Portstewart Golf Club's Strand Course is one of Ireland's most underrated championship links and one of its most visually spectacular. Opening with a stretch of holes through towering Atlantic dunes that rank among the most dramatic in Irish golf, it is a course that immediately announces its quality and never relents. Located just three miles from Royal Portrush along the Causeway Coast, it forms a natural and outstanding pairing for any serious golf trip to Northern Ireland.
Founded in 1894, Portstewart went largely unnoticed on the world stage for much of its history — a remarkable oversight given the quality of its Strand Course. That changed in 2017 when the club hosted the Irish Open for the first time, with Rory McIlroy leading a star-studded field and Jon Rahm claiming the title. The tournament was a revelation, introducing the course to a global television audience and confirming what local golfers had known for years: Portstewart is a links of genuine world class.
Portstewart is the secret that serious golfers share among themselves. It lacks the global name recognition of its neighbours, but the golf is of the very highest quality — and the experience of playing it, beginning with those opening holes through the dunes, is one guests consistently rate among the highlights of any Irish trip. We include it because we believe it deserves to be played.