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Golf guide • Northern Ireland • Causeway Coast, Northern Ireland

Golf in Portrush: Open Championship links on the Causeway Coast

Portrush, a seaside resort on the north coast of Northern Ireland, is the base for a golf trip on the Causeway Coast: Royal Portrush's Dunluce Links, the only course outside Great Britain to have hosted the Open (1951, 2019, 2025), the neighbouring Valley Links, Portstewart's Strand Course a quarter of an hour away and Castlerock's Mussenden Links about twenty minutes away. Golfers come for four great dune links less than half an hour apart, the Giant's Causeway and Bushmills whiskey. The best season runs from May to September.

Plan this tripUpdated

Portrush sits on Ramore Head, a peninsula a kilometre and a half long pushing out into the Atlantic between two beaches, West Strand and East Strand. The town grew up with the railway in the 19th century and keeps its Victorian façades, its harbour and its funfair. To the east, beyond the beach at White Rocks, the coast road leads to Dunluce, Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway. To the west, Portstewart and Castlerock guard the mouth of the Bann.

Between Portrush and Castlerock lie four first-rate links in a row, all laid out through genuine dunes. Royal Portrush, founded in 1888, hosted the Open in 1951, 2019 and 2025: Max Faulkner, Shane Lowry and then Scottie Scheffler lifted the Claret Jug here. Portstewart staged the 2017 Irish Open, won by Jon Rahm, and the quieter Castlerock has been reworked by Martin Hawtree. Here the game depends on the wind as much as on the swing.

Four to six nights are enough to play each course at least once, save the Dunluce for the best slot and set aside half a day for the Giant's Causeway or the Bushmills distillery. The area has its heroes too: Fred Daly, the first Irish winner of a major, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke all grew up or played here.

The courses

Links green in a hollow of tall marram-covered dunes, red flag, grey sea in the background

Royal Portrush Golf Club, Dunluce Links

  • Architect: Harry Colt; Mackenzie & Ebert (2019)
  • Opened 1932
  • 18 holes

Designed by Harry Colt and opened in its present form in 1932, the Dunluce takes its name from the ruined castle nearby. For the Open's return in 2019, Martin Ebert built two new holes, the 7th and 8th, on land taken from the Valley, along with five greens and ten bunkers. This is no flat links: it climbs over the dunes, drops into the hollows and opens views of the Skerries and the hills of Donegal. The 5th, White Rocks, sets its green on the edge of the Atlantic. Par 71 for the Open, it is played on foot, like the Valley.

Signature hole. The 16th, Calamity Corner, is a par 3 of over 200 metres from the back tees, played across a ravine that runs down the whole right side of the green; the club advises taking plenty of club and aiming at the back left.

Official website

Royal Portrush Golf Club, Valley Links

  • Architect: Harry Colt; Mackenzie & Ebert
  • 18 holes

Royal Portrush's second course, also by Harry Colt, winds along lower ground, at the bottom of War Hollow, between the Dunluce and East Strand. Shorter and more sheltered, it is no stroll for all that: small, well-placed greens, narrow fairways between the dunes, precise approaches. Graeme McDowell learned his golf here. The club has reworked it with Mackenzie & Ebert, creating several holes in the closing stretch, including a par 3, the 17th, reopened after almost a century. A very good round for your arrival or the day after the Dunluce.

Official website

Portstewart Golf Club, Strand Course

  • Architect: Willie Park Jr; Des Giffin (1992)
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

A quarter of an hour to the west, the Strand Course at Portstewart, a club founded in 1894, opens with one of the most spectacular first holes in links golf: a downhill par 4 from an elevated tee, with Portstewart Strand beach and Donegal as the backdrop. The front nine, remodelled by Des Giffin and opened in 1992, crosses towering dunes; the more strategic back nine runs along the Bann. The 2017 Irish Open was played here, and the club has two more eighteen-hole courses, the Riverside and the Old Course.

Signature hole. The 1st tumbles towards the sea as a dogleg right: the starter is happy to wish you luck, and the second shot, to a green below, calls for a carefully considered choice of club.

Official website

Castlerock Golf Club, Mussenden Links

  • Architect: Ben Sayers; Martin Hawtree (2018)
  • Opened 1909
  • 18 holes
  • Par 73

Castlerock's championship course, about twenty minutes from Portrush, stretches between the Belfast–Derry railway line and the mouth of the Bann, not far from Mussenden Temple. The club opened its eighteen holes in 1909, and Martin Hawtree reworked several of them over the winter of 2017–2018. Part of it is played through fine dunes, part over gentler ground in the Scottish manner. A par 73, less famous than its neighbours, it still deserves its own day. A nine-hole course, the Bann Course, runs along the sea.

Signature hole. The 4th, Leg O' Mutton, is a par 3 of around 200 yards to a raised green, with the railway all down the left and a stream cutting diagonally across the line.

Official website

Where to stay

Dunluce Lodge

Portrush's only five-star hotel, Dunluce Lodge borders the 4th fairway of the Dunluce. Its 35 suites, spa and nine-hole putting green designed by Martin Ebert make it the most golf-minded address on the coast. The hotel arranges transfers to Royal Portrush and Portstewart, and stores your bags. For those who want to see the Open course from their window.

Elephant Rock Hotel

A small Portrush hotel facing the Atlantic, close to the Blue Flag beaches. Art Deco interiors, single, double or twin rooms, and a bar and Eldon's restaurant on site. A lively, unfussy address, the opposite of the grand golf hotel, for a group of friends who prefer the buzz of the town.

The Bushmills Inn

A former 17th-century coaching inn in the heart of Bushmills village, about ten minutes from Portrush, the inn was restored from 1987 onwards and now has 41 rooms and suites. Peat fires, snug nooks, a small cinema and a restaurant: a warm house halfway between Royal Portrush and the Giant's Causeway, in the distillery's own village.

Row of Victorian stone houses with bay windows facing a beach and the sea, golden evening light

Where to dine

Ramore

An institution on Portrush harbour, the Ramore brings together several dining rooms and bars with different menus under one roof: the Wine Bar, Basalt, Mermaid, Neptune & Prawn, Coast and the Harbour Bistro. Everyone finds their register, from simple plates to a more polished dinner, in a lively harbourside atmosphere: a safe choice for a group.

Tartine at the Distillers Arms

A brasserie on the main street of Bushmills, Tartine cooks produce from the north of Ireland: fish and seafood, beef, game in season. Portrush regulars are happy to come back; open in the evening from Wednesday to Sunday, booking recommended.

Amici

The Italian restaurant at Portstewart Golf Club, by the water next to the Old Course, in town. Meat and fish from the charcoal oven, and pizzas with house-made dough baked in a wood-fired oven. Open to visitors for lunch and dinner, by reservation: a good table after a round on the Strand.

Beyond golf

The Giant's Causeway

About five kilometres north-east of Bushmills, some 40,000 basalt columns, most of them hexagonal, step down into the sea. Formed 50 to 60 million years ago and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, they are tied to the legend of the giant Fionn mac Cumhaill. Access to the site is free. Come early in the morning or late in the day, once the coaches have gone.

Dunluce Castle and the Carrick-a-Rede bridge

Between Portrush and Portballintrae, the ruins of Dunluce, stronghold of the MacDonnells, cling to a basalt spur joined to the coast by a bridge. The castle is said to have inspired C. S. Lewis and served as a set for Game of Thrones. Further along the coast road, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, run by the National Trust, links the cliff to a small island: a short crossing, best avoided if you are prone to vertigo.

Bushmills, Downhill and Mussenden Temple

The Bushmills distillery, founded in 1784, prints the year 1608 on its bottles, the date of a distilling licence granted in the area; it is open to visitors. To the west, above Downhill Strand beach, Mussenden Temple, built in 1785 by the Earl Bishop of Derry on the model of the Temple of Vesta, looks out to sea from the clifftop.

Ruins of a stone castle on the edge of a basalt cliff, Atlantic waves below

When to go

From May to September the days are long, with late sunsets in June, and the links are firm and fast under mild temperatures. April and October are still good months, quieter, with shoulder-season green fees on some courses. From November to March wind and rain set in, and Portstewart has the Strand played from mats. Always pack waterproofs: the weather changes several times a day.

Getting there

Belfast International (BFS) is the most convenient airport, about an hour's drive away; Belfast City (BHD) is a little further. Trains from Belfast serve Coleraine, where a shuttle train runs on to Portrush and the main line continues to Castlerock and Derry. Locally, Portstewart is a quarter of an hour away and Castlerock about twenty minutes: a car with driver remains the simplest option.

Frequently asked questions

Can you play Royal Portrush without being a member?

Yes, on both the Dunluce and the Valley, in tee times set aside for visitors. The Dunluce offers none on Wednesdays, nor before 3pm on Saturdays or before 1pm on Sundays. The club expects visitors to be members of a recognised club and may ask for a handicap certificate.

What are the best golf courses near Portrush?

Royal Portrush's Dunluce Links, host of the Open in 1951, 2019 and 2025, followed by Portstewart's Strand Course, Royal Portrush's Valley Links and Castlerock's Mussenden Links, all within half an hour.

Who has won the Open at Royal Portrush?

Max Faulkner in 1951, Shane Lowry in 2019 and Scottie Scheffler in 2025. Portrush is the only venue outside Great Britain to have hosted the Open.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to Portrush?

Belfast International, about an hour's drive away. Belfast City is an alternative, and trains link Belfast with Portrush, changing at Coleraine.

When is the best time to play golf on the Causeway Coast?

From May to September for long days and links in their best condition. April and October are quieter; in winter, some courses are played from mats.

Tailor-made

Your golf trip: Portrush

Tee times, suites, transfers and tables: your concierge replies within 24 hours with a proposal shaped around you.

Sloping fairway beneath tall oaks, running down towards a broad sea lough and green hills at sunset
Northern Ireland

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Links among marram dunes, golden gorse and heather in the foreground, a bay and small town below mountains at sunset
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