The land of golf getaway dreams
You don’t have to travel far in Northern Ireland to discover world-class golf courses, affable characters and welcoming clubhouses. With a host of fabulous fairways all within easy reach of one another, fly in, hire a car and this golfing dream world is your oyster.
For those who want to dwell in the home of champions and face the courses that made the likes of major-winners McIlroy, Clarke and McDowell, Belfast is the perfect base. Explore the hometown of Titanic, then head south to discover Royal County Down, which has retained its title as the World’s No.1 Course for 2018 by no less a judge than Golf Digest magazine. Set against a glorious backdrop of the Mountains of Mourne, this really is dream golf.
Then head north to the beguiling Royal Portrush, where the Open Championship will be held in 2019. Add in nearby Portstewart – boasting arguably the finest front nine in Ireland – and you’ve got three of the best links courses possible and one of the finest golfing breaks imaginable.
With a supporting cast of over 90 courses, including the premium Malone, Belvoir and Balmoral parkland tracks all dotted around Belfast, the options for a golf holiday to die for are immeasurable. The local golf fever is always highest in summer, when there are plenty of great value stay and play packages on offer and fantastic tournaments – professional and amateur – to enjoy.
Golfers who want to play and compete should check out the Causeway Coast Amateur Golf Tournament (3–9 June), the biggest amateur competition in Europe.This is the chance to mix with over 1,000 golfers from all over the globe and play in an area voted with Belfast as the number one region in the world to visit in 2018.
For those who want to combine their wish-list rounds with watching the world’s top golfers in action, a great time to be in Northern Ireland is July.
Hosted once again by the Rory McIlroy Foundation, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open (5–8 July) takes place just over the border in Ballyliffin, County Donegal and is always a huge draw for golf fans worldwide. Ballyliffin is only a 35-minute drive from the great golfing base of Derry~Londonderry, under an hour away from Royal Portrush and Portstewart and close to two of Northern Ireland’s top golf resorts – Roe Park and the Nick Faldo-designed Lough Erne.
British Irish Visa Scheme:
The British Irish Visa Scheme allows for travel to and around Ireland and the UK on a single visa. The recently launched scheme allows visitors from India to travel freely within Ireland and the United Kingdom using either an Irish or UK visa. This will mean that tourists and business visitors will be able, for the first time, to visit both Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland, on a single visa.
