What is most important to you in a golf course?
Reasonable golfers disagree over what traits and values help to elevate a particular course in their eyes. As someone who has spent practically his entire life with the good fortune of playing dozens of rounds per year, cultivating some level of skill in the game, I love golf courses that fully test those skills, ultimately showing me what areas of my game need work without discouraging me altogether.
To me, links golf is the best test of golfing skill because the firmness of the turf rewards both solid strikes and savvy navigation. Northern Ireland is home to two of the world’s greatest examples in Royal County Down and Royal Portrush.
Both courses have tremendous competitive pedigrees, another trait I value highly (golf is a game, after all – its greatest places must necessarily be big supporters of competition). Royal County Down hosts the 2024 Amgen Irish Open September 12-15 in what will be some of the best televised golf of the entire year (watch it live on Golf Channel or DVR it at the very least), while Royal Portrush’s Dunluce Links welcomes The Open Championship in 2025, just six years after Shane Lowry’s emotional triumph in 2019.
Having played both Royal County Down and Royal Portrush on consecutive days in July – both of them blessed with spectacular weather – I can see why debate rages over which course reigns supreme. There are compelling cases to be made in either one’s favor. Royal County Down has the consensus best first nine in the world, and an otherworldly setting beneath the Mourne Mountains that makes it unique in links golf. Royal Portrush is stunningly beautiful, too, with a collection of golf holes whose highest quality is peppered throughout its 18 chapters.
After a fun thought-exercise pitting two of the Myrtle Beach area’s best courses – Caledonia and True Blue – against one another, I thought I’d try and assess Northern Ireland’s two greatest golf courses in a similar way. Let me know your thoughts on my analysis in the comments section.
Royal County Down vs. Royal Portrush: Match play
Hole 1: Portrush’s first gets golfers away nicely, gliding uphill but with out-of-bounds on both sides, while County Down’s opener is a brilliant, rollicking par 5 that runs right along the Irish Sea. Royal County Down 1 up
Hole 2: Portrush’s first three-shotter is a strong hole, but County Down’s second is both charming and challenging, with a green tucked perfectly between a fronting bunker and dunes. Royal County Down 2 up
Hole 3: While County Down serves up a third seaside hole and a wonderful par 4 in its own right, Portrush punches back with a lovely par 3 that gives golfers their first taste of the course’s spellbinding beauty, with miles-long views over the Skerries Islands, Scotland’s island of Islay and the Atlantic beyond. Royal County Down 1 up
Hole 4: This is by far the toughest stage of the entire matchup, as each course’s fourth hole is world-class. Portrush’s long par 4 with its punchbowl green is brilliant, but when a golfer climbs up to the elevated tee, turns south and gets a look at the Mourne Mountains above County Down, angels sing. Royal County Down 2 up
Hole 5: County Down’s par-4 5th meanders to the right and is a strong two-shotter, but it’s tough to beat Portrush’s prettiest par 4, which plunges straight down at the water. Royal County Down 1 up
Hole 6: County Down’s elite first-nine run continues with another cracking par 4 while Portrush presents a competent but ultimately fairly standard par 3 to a big green, turning away from the sea. Royal County Down 2 up
Hole 7: The shortest hole at Royal County Down brings shades of Pinehurst with dramatic falloffs on the left and back parts of the green, but the setting of Portrush’s relatively new par-5 7th is too good to overcome. Royal County Down 1 up
Hole 8: A testing dogleg-left greets players after a bit of a walk up to the tee at Portrush and is a lovely hole in its own right, but County Down’s toughest par 4 is on another level of both challenge and beauty. Royal County Down 2 up
Hole 9: The first nine at Portrush closes on a tricky par 4 that no golfer would claim to be a pedestrian hole…except perhaps in comparison to what is likely the greatest 9th hole in the world at Royal County Down, with its mountain-hopping tee shot to a low-slung fairway and duneside green. Royal County Down 3 up
Hole 10: The greatness of the 9th at County Down would make any hole something of a letdown, and while the 10th is a good par 3, Portrush’s par-4 10th that plays into a perfectly dune-swaddled green gets the nod here. Royal County Down 2 up
Hole 11: Portrush’s 11th is somewhat caught between par 4 and par-5 status, while County Down’s is a splendid par 4 that banks right against the prevailing slope to yet another sensational green complex. Royal County Down 3 up
Hole 12: After something of a breather hole, Portrush returns to strength with a great short par 5 where a courageous tee shot can reward players handsomely. County Down’s par-5 12th is really good, too, to be fair. Royal County Down 2 up
Hole 13: Once again, this is an extremely tough matchup, as Portrush’s par-3 13th is a terrific hole that glides downhill and reveals many square miles of beautiful land and sea beyond. But County Down’s 13th is a naturally spectacular hole blessed with fascinating strategic aspects and, again, surpassing beauty of its own. Royal County Down 3 up
Hole 14: Portrush’s comeback begins here, as the all-world stretch of golf at County Down mellows somewhat. The latter’s 14th is a good par 3, but it feels a little isolated and less linksy than the rest, whereas Portrush’s par-4 14th is one of the course’s best and scariest holes, punctuated by an elevated green that falls away on three sides. Royal County Down 2 up
Hole 15: The last truly great hole at Royal County Down just gets pipped at the post by Portrush’s scenery, which ramps up at this point in the round. Royal County Down 1 up
Hole 16: County Down built a new short par-4 16th hole in 2004, and it is beautiful and ties in fairly well with the rest of the course, but there is no beating Portrush’s world-famous “Calamity Corner,” an epic par 3 across a chasm. All Square
Hole 17: The turnaround in the match at this point may make golfers think County Down’s finishing stretch is somehow disappointing, but this is more a comment on Portrush’s strong close. It continues with a fascinating up-and-over hole where players can get very close to the green from the tee. Royal Portrush 1 up
Hole 18: Each course finishes strong, but between the tricky tee shot at Portrush and the straightaway march of County Down’s closing par 5, Northern Ireland’s Open Championship home consolidates its advantage. Royal Portrush wins 2 up
Even though Royal Portrush technically comes out on top for me in this match-play scenario, I would still split a hypothetical 10-round set 5-5 between the two courses (and be forever delighted if I ever had the chance to play either course several times in a short interval). They are both world-class golf courses and should be very near the top of any serious golfer’s bucket list.
Ultimately, Royal Portrush’s stronger finish gives it the nod for me. Royal County Down may well have the best front nine on the planet, and through 13 holes, it’s close to golfing Nirvana. It’s not that its last five holes are mediocre, but they simply feel like a bit of a denouement compared to the thrilling conclusion found at Portrush. This is one of golf’s purest nitpicking situations, though, which is why it’s a great 19th-Hole debate.