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History

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Our History

Royal Portrush Golf Club has been a home to the game’s great champions and championships since 1888.

As a major driving force behind the growth of golf in Ireland, Portrush has hosted the country’s first amateur and professional tournaments. The club has also welcomed three Amateur Championships, nine British Ladies’ Amateur Championships, six Senior British Opens, four Irish Opens, and the only two occasions the Open Championship has ever been staged outside Great Britain.

Legends such as Harry Vardon, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, and Tiger Woods are among the iconic figures whose footsteps you follow when you visit Royal Portrush Golf Club.

2025

Welcome Back

Royal Portrush will host the 153rd Open Championship in the summer of 2025.

2019

Irish Eyes Are Smiling

The 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush proved to be one of the most memorable. In front of 237,750 spectators, second only to the attendance at the Centenary Open at St Andrews, Ireland’s Shane Lowry justified the wait with an emphatic and emotion-charged victory.

2018

Dress Rehearsal

The R&A Boys Amateur Championship was played in Ireland for the first time. With The Open's scheduled return in 2019, the tournament served as an ideal testing ground for changes to the Dunluce Links, including the addition of two new holes.

The R&A Boys Amateur Championship was played in Ireland for the first time. With The Open's scheduled return in 2019, the tournament served as an ideal testing ground for changes to the Dunluce Links, including the addition of two new holes.

2016

Crowning Moment

HRH Queen Elizabeth II attended a civic reception at the Royal Portrush clubhouse, marking Her Majesty’s first official visit to any golf club.

2014

Bradley Beats The Best

Bradley Neil defeated a top-class field, including future World No. 1 Jon Rahm, to win The Amateur Championship.

2012

A European Tour De Force

Royal Portrush took a major step towards the return of The Open by hosting a highly successful, sell-out Irish Open, won by Welshman Jamie Donaldson. Portrush native Alan Dunbar claimed The Amateur Championship, and just two weeks later, Royal Portrush member Stephanie Meadow, who had holed the winning putt for GB&I in the Curtis Cup, was crowned Ladies’ British Amateur champion.

2011

Champion Golfer Of The Year, Darren Clarke

Royal Portrush Golf Club member Darren Clarke joined the Major club at the age of 42 with his victory in The Open Championship at Royal St George’s. The record ninth staging of the British Ladies Amateur Championship saw 16-year-old Lauren Taylor succeed Royal Portrush’s May Hezlet as the youngest winner.

Royal Portrush Golf Club member Darren Clarke joined the Major club at the age of 42 with his victory in The Open Championship at Royal St George’s. The record ninth staging of the British Ladies Amateur Championship saw 16-year-old Lauren Taylor succeed Royal Portrush’s May Hezlet as the youngest winner.

2010

GMAC is a Major Player

Graeme McDowell won the US Open at Pebble Beach, emulating fellow Portrush native Fred Daly, Ireland’s first Major winner. GMAC’s victory marked the first by a European golfer at the US Open in 40 years.

2005

Rory's Record

Sixteen-year-old Rory McIlroy set a course record with a 61 in the North of Ireland Amateur Championship.

1995-1999 & 2004

Senior Status

Royal Portrush Golf Club’s global profile soared as the Dunluce Links became the setting for six Senior British Opens. Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Bob Charles, Hale Irwin, and Tom Kite are just a few of the renowned over-50s who walked the fairways.

1993

Out Of The Shadows

Royal Portrush welcomed back The Amateur Championship, marking a significant step forward for both the club and the country after decades of civil conflict. 1985 Amateur champion and long-standing Royal Portrush member Garth McGimpsey secured a record fifth North of Ireland title.

Royal Portrush welcomed back The Amateur Championship, marking a significant step forward for both the club and the country after decades of civil conflict. 1985 Amateur champion and long-standing Royal Portrush member Garth McGimpsey secured a record fifth North of Ireland title.

1980

Double Delight

Maureen Madill, the 1979 Ladies’ British Open Amateur champion, joined her Royal Portrush clubmate Claire Nesbitt in the GB&I Curtis Cup team.

1970

15 For 'Phil'

Philomena Garvey secured the last of her record 15 victories in the Irish Women’s Amateur Close Championship.

1960

Carr Clinches ‘Amateur’ Hat-Trick

Legendary Irish golfer Joe Carr won The Amateur Championship for a third time during its first visit to Portrush.

1956

Inspirational

Zara Bolton, later President of the Royal Portrush Golf Club’s Ladies’ Branch, captained the GB&I team to its second Curtis Cup victory over the USA.

Zara Bolton, later President of the Royal Portrush Golf Club’s Ladies’ Branch, captained the GB&I team to its second Curtis Cup victory over the USA.

1951

Joining The Major League

Royal Portrush Golf Club made history by welcoming The Open Championship, marking the first time golf’s oldest Major was played outside Great Britain since its inception in 1860. Max Faulkner triumphed over defending champion Bobby Locke and a strong field to become the Open champion.

1947

Local Hero

Portrush native Fred Daly became the first Irish golfer to win a Major, securing victory in the Open Championship at Hoylake. A week later, at Royal Portrush, Daly was defeated by Harry Bradshaw in the Irish Open. The North of Ireland Amateur Championship, to be held annually at Royal Portrush, was inaugurated.

1933

Green For Go

Sir Percy Greenaway, Lord Mayor of London, officially opened the Harry Colt-designed Dunluce Links, now regarded by many as the acclaimed architect’s finest work.

1929

On Course For Change

On the advice of Sir Anthony Babington, Royal Portrush enlisted the services of celebrated golf course architect Harry Colt. Having designed over 300 courses during his prolific career, Colt was tasked with creating a championship course to challenge the best in the game.

On the advice of Sir Anthony Babington, Royal Portrush enlisted the services of celebrated golf course architect Harry Colt. Having designed over 300 courses during his prolific career, Colt was tasked with creating a championship course to challenge the best in the game.

1903

Leading Ladies

Rhona Adair secured her second British Ladies’ Amateur title. Along with May Hezlet, both Royal Portrush members, she was a dominant force in the women’s game for almost a decade.

1895

Great Scott

Lady Margaret Scott won the British Ladies’ Amateur Championship, and Sandy Herd defeated Harry Vardon in Ireland’s first professional tournament.

1892 - 1895

By Royal Appointment

The club was renamed the Royal County Club, and H.R.H. The Duke of York became its patron. Three years later, in 1895, the name was changed to Royal Portrush Golf Club, and patronage passed to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.

1892

Breaking New Ground

Ten English players and three Scots were among 32 competitors as Portrush hosted the first national golf tournament in Ireland. Alexander Stuart, from the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, became the inaugural Irish Amateur Open champion.

Ten English players and three Scots were among 32 competitors as Portrush hosted the first national golf tournament in Ireland. Alexander Stuart, from the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, became the inaugural Irish Amateur Open champion.

1891

The Pioneers

Members of the County Golf Club played a key role in the formation of the Golfing Union of Ireland, the first of its kind in the world, at the Northern Counties Hotel, Portrush. A Ladies’ and Juveniles’ Branch was established, and in 1893, Portrush became only the third club to join the Ladies Golfing Union.

1889

Old Tom Morris

The legendary four-time Open champion, Old Tom Morris, played an exhibition match and offered advice on a new 18-hole layout.

1888

Founding Fathers

Scots George L. Baillie and Thomas Gilroy played an instrumental role in the formation of the County Golf Club. The club’s first tournament was held on a nine-hole course.

Luxury self-catering accommodation