Northern Ireland is marvellous natural golfing country. Eighty courses in meadowland, parkland and superb, coastal settings await the visitor. There are whole series of lovely links along the coasts of Down, Antrim and Londonderry, a dozen courses within five miles of Belfast City Hall - and, of course, the famous fairways of championship courses like Royal Portrush and Royal County Down; both ranked in the top twenty internationally.

Royal County Down Golf Club

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Royal County Down is one of the oldest Golf Clubs in Ireland with traditions dating back for more than one hundred years. Situated in Newcastle, where in the immortal words of Percy French, "The Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea", Royal County Down is not only a fine test of golf but has accompanying scenery that is spellbinding.
Alongside the Championship Links, Royal County Down has a second course, The Annesley Links. Laid out beneath the same massive, almost menacing backdrop, the Annesley Links is nowhere near as intimidating or as formidable a challenge as the Championship Links, but then it was never intended to be. It is a course for everyone.

Newcastle is 30 miles south of Belfast via the A24 ( approx 1 hour); 90 miles north of Dublin via the M1/N1/A1 to Newry, and 25 miles east of Newry via the A25 ( now around 2 hours by new motorway link).

Hotels near Royal County Down golf links at Newcastle

Claregalway Hotel

The Claregalway Hotel offers a stress free environment, a warm welcome, excellent service and great food with 48 cosy bedrooms, fantastic bars, luxurious leisure centre, contemporary restaurant and fabulous staff.
The Claregalway Hotel is situated in the village of Claregalway, east of Galway, with Cusack’s Bar (a combination of old world and modern bars with a traditional atmosphere), the River Bistro (offering the best of local and international cuisine) and a state of the art health and fitness club all just 3 km from Galway Airport.

Royal Portrush Golf Club

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Royal Portrush golf course in Northern Ireland is one of the best and most challenging links golf courses in the world. Situated on the beautiful North Antrim Causeway coast, Royal Portrush Golf Club occupies a triangle of giant sandhills which present magnificent views in all directions. The hills of Donegal in the west, the Isle of Islay and Southern Hebrides in the north, with the Giant's Causeway and the Skerries in the east. The course is overlooked by the ruins of 13th century Dunluce Castle and this gives its name to Royal Portrush's famous Dunluce course. Read about the course here.
Royal Portrush Golf CourseRoyal Portrush is the only golf course outside Great Britain to host the British Open Championship in 1951, won by Max Faulkner. In 2003, Royal Portrush hosted the Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship. In July each year, its hosts the North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship. Read about Royal Portrush Golf Club's history.
Royal Portrush Golf Club is on everyone's list of top golf courses in Ireland and is often included in lists of the top golf courses in the world. As Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke recently said "Royal Portrush is now rated to be in the top 12 golf courses in the world and should, indeed, be number one.''

Hotels near Royal Portrush Golf Club

Ardglass Golf Course is an 18 hole links course on the north-eastern coast of Ireland with some stunning views and many excellent and unique golf holes. The course is just 50 minutes by car from Belfast and only 30 minutes from the world renowned Royal County Down golf links at Newcastle. ...

Hotels near the Ardglass Golf Club

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Golf Rules from USGA and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland
Learning and playing by the Rules of Golf is very important. Golf is a game where you are expected to play by the rules and it is each player's responsibility to follow the rules.

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