Three miles west of Royal Portrush along the coast road, Portstewart Golf Club has three 18-hole courses — the championship Strand, the intermediate Riverside, and the gentler Old Course, the original 1895 links. Rory McIlroy has called it a “hidden gem.”
History
Golfers found the natural links here from 1889; the club formed in 1894, with J.M.C. Montagu as its first Captain (later its first President) — the first clubhouse, built the following year by local contractor John Frizzell, was corrugated iron on a wooden frame. The course expanded to 18 holes in 1934 (design by Willie Park Jr.), and the current three-course setup dates to a 1986 expansion into the dune land known as Thistly Hollow — laid out not by an outside architect but by club member Des Giffin, a Coleraine grammar school maths teacher — with the Riverside Course completed by 2001.
Tournaments
Hosted qualifying rounds for the 1951 Open (played at Portrush), Irish Championships in the 1960s and 90s, the British Seniors (2004), and — its biggest moment — the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, won by Jon Rahm in front of 92,000 spectators with a record score.
The Strand
7,118 yards, par 72 — the championship course, distinctive peaks and hollows, real archaeological history along the way (the 3rd hole, “The Settlement,” sits on a site occupied roughly 9,000 years ago).
The Riverside
5,725 yards, par 68 — newer, gentler, views across the River Bann.
The Old Course
The original 1895 links, shorter and more forgiving — a good starting point if you’re new to the club.
Cost
Old Course: £10–£15 per round, or £60/week, £160/month. Riverside: £25 weekday, £29 weekend. Strand: £195 in April/October (36 holes £245, weekdays only), £335 May–September (36 holes £385, weekdays only); mats used mid-November to April. Check the official rates before booking.
Getting there
25 miles from Derry~Londonderry (City of Derry Airport is on the way), just over an hour from Belfast via the M2 or the Causeway Coastal Route. Train/bus to Coleraine, then taxi or bus, is also an option.
