Royal County Down Golf Club
{{Short description|Golf club in Northern Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox golf facility
|golf_facility_name = Royal County Down Golf Club
|image = Royal County Down - geograph.org.uk - 83174.jpg
|imagesize = 230px
|caption = Royal County Down in 2004
|pushpin_map = United Kingdom County Down#Northern Ireland#Island of Ireland#United Kingdom
|relief = 1
|pushpin_mapsize =
|pushpin_map_alt =
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Northern Ireland##Location in the United Kingdom
|coordinates = {{coord|54.218|N|5.884|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|location = Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland
|establishment = 1889, {{Years or months ago|1889}}
|owner =
|operator =
|holes = 36
|tournaments = Senior British Open
The Amateur Championship
British Ladies Amateur
Curtis Cup
Walker Cup
Irish Open
|website = [http://www.royalcountydown.org/ royalcountydown.org]
|course1 = Championship Links
|designer1 = Old Tom Morris;
George Combe;
Harry Vardon; Harry Colt
|par1 = 71
|length1 = {{convert|7186|yd}}
|rating1 = 75.0
|slope1 = 142
|course2 = Annesley Links
|designer2 =
|par2 = 66
|length2 = {{convert|4617|yd}}
|rating2 =
|slope2 =
}}
Royal County Down Golf Club is a golf club in Northern Ireland, located in Newcastle, Newry, Mourne and 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.{{cite web | title=Royal County Down Golf Course | work=Discover Northern Ireland | url=http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/product.aspx?ProductID=2409 | accessdate=2007-08-25 | archive-date=2007-09-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003254/http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/product.aspx?ProductID=2409 | url-status=live }}
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014048/news/newsid=226957.html |publisher=PGA European Tour |title=Irish Open attracts bumper crowds |date=22 June 2014 |accessdate=30 June 2014 |archive-date=26 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626042054/http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014048/news/newsid=226957.html |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web |title=Harm makes history to win Ladies Amateur |url=https://www.randa.org/News/2018/06/Leonie-Harm-makes-history-as-first-German-to-win-the-Ladies-Amateur-Championship |website=R&A |date=30 June 2018 |access-date=1 August 2018 |archive-date=1 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801155152/https://www.randa.org/News/2018/06/Leonie-Harm-makes-history-as-first-German-to-win-the-Ladies-Amateur-Championship |url-status=live }}
- 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, 2024
- 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.{{Cite web|url=https://golfscape.com/blog/top-100-golf-courses-in-the-world-2020/|title=Top 100 Golf Courses in the World 🏅 2020 • golfscape™|date=2020-01-14|website=Futuri Visio|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-05|archive-date=2020-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127064510/https://golfscape.com/blog/top-100-golf-courses-in-the-world-2020/|url-status=live}}
Golf Digest ranked it #1 on its World's 100 Greatest Courses list for 2024 .{{Cite web|url=https://www.golfdigest.com/story/worlds-100-greatest-golf-courses-2024-2025|title=World's 100 Greatest Golf Courses 2024 |date=2024-08-07|language=en-US|access-date=2024-08-07}}
Scorecard
{{Golf18|title=The Championship Links{{Cite web |url=https://www.royalcountydown.org/championship_links |title=Championship Links |access-date=2020-08-17 |archive-date=2020-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928183436/https://www.royalcountydown.org/championship_links |url-status=live }}}}
{{blue18| 75.0 / 142 |539|444|475|229|440|396|144|429|483|3579|196|442|525|446|212|468|337|433|548|3607|7186}}
{{white18| 74.0 / 131 |523|424|475|215|429|369|135|424|427|3421|188|430|478|423|202|454|318|416|548|3457|6878}}
{{gold18| name=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}}
{{par18| name=Men's |5|4|4|3|4|4|3|4|4|35|3|4|5|4|3|4|4|4|5|36|71}}
{{handicap18| name=Men's |13|9|3|15|7|11|17|1|5|18|8|16|2|12|4|14|10|6}}
{{red18| 77.0 / 148 |483|344|423|159|395|338|113|405|429|3089|172|389|455|409|195|410|276|374|480|3160|6249}}
{{par18| name=Ladies |5|4|5|3|4|4|3|5|5|38|3|4|5|5|3|5|4|4|5|38|76}}
{{handicap18| name=Ladies |13|3|9|15|7|1|17|5|11|16|2|8|12|14|4|18|6|10}}
{{end18}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.royalcountydown.org/}}
- {{Commons category-inline|Royal County Down Golf Club}}
- [http://www.golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/northern-ireland/rcd1/ Golf Club Atlas]
{{Authority control}}
Category:Organisations based in the United Kingdom with royal patronage
Category:Golf clubs and courses in Northern Ireland
Category:Sports clubs and teams in County Down
Category:Golf clubs and courses designed by Harry Colt
Category:1889 establishments in Ireland