Harry Colt’s Open links on the Causeway Coast, Calamity Corner included.
Royal Portrush sits on the Causeway Coast at the northern tip of County Antrim, with Dunluce Castle along the shore and the Giant’s Causeway a few miles east. Its Dunluce Links has hosted three Open Championships, most recently in 2025, and is one of very few Open venues where visitors can book directly. The Valley Links, alongside, is a fine links in its own right. Together they make Portrush the anchor of any trip to the north coast.
Send a tee-time request through the club’s online booking form or call the tee reservations office; the club confirms availability and takes payment. Green fees are paid in full at the time of booking and are non-refundable if you cancel. On the Dunluce, visitors can play Monday from 11am, Tuesday and Thursday between 9.40am and 11.52am or after 2pm, Friday between 9.40am and 11.52am, Saturday after 3pm and Sunday after 1pm. There are no visitor times on Wednesdays. Visitors are expected to be members of recognised golf clubs, and handicap certificates may be requested. Demand rose sharply after the 2025 Open, so request your date as early as possible, especially for a fourball in summer.
Dunluce Links visitor green fee, 1 April to 31 October 2026; Valley Links £200. Golf Ireland members’ rates on request. Prices change by season and booking route, so confirm the current rate with the operator. Official rates ↗
The Open course, designed by Harry Colt and updated by Mackenzie & Ebert before 2019. Visitor times run on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday and Sunday afternoons, never on Wednesdays. It is walking only, with carts provided only for golfers with a medical note.
Set lower among the dunes between the Dunluce and the beach at West Strand, the Valley is shorter and more sheltered but still pure links. It costs £200 in 2026, with weekday visitor slots from 8am to 8.50am and after 11am, Sunday times after 2pm and none on Saturdays, so it works well as a second round on the same day.
The club was founded in 1888, and Harry Colt designed the Dunluce Links, which opened in 1933. Max Faulkner won the Open here in 1951. To bring the championship back, Mackenzie & Ebert made the first major changes since Colt’s day, replacing the old 17th and 18th with two new holes, the par-five 7th and par-four 8th, built on dunes taken from the Valley course. Shane Lowry won the 2019 Open on that layout and Scottie Scheffler the 2025 Open. The 5th, White Rocks, plays to a green perched on the edge of the beach. The 16th, Calamity Corner, is a long par three across a deep chasm, with almost nothing to the right but a drop into the hollow. The Dunluce rewards accurate driving more than raw length; fairways are tight and the rough is thick.
Portrush is a seaside resort town, so you can walk from many guesthouses to the club. A weekday morning on the Dunluce and an afternoon on the Valley is a practical one-day plan. Portstewart and Castlerock are both within 20 minutes, so three nights in Portrush gives you four strong links rounds. Royal County Down is about two hours south-east. Most visitors arrive from Dublin, which is a three-hour drive; take the motorway via Belfast rather than cross-country roads.
Belfast International is about an hour by road and City of Derry Airport around 50 minutes. Belfast City Airport is roughly 75 minutes. Portrush has its own railway station, a branch from Coleraine on the Belfast to Derry line, which is handy for non-drivers staying in town.
Nearby: 1. Portstewart Golf Club (Strand Course) (7 km) · 2. Castlerock Golf Club (Mussenden Links) (10 km) · 3. Ballycastle Golf Club (26 km) · 4. Ballyliffin Golf Club (Glashedy Links) (48 km) · 5. The Machrie Golf Links (57 km) · 6. The Machrihanish Golf Club (62 km) · Compare all Northern Ireland tee times
Portrush town has seafront hotels, guesthouses and self-catering apartments, many within a 10-minute walk of the clubhouse. The Bushmills Inn, ten minutes east in the distillery village, is a long-established choice for golf groups. Portstewart, five minutes west, has a quieter promenade and more apartments. During Open years hotels book out far ahead, but in normal seasons the range is broad.
Portstewart’s Strand course, with its opening holes through giant dunes, is five minutes away, and Castlerock is 20 minutes west over the River Bann. Royal County Down completes the Northern Ireland pair. Off the course, the Giant’s Causeway is 15 minutes east, Dunluce Castle sits on the cliffs between the club and Bushmills, and the Old Bushmills Distillery runs tours.
These packages have a confirmed round at Royal Portrush Golf Club in the itinerary, with the other courses, nights and hotels listed so you can compare like with like.
7 nights B&B, 5 rounds
Rounds: Portstewart Strand · Royal Portrush Dunluce · Castlerock · Ardglass · Royal County Down Championship
Stay: The Causeway Coast and County Down
Both Royals plus Portstewart and Castlerock, with the drive between the north coast and Newcastle built into the itinerary.
10 nights B&B, 7 rounds
Rounds: Portstewart · Castlerock · Royal Portrush (Dunluce) · Royal County Down · Royal Belfast · Portmarnock Old · The Island
Stay: Bushmills Inn on the Causeway Coast, the Europa Hotel in Belfast and the Grand Hotel Malahide
All three royals of Ulster plus Portmarnock and The Island, from three bases, with rest days in Belfast and Dublin.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
The published 2026 visitor season runs from 1 April to 31 October. Long northern daylight in June and July means afternoon tee times still finish comfortably. Saturday mornings are always members’ competition days, so weekend plans need afternoon slots, and open competitions are listed on the club’s booking site.
Explore golf by monthYes. Visitors can book the Dunluce Links on six days a week within set windows, never on Wednesdays, and the Valley Links on most days. Payment is taken in full when you book and is non-refundable.
In 2026 the Dunluce Links is £420 per person and the Valley Links £200, between 1 April and 31 October. Golf Ireland members can ask about a separate rate for fourballs.
Yes. On the course, no blue denim or collarless T-shirts, and shorts must be tailored rather than beach or cargo styles. In the Babington Room men need a jacket and tie, and hats are not worn in the clubhouse.
Both courses are walking only. Carts are available for golfers with a disability or medical condition, who must provide a medical note and sign a disclaimer, and a senior caddie drives. Electric trolleys with GPS can be hired.
Last checked 4 October 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
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