Royal County Down Golf Club: Championship

OVERVIEW

There’s nowhere lovelier in golf than this area on a clear spring day, surrounded by the Mountains of Mourne to the south, Dundrum Bay to the east, and golden blooming gorse-covered dunes. Although Old Tom Morris is credited with the design, it has been improved over the last 120 years by six different architects, most notably Donald Steel. Surprisingly flat greens make up for the rough terrain and many blind shots, but the bunkers are a standout feature. The majority have thick, arching eyebrows made of marram grasses and dense, impenetrable heather clumps.

REVIEW

On a clear spring day, with Dundrum Bay to the east, the Mountains of Mourne to the south and gorse-covered dunes in golden bloom, there is no lovelier place in golf. The design is attributed to Old Tom Morris but was refined by half a dozen architects in the past 120 years, most recently by Donald Steel. Though the greens are surprisingly flat, as if to compensate for the rugged terrain and numerous blind shots, bunkers are a definite highlight, most with arched eyebrows of dense marram grasses and impenetrable clumps of heather.

Newcastle, a small vacation village tucked away at the base of the magnificent Mourne Mountains, is home to the Royal County Down Golf Club. Situated where the Bay of Dundrum empties into the Irish Sea and the towering 3,000-foot peak of Slieve Donard casts its shadow over the town, this classic links golf course offers an exciting setting.

At about 7,200 yards from the back tees, Royal County Down is a formidable distance. How this amazing course, which boasts one of the best outward nine holes in golf, has never played host to an Open is a mystery. Taking into account the constantly shifting wind, this test is as rigorous as any Open Championship location.

Although the course is a little quirky—there are still a lot of blind drives and coarse grass surrounding some of the bunkers, which gathers the ball alarmingly frequently—this just adds to the allure. If the number of holes a golfer can recall is a good indicator of a superb course, Royal County Down is among the best.