Ardglass Golf Club

Ardglass Golf Club – Links Golf, History and One of Ireland’s Great Coastal Settings

There are golf courses with history and there are golf courses with spectacular settings. Ardglass Golf Club can lay claim to both.

Perched on the County Down coastline overlooking the Irish Sea, Ardglass is an 18-hole links that delivers everything golfers travelling to Ireland hope to find – dramatic coastal holes, firm links turf, ever-changing winds and views that remain with you long after the final putt has dropped.

And then there is the clubhouse.

A Clubhouse Dating Back More Than 600 Years

Ardglass is home to one of the oldest buildings in the world used as a golf clubhouse, with the original structure dating to around 1405.

Long before golfers arrived, the building began life as a fortified warehouse, providing a secure base for merchants trading through the busy harbour. It was later converted into a family home during the 18th century, before eventually becoming part of the story of Ardglass Golf Club.

Golf itself arrived considerably later.

The club dates back to 1896, when, under the leadership of the Rev Thomas MacAfee, the original course consisted of just seven holes measuring less than 1,000 yards and occupying an area around what are now the first and 18th fairways.

The course expanded to nine holes in 1907 and remained largely unchanged for approximately 60 years. Further land acquisition allowed Ardglass to develop its first 18-hole layout in the late 1960s, with subsequent expansion and remodelling around Coney Island Bay creating the links golfers play today.

A Links Shaped by the Irish Sea

The Irish Sea is never far away at Ardglass.

It can be seen from every tee and every green, while coming directly into play on eight holes. The opening stretch immediately introduces golfers to the character of the course, with cliffs, rocky coastline and the sea creating one of the most memorable starts to a round in Irish golf.

This is not a course where simply knowing your yardages guarantees success.

Firm fairways, relatively small greens and the almost ever-present coastal wind demand imagination and good course management. Depending on conditions, the same hole can require a completely different approach from one day to the next – exactly as traditional links golf should.

Among the many distinctive holes is the par-three seventh, The Cottage, where an old white cottage sits alongside the playing area and is considered an integral part of the course. The short par-four 10th, The Island, offers another decision from the tee, giving longer hitters the temptation of taking on the green.

But Ardglass is perhaps best enjoyed as an entire journey rather than a collection of individual holes. The combination of sea, cliffs, natural terrain and history gives the course an identity very much of its own.

An Ideal Addition to a County Down Golf Trip

Ardglass also enjoys an enviable location for golfers planning a trip to Northern Ireland.

The club is approximately 30 minutes from Royal County Down at Newcastle, less than an hour from Belfast and under two hours from Dublin, making it an excellent addition to a wider golf itinerary.

For golfers travelling from the Republic, it is also very achievable as an overnight golf break or even an ambitious day trip.

And after the golf, stepping back inside a clubhouse with more than six centuries of history provides a fitting end to the Ardglass experience.

Ardglass does not need manufactured drama. The coastline, the wind, the links and the extraordinary old building provide plenty of that themselves.

For golfers who enjoy traditional links golf and courses with a genuine sense of place, Ardglass Golf Club deserves a place on the list.