SLOWER WINTER PACE TAKES HOLD AT ROYAL COUNTY DOWN
An aerial view of the Championship Links at Royal County Down with the par three seventh in the foreground and Slieve Donard in the distance (Photo: RCD)
“At Newcastle no other course of my acquaintance has any hill so magnificent as Slieve Donard towering above it. To see from one’s window its crest just emerging from a great sea of early mist is to taste one of the intenser joys of shaving on the morning of a workless day. Many people know Newcastle and it is perhaps superfluous to say that it is a course of big and glorious carries, nestling greens, entertainingly blind shots, local knowledge, and beautiful turf…the kind of golf that people play in their most ecstatic dreams.”
- Bernard Darwin 1930
ORDINARY THOUGHTS: PAUL GALLAGHER
As the autumn leaves drop and dance in the wind there is an inevitable slowing of pace at one of the world’s most famous golf courses at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. It’s a time to take stock and reset at Royal County Down (RCD) where the hustle and bustle of summer is replaced by winter layers and serene space.
Where once the conveyor belt of luxury coaches offloading visiting Americans and other overseas golfers was ever present, there is now a more sedate pace of play as members slot into a winter rhythm where tee times are easier booked and greenstaff inevitably have more breathing room to carry out their work on this old masterpiece.
Like the trophy courses dotted around the Irish coastline, the autumn/winter months are a good time for reflection; a time away from mowers at first light followed by intrepid golfers that continually weave their way around the Championship Links until day’s end.
Golfers who call RCD home are fortunate to be able to walk the pristine fairways 12 months of the year where course conditions and solid ground under-foot are the envy of many golf courses in winter. Members at Royal County Down, Royal County Down Ladies’ Golf Club and Mourne Golf Club also have the option to play the Annesley Links at RCD all year round, which is unquestionably a real bonus. Shorter in length for sure but arguably just as treacherous as its big brother. The golfing campus at Newcastle.
Often overshadowed by the more illustrious Championship Links that has enjoyed world number one status in the rankings, the Annesley Links will play a bigger part of the RCD experience in future years with visitors having the option to play their second daily round there after a game on the Championship Links.
Winter months are a good time to review and implement course maintenance programmes. With an Irish Open played at RCD in 2024, there isn’t anything major in the pipeline this winter. Projects ‘on the table’ include upgrade work to the likes of the risk-reward par four 16th, or changes at the par four 17th where the pond in the middle of the fairway was removed several years ago.
However, any course upgrades will likely take place on the Annesley Links rather than the Championship Links at this time. For example, a review of the first tee location will see it move further away from the new ladies’ clubhouse to provide an optimum tee shot straight down the fairway rather than impact players coming up the adjacent 18th.
Such a move would also free up space to extend the practice putting green by the first tee. This would be a requirement when more visitors take to the Annesley Links as part of their overall golfing experience in Newcastle in future seasons.
To play multiple courses at the same venue is something Royal Portrush are already bringing to market after the significant revamp of the Valley Course, which has received sensational reviews in 2025. Visitors to Portrush will get to play The 2025 Open venue before playing a round on the Valley Course.
The main focus of winter at RCD is the clubhouse refurbishment project that will see many of the areas upgraded ahead of the 2026 season. Members, visitors and RCD staff will benefit from the changes in a project that comes shortly after the new Royal County Down Ladies’ clubhouse was razed to the ground and rebuilt earlier this year. The ladies’ clubhouse is perfectly in keeping with the main clubhouse at RCD with the distinctive rosemary clay tile roof now featuring on both clubhouses.
COUNTY DOWN GOLF CLUB
A plan view of the Championship and Ladies’ courses at County Down Golf Club (before Royal status) from 1907.
- Royal County Down Centenary book
As for the here and now, the days are shorter but no less exhilarating. To get the chance to walk onto the first tee at first light when the dew still carpets the mowed areas is a privilege. When the course is freed up from so many, it is times like these that this hacker reflects on days of old, of times when a course like RCD first came into being.
Walk the opening three holes at the optimum time and you’ll hear the roar of the winter tides that ebb and flow before crashing into the duneland below the fairways. If low winter clouds disappear to afford panoramic views of Slieve Donard, then you know you are at one with nature in a very special place.
Even when it’s freezing cold and your breath jostles with the winter air, there is no better place to be.
There have been many changes and improvements along the way, but for the most part a place like RCD has retained its integrity, it’s quirky traits like blind tee shots and bearded bunkers, but that’s all part of its unique charm. When walking the superbly manicured ribbons of turf, the wonder is often what this place looked like when it first opened in 1889?
It must have been magical then, just as it is today.
