The seven courses on this page fall into three groups. Along the Causeway Coast, Castlerock, Portstewart and Royal Portrush sit within 20 minutes of each other, and Ballycastle lies about half an hour east of Portrush, at the foot of the Glens of Antrim. In County Down, Royal County Down at Newcastle and the harbour-side links at Ardglass are roughly 30 minutes apart by road. Between them, Royal Belfast plays Harry Colt parkland above Belfast Lough, ten minutes from Belfast City Airport. How you get a tee time varies more than the golf. Royal County Down works from an enquiry form, Royal Portrush has visitor days and never a Wednesday, and Portstewart leaves visitors the gaps between members’ blocks. Castlerock, Ardglass, Ballycastle and Royal Belfast all sell times online, Royal Belfast only inside fixed visitor hours. Summer visitor fees start at £140 at Ballycastle and reach £450 at Royal County Down. Settle the County Down date first and build the rest around it.
Tap a pin for photos, prices and a booking link.
| Course | Green fee from | What’s included | Getting there | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1Royal Portrush Golf ClubOpen Championship links | £420Checked October 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 2Royal County Down Golf ClubChampionship links | £450Checked October 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 3Portstewart Golf Club (Strand Course)Championship links & two more courses | £195Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 4Castlerock Golf Club (Mussenden Links)Championship links & nine-hole course | £175Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 5Ballycastle Golf ClubParkland and links | £140Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 6Ardglass Golf ClubClifftop links | £110Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 7Royal Belfast Golf ClubHarry Colt parkland | Rates on request · how to book | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide |
Prices are the lowest published or listed visitor rates we found, with their source and date on each guide. Partner links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
Royal County Down. Requests go through an enquiry form, payment is taken in full on confirmation, and every group needs a caddie or a forecaddie. Ask a year or more ahead of your trip.
Green fees & bookingRoyal Portrush’s Dunluce Links, where Shane Lowry won in 2019 and Scottie Scheffler in 2025, at £420. Skip Wednesdays, which have no visitor times, and add the £200 Valley Links the same day.
Green fees & bookingRoyal Belfast, Ireland’s oldest club, on a Colt parkland ten minutes from Belfast City Airport. Visitor times are online every day within set hours; Wednesday and Saturday windows are short, so check them before you fly.
Green fees & bookingArdglass, where the club says the Irish Sea shows from all 18 tees and greens. Play it the day before or after Royal County Down; summer 2027 is £265 online and its clubhouse was begun no later than 1405.
Green fees & bookingBallycastle: £140 for overseas visitors on any day in the 2026 season, under 5,900 yards, river holes first and links hills after. It makes an easy second round on a Causeway Coast trip.
Green fees & bookingEach package names its rounds, nights and hotels, so you can see which of the courses above it includes before you ask for a quote.
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
All Northern Ireland golf packages on Golfbreaks
Every price below is the green fee alone. At the top of the range, summer 2026 costs £450 at Royal County Down (£495 in 2027), £420 on the Dunluce and £335 on Portstewart’s Strand. Ardglass is £265 online from May to October 2027, £10 less than its rack rate, and Castlerock’s Mussenden is £250. Ballycastle charges overseas visitors £140 on any day in its 2026 season, with Golf Ireland members on £42.50 midweek. Royal Belfast publishes no table: its rate appears once you pick a time online. Off-peak months cut costs on the smaller links: Portstewart £195 and Castlerock £175 in April and October, Ardglass (2027) £135 in April and £110 in its low months. Caddies run £70 to £75 a bag at most of these clubs, and a group forecaddie £100 to £120; Royal County Down wants cash and has no ATM. Buggies are £40 at Ballycastle and £50 at Ardglass and Castlerock. For two rounds in a day, the Valley Links at £200, the Annesley at £120, a weekday second Strand for £50 or Ardglass’s £400 summer day ticket keep it sensible.
Pick the airport by where you start. Belfast City suits County Down and Belfast Lough: Royal Belfast is ten minutes from the terminal and Royal County Down about an hour, with Ardglass a similar drive from the city. Belfast International is the most central, around an hour from Royal Portrush and Portstewart and roughly 75 minutes from both Newcastle and Ballycastle. City of Derry Airport is about 35 minutes from Castlerock. Rail helps in two places: the Belfast to Derry line stops at Castlerock and Coleraine, with a branch into Portrush, and the Bangor line has a stop at Craigavad for Royal Belfast. Newcastle, Ardglass and Ballycastle have no station, so drive. Royal Belfast is also about 15 minutes from Belfast Harbour if you come by ferry. The north coast and County Down are two hours apart, so sleep at each end. From Dublin Airport, Royal County Down is about 1 hour 45 minutes and Portrush around three hours.
Most visitor seasons run from spring into October, but the dates differ by club. Royal Portrush’s 2026 rates cover 1 April to 31 October and Royal County Down’s 20 April to 16 October. Ballycastle’s main season starts earlier, on 1 March. Portstewart and Castlerock charge peak fees from May to September and Ardglass from May to October, so April is the value month on most of the smaller links. Gorse colours the Newcastle dunes in late spring, September often brings firmer ground, and June and July evenings let a late start finish in daylight. Royal Belfast, as parkland, plays softer from late autumn to spring than the links do. Ballycastle fills up for the Ould Lammas Fair on the last Monday and Tuesday of August. In winter Portstewart’s Strand shrinks to 16 holes from November and 14 from December, off mats, for £70.
Yes, on set days. Royal Portrush’s Dunluce takes visitors on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, plus Saturday after 3pm and Sunday after 1pm. Royal County Down’s Championship Links is open to visitors on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, by enquiry form, and the club already keeps an interest list for 2028.
In summer, from £140 for overseas visitors at Ballycastle to £450 at Royal County Down, with the Dunluce at £420, the Strand at £335, Ardglass at £265 online (2027) and Castlerock at £250. Royal Belfast shows its rate only when you book. A caddie adds £70 to £75 a bag before the tip.
Yes. Portstewart is about ten minutes from Royal Portrush, Castlerock around 20 minutes west across the River Bann, and Ballycastle about half an hour east along the A2. Four nights in Portrush or Bushmills cover the Dunluce, the Valley, the Strand, the Mussenden and Ballycastle without a hotel change.
Royal Belfast at Craigavad, on the Bangor side of Holywood, is ten minutes from Belfast City Airport and reachable by train. Visitors need to belong to a recognised club. Ardglass and Royal County Down are both about an hour south, so a Belfast stay can take in all three.
Ballycastle hires buggies at £40, and Ardglass and Castlerock at £50; Ardglass wants seven days’ notice. Royal County Down has none. Royal Portrush allows carts only with a medical note, driven by a senior caddie, and Portstewart only on the Strand with a medical letter and a member driving, for £100 in 2026.
Not for a refund. Both clubs take full payment when the booking is made and treat it as non-refundable, though Royal County Down refunds rounds it cancels for weather. Portstewart returns half the fee if you cancel at least 30 days ahead.