Your Golf Travel are diving into Northern Ireland with one question on their mind…what does the best golf holiday look like? With incredible courses like Royal Portrush & Royal Countydown, what are some other incredible things to do on and off the course!
00:00 – Intro
00:56 – What is so special about for golfers & non-golfers Northern Ireland?
03:20 – What are some other great golf courses? Portrush & Countydown aside
05:46 – What are some of the hidden gems in Northern Ireland?
08:28 – What golf courses are near the Causeway Coast ?
10:08 – What does the best golf trip in Northern Ireland look like?
14:09 – What off course activities are in Northern Ireland?
Host: Leo
Guest: Sam Greenslade – Golf Travel Team Manager – sam.greenslade@yourgolftravel.com
Guest: Alastair
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Welcome to Your Golf Travel in this episode we are talking about everything in Northern Ireland and there are some very special things about this episode the first thing being we are welcomed by Ali and Sam and the second thing being that you could potentially be heading
Out to the 2025 Open Championship at Portrush all you have to do is book a golf holiday with Your Golf Travel to Northern Ireland before March the 31st 2024. So before we get stuck in with the episode guess the course redesigned in 1947 by Harry Colt just have a look at this
Footage can you guess what it is if so then do just put a comment below and you’ll find out what course it is at the end of the episode right let’s get stuck in Northern Ireland so Sam, Ali welcome so what is so special about Northern Ireland golfers and non-golfers alike it’s
Obviously a popular destination but why is that I think it’s the um it’s the hospitality of the Irish people really um they love having you over there um you walk into the pubs the bars the clubs and they just love having you in there obviously the famous Guinness they pour it correctly and
They’re very passionate about that um it’s just a fantastic place to go um I know obviously later on in the episode we’ll speak about the golf yeah but even for your non-golfers you have the Titanic experience in Belfast um and you’ve got lots of Game of Thrones um areas as well there so
It’s it’s great a great place for everyone yeah literally loads of Game of Thrones places I was looking at that there’s so like if you’re a spot if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones is literally I think the like Winterfell castle Yeah there’s over 25 destinations where they filmed Game
Of Thrones it’s it’s incredible it’s crazy yeah it’s obviously like the perfect destination for somebody as well that likes to go on Hikes and stuff like that cuz the views around Northern Ireland must be like Giant Causeway and things like that the views that like Northern Ireland
Is offering must be it is a stunning part of the world I must admit it’s um it’s amazing I’ve been lucky enough to go twice and it’s is is a fantastic part of the world to to go to so
You’ve been twice would you go again 100% I I’ll snatch your arm off that especially that prize that we got for the 2025 Open yeah I might have to book a trip myself that’s a dream trip as well
Going for the open there you get everything you got the Y GT clubhouse you’ve got into the open at the weekend yeah that I’ll go I’ll happily go yeah yeah I think we all would happily go there so what’s your thoughts on Northern Ireland so yeah like Sam was saying like very welcoming
Place like anywhere you go people are happy to see you amazing golf courses lots to do away from the course basically just all round perfect golf destination yeah that’s what I would say yeah I would agree with that I would agree with that so it’s a perfect destination for non-golfers
And golfers but let’s talk about why it’s so special for golfers now obviously you’ve got things like Royal Countydown you’ve got Portrush two incredible golf courses but let’s say so for for this year those two courses it’s probably going to be quite hard to get on is that right
Yeah it is correct yeah but with that being said Northern Ireland is still going to be a fantastic destination for golfers to go to absolutely what sort of courses would you suggest to visit if those two were off of the list just for 2024 yeah absolutely I mean probably I’d
Say about an hour and hour and 45 minutes from Belfast International you have um the the town of Port Rush itself um and in around there you have Castle Rock um I was lucky enough to play that
Um I hate the phrase Hidden Gem but it really is Hidden Gem um they’ve got an 18-hole golf course there and they’ve also got a nine-hole golf course um so anyone who’s keen on on getting a full days
Action of golf you got 27 holes there which is um which is really good um about 45 minutes from Belfast International you’ve got Belfast as well um Harry Colt also designed that who designed raw
Port Rush um so I mean that speaks for itself how good the quality is of that availability is always very good there we can get weekend tea time so um if you want to get a cheeky game of golf on
Your day of arrival or day of departure that’s really good um and then going south down to that Countydown area you got Ardglass as well again another hidden gem and lots of really good golf courses around there yeah I feel like yeah when you’ve got somebody’s name like Harry Cole on the
Course it does do bring that certain level of like expectation doesn’t you know it’s going to bring a standard which is just going to amaze you as soon as you step on the court absolutely yeah I mean
He’s a top designer you look at the list of golf courses that he’s designed and I mean that’s an attraction within itself to to get you on to the golf courses there yeah yeah whenever I see his
Name I’m just like I know it’s going to be a good layout it’s going to be a fun course to play so yeah it’s good but I mean with all of the courses you’ve got some really high caliber courses which
Everyone knows and like you’re saying the hidden gems there’s a good variety there so if you could play one course in Northern Ireland what are you going for Ardglass I like yeah I always see I haven’t played it personally myself but obviously being on social media I see so many people hyping
It and I’m like it kind of looks like sort of a pebble beaches sort of like on the coast course and that’s I look like my kind of course obviously you’ve got the top courses which are like bucket
List experiences but I’d go with that yeah and did you mention that Ardglass is pretty easy to yeah pretty easy to go to and there’s a great five star hotel next to it Slieve Donard
Um again brilliant hotel who always happy to host so yeah it’s a great pair up with that nice right you had that can we get Ali on Ali on the course this year please yeah right lovely right now Sam
I know you just said that you hate the term I’m going to use it now in the next question hidden gems in Northern Ireland what are a couple um well definitely as I mentioned Ro Belfast it’s
Um it’s definitely a Hidden Gem um as I said Harry Colt has designed that golf course and not many people do actually know that um and that’s a great golf course you look over the Belfast lock that runs runs alongside it so some stunning views but a great Parkland Golf Course
Um so that’s that’s one of my favorites and also Locker um it’s a five-star result down about two hours from from Belfast International so a bit of a drive they got two golf courses there the falo
Course and the castle Hume um that is a stunning venue if anyone has the opportunity to go there definitely do it um the the F course is a it’s a proper test but then what I do like is the castle
Hume is a more of a result course it’s a lot more playable um you don’t kind of feel like you’re getting off of that Golf Course feeling better than bruised and and you’re you’re going to go
There and hit your 36 a for points you’re going to play well around there so I definitely say those two are my hidden gems for Northern Ireland definitely yeah I mean it’s interesting that you say like Lough Erne being like almost playable because as much as like you do want to play like
These amazing you still want to play to handicap nobody wants to shoot above their handicap right so it’s either you know like courses that that me and you have played we’ve realise that you know a
Course that offers a lot of like different tee’s is always like a bonus because you can you can pick the right tee’s for your handicap and then you can play a good round so it’s actually like
It is nice to hear like that these hidden gems are playable and like you say like Resort courses so anyone can sort of go to them and enjoy them yeah I mean I mean um Lough Erne in general is is a
Great venue anyway I mean the course the first nine holes is like a Parkland kind of feel um and then the back Nine’s almost a little bit like links you go down towards the link uh to towards
The lock um I mean there stunning views I like that about golf course as well we got a bit of a challenge but if you’re having a rough day there some beautiful scenery that you can you can have a
Little look around and take something away from it so yeah I mean the hotel there as well and and the food they’ve got a whiskey bar there they do live music so there’s some amazing features to locker
And it’s great yeah nice aside from from locker and I’ve also just heard that Northern Ireland in general specifically Belfast is fantastic for food like if you’re a foodie Belfast apparently is like the place to go which makes me want to go even more yeah it’s again it’s they they just love
All their food and their drink and and hosting so yeah it’s definitely a great destination to to go to yeah nice right okay so there are some fantastic courses and that’s probably only a select few right like there probably like loads there I couldn’t even imagine how many there’s
Going to be there so let’s head to the Coast what’s golf like there what’s it offering so you’ve got a loads of courses in that area you’ve got B castle you’ve got B St you’ve got Castlerock
So if you are heading to the area there’s a great selection of golf courses yeah and I know that that like Causeway Coast offers like incredible views so can you imagine like what these like golf courses are offering for views like if you’re one four views when you’re on the golf course like
I wonder like how many holes you’re going to want to get your like phone out and just take pictures and stuff like that yeah that’s the thing every single of course you go to you’re like yeah I
Need to take a picture that need to take a picture that quick selfie probably taking more photographs than you are hitting balls no definitely more balls oh my god don’t be silly have have you
Ventured it up that way yeah I was just about to say I mean Castle Rock I’ve played Castlerock and um the clue is a little bit in the name um lots of the holes are sort of built out in between sort of
Massive boulders and rocks and there’s some real dramatic looking holes where they’re surrounded by by rocks and you’re down by the sea and it’s quite intimidating when you hear the the waves crashing against literally right below your feet and it’s um yeah the scenery is fantastic it’s one of those
Courses where you take your phone out you take a picture and you put it away back in your golf bag and then a couple of holes later you’re like no that’s a better picture and just constantly taking your phone out taking pictures it’s amazing the scenery there yeah incredible so I feel like
It’s obvious how good Northern Ireland is now as a golf trip like even if you knew nothing about nor Northern Ireland as a golf break from just this podcast you can probably tell that you know
There is so many things to do there so let me ask you Sam somebody wants to book a golf holiday they ring up your golf travel you answer and they just say to you I want the best golf trip in
Northern Ireland ever can you curate this for me what would you suggest I’m sure there’s plenty but for you what would you think yeah you know what that is an incredible golf itinerary I mean
Where’ you begin to start off what a question um I mean what I i’ definitely say is is head along that northern coast yeah um I definitely think stopping off at Portrush and playing some of the
Golf courses is courses there would be a great option um Port rush they have a second course there I know we’ve mentioned how difficult it is to get on the D loose this year um but the Valley
Links have also got lots of availability and again going back to that sort of Hidden Gem question earlier on I think um that that definitely meets the criteria Castlerock as I mentioned 27 holes there and then you got Port Stewart they’ got some amazing golf courses there and Rumour has it they
Have one of the best halfway Huts after nine holes so we love that yeah apparently it’s the smallest filter between in the Guinness pump so it’s like the best Guinness that you can possibly get get I
Heard about this I think David yeah was David was talking about that yeah yeah there are the rumours that are going around um and then alternatively if you wanted to have a little bit more of an inland
Of a trip I mean you’ve got as I said Royal Countydown that is quite difficult to get on to but we are still selling Irish open packages this year and Ardglass is right by that as well
So again you can pair up a tournament package as an example with with a game of golf locally so I think that’ be the perfect perfect mix that is a great shout like these tournaments and stuff
Like that I feel like when you go to a tournament you 100% want to get a game of gol and because you watch all the pros play and you’re thinking I I could probably do that and let let me let me get
Around of go somewhere I feel like you just need a game then embarrass yourself on the go that’s not how it’s true okay perfect you B it there I mean so Sam literally just created a package for
You that’s what it’s like at your golf travel so if you do want a trip to Northern Ireland then obviously call up your go travel and you’re going to have people like Sam answering the phone
Giving you the best trip ever Ali yep if you were to go back mhm what sort of trip do you think you would be looking to do well I would want to tick off Royal Countydown but that may not be possible
So I’m going to say I would head towards obviously Belfast I like a bit of night life bit of drinking nice so I would do that obviously in the city and then I would throw in real Belfast and Ardglass
And just have a good time good crack nice yeah that is interesting you said that like when you go on these golf you want to play like the best courses right as you mentioned there some absolute
Beauties and then it’s like you want a good night life as well I always wonder at what level do you stop the night out like do you like have like a good time or do you have a really good time
Because then it’s like you obviously your golf’s going to come down a little bit so it’s like do you focus more on the golf or do you focus more on the the social aspect of things it’s got to
Be a personal thing what would you do a little mix between both I think yeah not like too silly like so I do play well yeah but just not going over top really I don’t want to be waking up the next day
And be like I physically can’t no 100% And when you’re in Northern Ireland obviously you’re going to play some fantastic courses and when you’ve got the itinerary like Sam just listed you don’t want to ruin that do you you can drink anywhere so I I would probably be with you I’d want to
Go out and socialise but I wouldn’t want to go too far to the point where my golf’s not going to be amazing what would you do it we could always add an extra night to the trip and have a massive
Night to I love it sesh at the end I love it yeah I love it that that what a way to finish a that’s fantastic yeah that’s what I do that is an answer at I love that answer he up the game yeah he has
That’s why he’s the expert at booking golf trips yeah perfect I mean it’s interesting that you say that like book that one day like and then in the evening you know you can you know have as many
Drinks as you want and then I suppose because you’re in Northern Ireland there’s so many like off course activities let’s say on that last day what sort of offc course activities are there to do in Northern Ireland like obviously like you mentioned you got like the Titanic and like you
Can go and experience that and that’s where they like launched the Titanic where they built it and stuff like that right correct yeah there’s like a massive Museum there now sort of commemorating it
And it’s it gets a lot of people in I mean loads of people sort of travel all the way there just for that so um I mean that’s fantastic as we mentioned sort of the Game of Thrones um stuff
As I said I think there’s over 25 locations where they filmed there so um again like there there’s so much to do there and then even with Belfast in itself you walk into a local pub and there’s
Someone in there singing and and playing the guitar and uh harmonicas and stuff like you know it’s a real Lively area and it’s um you know it’s amazing and there’s so much to do even if you’re
Not there for golf there is just there is just so much to do yeah I feel like you could definitely go to Northern Ireland with a non-golfer I think that’s pretty fair to say isn’t it like with all
The things we lifted off like like the views the walks the hikes the food the off course activities you could definitely go there with with like a non-golfer what do you think you’d get up to off the course off the course just going outside seeing the stunning views yeah walks yeah
Just getting the fresh air you know like you say there’s just incredible views everywhere you look yeah so yeah I think just a bit of that and like you said bringing in like your partner or friend who’s non playing doesn’t play golf you know there’s still activities for them to do away
From the course so you could do golf one day and then just do an activity the next day yeah like yeah make a trip of it I would definitely want to go to like Belfast and I would want to go to one
Of the Game of Thrones um like places like where they filmed it I feel like I’d want to go to see Winterfield castle if you’re a big if you’re a big Game of Thrones fan then I I feel like
That’s the one that you would want to go to but there are so many other options but yeah Belfast for like like you said The Vibes in Belfast must be good like I can imagine like walking into like
A pub and stuff like that and like you say there’s always somebody like playing the guitar and stuff I can just imagine people being pretty happy out and abouts I just feel like it would be nice to
Absolutely yeah I mean something I’d like to said as well is is p Rush as a as a town itself as well it’s it’s a proper golfers town it’s it’s almost kind of a bit like a St Andrews of Northern Island
Um I was lucky enough to be there sort of three months before the Open Championship in 2019 and um even three months before the open everyone there was posters on the Windows of people that had been there for practice rounds and who had eaten in their restaurants and there was a real
Buzz in around that town and obviously with the Open Championship there being being there next year um you know hopefully Rory Shane Lowry some of the local Lads can can do something I mean
That was a great town just to walk around on on a day off it was uh you really got a buzz in the in the town yeah amazing right Sam thank you so much Ali thank you so much do not forget if you
Want want to book a trip to Northern Ireland before 31st of March you could be going to the open championships in 20125 at Port Rush how incredible is that and if you did have a go at
Guessing the course did you guess drum roll please Port rush if you did a massive congratulations to you and thank you to watching this episode of the your golf travel podcast if you like the look of Northern Ireland visit yourgolftravel.com to look at our incredible packages.
