Golf has been played at Portstewart since 1894. Two-time Open Champion Willie Park Jr. laid out the original 18 holes in 1920, before member and schoolteacher Des Giffin routed seven new holes through the dunes of “Thistly Hollow” in the late 1980s, reshaping what is now the front nine. The Strand Course hosted the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in 2017, won by Jon Rahm.
They say the front nine of Portstewart’s Strand Course are some of the best links golf has to offer. I would agree with that, and definitely add the team in the pro shop. I have rarely been looked after so nicely. As for the course itself, you could compare it to a hyena: A powerful set of teeth in front, but unfortunately a rather weak rear end. Which is why it came to nothing to become the king of the animal kingdom, which in this region is certainly called Royal Portrush.
