About the course
Royal Portrush stands on the Causeway Coast of County Antrim, on the edge of the seaside town of Portrush, with the white limestone cliffs of the White Rocks to the east and the hills of Donegal visible to the west. The club has two full courses, the Dunluce Links and the Valley, laid out across a large tract of dunes above the Atlantic.
The club was founded in 1888 as the County Club, took the Royal title in the 1890s, becoming Royal Portrush in 1895. Harry Colt designed both courses, and the Dunluce, completed in the early 1930s, is widely regarded as one of his finest works. In 1951 it became the first venue outside Scotland and England to host the Open, won by Max Faulkner. For the return of the championship in 2019, Mackenzie & Ebert built two new holes, the 7th and 8th, on land taken from the Valley, replacing the old 17th and 18th. Shane Lowry won that year and Scottie Scheffler in 2025.
The Dunluce relies far less on bunkers than most championship links, with only about 60 in total; instead, the contours of the dunes, the steep run-offs and thick rough do the defending. The 5th, White Rocks, has a green perched at the very brink of the cliffs, and the 16th, Calamity Corner, is a long par 3 played across a deep chasm that swallows anything short or right.
Why we recommend it
Royal Portrush is the headline course on the Causeway Coast and, for many, the main reason to visit Northern Ireland. The Dunluce, which has hosted the Open twice in recent years, runs through big dunes above the sea near the ruins of Dunluce Castle and demands accurate driving and a sharp short game. The Valley course is a strong second round on the same property. Portstewart is about 15 minutes away, so the two pair naturally.
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| World ranking | 14 |
| Architect | Harry Colt |
| Year of foundation | 1888 |
| Par Course | 71 |
| Number of holes | 36 |