| Golf Facility Name: | Royal County Down Golf Club |
| Pushpin Map: | United Kingdom County Down#Northern Ireland#Island of Ireland#United Kingdom |
| Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Northern Ireland##Location in the United Kingdom |
| Coordinates: | 54.218°N -5.884°W |
| Location: | Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Establishment: | 1889, |
| Holes: | 36 |
| Tournaments: | Senior British Open The Amateur Championship British Ladies Amateur Curtis Cup Walker Cup Irish Open |
| Website: | royalcountydown.org |
| Course1: | Championship Links |
| Designer1: | Old Tom Morris
|
| Par1: | 71 |
| Rating1: | 75.0 |
| Slope1: | 142 |
| Course2: | Annesley Links |
| Par2: | 66 |
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 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]
2000 (winner: Christy O'Connor Jnr), 2001 (winner: Ian Stanley) and 2002 (winner: Noboru Sugai).
1970 (winner: Michael Bonallack) and 1999 (winner: Graeme Storm).
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).
1968 United States defeated Great Britain & Ireland, 10.5 to 7.5.
2007 United States defeated Great Britain & Ireland, 12.5 to 11.5.
2012 Europe defeated United States, 13½ to 10½.
1928, 1935, 2015, 2024
Royal County Down Golf Club secured 2nd place in golfscape's World's Top 100 Golf Course ranking 2020.[4]
Golf Digest ranked it #1 on its World's 100 Greatest Courses list for 2024 .[5]