision in their shots. At other times, the conditions are totally opposite.
All the holes have their unique designs and it is difficult to pick a single one as the best of all. Yet, the fourth and sixth holes are famous for their raised greens.
Ardglass, on the other hand, is one of the most attractive golf courses in the world because of its attractive design and layout. The players can enjoy the beauty of the sea from almost every hole present on the course.
The course was first developed in 1896 and was transformed to an 18-hole links course in 1970. The golf club is also known for its castle-designed clubhouse. The concept for the design of the castle was taken from the 14th century.
By and large, Northern Ireland is no doubt blessed with a number of beautiful and challenging golf courses. The only need is to promote them on higher levels as done for the Royal Portrush and Royal County Down.
Currently, the Irish Open is the only European Tour event that is held in Northern Ireland. Given the exposure to other golf courses in the region, the time is not far away when Northern Ireland will be hosting multiple top-notch tournaments from the European
Tour.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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