Royal County Down Golf Club
Royal County Down Golf Club is a golf club in Northern Ireland, located in Newcastle, County Down. It opened on 23 March 1889 and is one of the oldest golf clubs in Ireland. It has two 18-hole links courses, the Championship Course and the Annesley Links.[1]
 Royal County Down in 2004 | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
  Location in Northern Ireland  Location in the United Kingdom  Royal County Down Golf Club (island of Ireland)  Royal County Down Golf Club (the United Kingdom) | |
| Coordinates | 54.218°N 5.884°W |
| Location | Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Established | 1889, 134 years ago |
| Total holes | 36 |
| Events hosted | Senior British Open The Amateur Championship British Ladies Amateur Curtis Cup Walker Cup Irish Open |
| Website | royalcountydown.org |
| Championship Links | |
| Designed by | Old Tom Morris; George Combe; Harry Vardon; Harry Colt |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,186 yards (6,571 m) |
| Course rating | 75.0 |
| Slope rating | 142 |
| Annesley Links | |
| Par | 66 |
| Length | 4,617 yards (4,222 m) |
Significant tournaments
Royal County Down has made outstanding contributions to Irish golf from the Club's beginnings, hosting many important tournaments, starting soon after it opened, and continuing to the present day. Notably, the Club in 2007 became just the second Irish venue, after Portmarnock, to host the Walker Cup. The Irish Open on the European Tour took place in late May in 2015, returning to Royal County Down after 76 years.[2] It previously hosted the event three times, all prior to World War II. The British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship were held on the course in June 2019.[3]
- Senior British Open Championship: 2000 (winner: Christy O'Connor Jnr), 2001 (winner: Ian Stanley) and 2002 (winner: Noboru Sugai).
- The Amateur Championship: 1970 (winner: Michael Bonallack) and 1999 (winner: Graeme Storm).
- British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship: 1899 (winner: May Hezlet), 1907 (winner: May Hezlet), 1920 (winner: Cecil Leitch), 1927 (winner: Simone de la Chaume), 1935 (winner: Wanda Morgan), 1950 (winner: Vicomtesse de St Sauveur), 1963 (winner: Brigitte Varangot) and 2006 (winner: Belén Mozo).
- Curtis Cup: 1968 United States defeated Great Britain & Ireland, 10.5 to 7.5.
- Walker Cup: 2007 United States defeated Great Britain & Ireland, 12.5 to 11.5.
- Palmer Cup: 2012 Europe defeated United States, 13½ to 10½.
- Irish Open: 1928, 1935, 2015
- European Ladies' Team Championship: 2021
History
Royal County Down Golf Club secured 2nd place in golfscape's World's Top 100 Golf Course ranking 2020.[4]
Scorecard
| Tee | Rating/Slope | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 75.0 / 142 | 539 | 444 | 475 | 229 | 440 | 396 | 144 | 429 | 483 | 3579 | 196 | 442 | 525 | 446 | 212 | 468 | 337 | 433 | 548 | 3607 | 7186 |
| White | 74.0 / 131 | 523 | 424 | 475 | 215 | 429 | 369 | 135 | 424 | 427 | 3421 | 188 | 430 | 478 | 423 | 202 | 454 | 318 | 416 | 548 | 3457 | 6878 |
| Yellow | 73.0 / 126 | 503 | 387 | 455 | 202 | 419 | 355 | 125 | 414 | 427 | 3287 | 180 | 430 | 469 | 423 | 202 | 454 | 300 | 402 | 528 | 3388 | 6675 |
| Par | Men's | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 71 |
| SI | Men's | 13 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 10 | 6 | |||
| Red | 77.0 / 148 | 483 | 344 | 423 | 159 | 395 | 338 | 113 | 405 | 429 | 3089 | 172 | 389 | 455 | 409 | 195 | 410 | 276 | 374 | 480 | 3160 | 6249 |
| Par | Ladies | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 38 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 76 |
| SI | Ladies | 13 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 10 |
References
- "Royal County Down Golf Course". Discover Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
- "Irish Open attracts bumper crowds". PGA European Tour. 22 June 2014. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- "Harm makes history to win Ladies Amateur". R&A. 30 June 2018. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- "Top 100 Golf Courses in the World 🏅 2020 • golfscape™". Futuri Visio. 14 January 2020. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- "Championship Links". Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
External links
- Official website
Media related to Royal County Down Golf Club at Wikimedia Commons- Golf Club Atlas