65 Circular Road,
Castlerock, Co. Londonderry BT51 4TJ
Office
+44 (0)28 7084 8314 (bookings)Pro shop
+44 (0)28 7084 9424Fax
+44 (0)28 7084 9440Website
Visit websiteThe Course:
18 holes. Seaside links. Gently undulating terrain - easy to walk.
Surroundings:
Coastal duneland.
Designer:
Original design of the 18-hole Mussenden course by Ben Sayers. Later modifications by Harry Colt (1926) and Martin Hawtree (2018).
Above distances are for the Mussenden championship course. Also at Castlerock is the nine-hole Bann course (par-34; 2446 yds).
55.165663
-6.784991
6 miles NW of Coleraine.
From Coleraine take the A2 direction Castlerock. After approx 5 miles turn right onto the B119 direction Castlerock. After o.7 miles turn right direction Castlerock GC. After 100 yards golf is on your left.
Castlerock
Castlerock Golf Club: Castlerock's Mussenden Links (as opposed to its smaller nine-hole Bann course) is another of those lesser known gems with all the thrills and characteristics of great seaside links golf. In this case you are at the estuary end of the River Bann as it enters the Atlantic Ocean. Just downstream is another illustrious golf course, Portstewart, which can be seen on the opposite bank.
At Castlerock the sand dunes give the course its definition, and lead you through a very natural landscape, along some narrow-ish fairways and onto the excellent greens. Characteristically for top-quality seaside links courses, there are lovely rural and ocean views, impressive holes through good-sized dunes, as well as several flatter sections, wonderful deep revetted bunkering guarding the greens and many elevated tee-boxes.
At the village end of the course, the parish church looks down on all this links-land splendour from its lofty perch on a hill. Together with Royal Portrush and Portstewart, Castlerock makes up a triumvirate of excellent links courses just a stones throw from the town of Coleraine.
Visitors welcome on weekdays; more restricted on weekends.
Must book in advance. Handicap required.
Contact club for full details, discounts, packages, etc. [Last updated: 2023].
Players generally walk this course. Golf carts available for hire (if pre-booked). Caddies available (if requested at least 48 hrs in advance).
Good
Castlerock operates an extensive Caddy Programme at the Club.
The Mussenden course takes its name from the nearby Mussenden Temple, located directly along the coast (on the west side of the small town of Castlerock; the golf is on the east side).
The temple was built in 1785 and formed part of the estate of Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol. The temple was built as a summer library, inspired by the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, near Rome. It is dedicated to the memory of Hervey's cousin Frideswide Mussenden and uniquely reflects the personality of its flamboyant creator.
A later member of the Hervey family, Sir H. Hervey Bruce (and Colonel Bruce) placed a substantial tract of ground at the disposal of the then newly formed Castlerock Golf Club. On this ground the original nine-holes of the golf course were laid out in 1900.
Mussenden Links:
Ireland's 23rd best course (Golf World, 2025).
Britain & Ireland's 115th best course (Golf World, 2025).
White Rocks, Portrush, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland BT56 8NF
+44 (0)2870 822 236
Visit websiteNo
Royal Portrush
Portstewart; Castlerock
Castlerock
+44 (0)28 70 848 755
Visit websiteB&B that accommodates six. Very close to Castlerock GC.
No
Castlerock
Royal Portrush; Portstewart
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