Like many of the great links golf courses, Royal County Down’s history ties back to the railroad. The genesis of the club came from the train stop in Newcastle. This train station would become where Royal County Down rounds started and ended during the club’s early days. The course made a long list of changes throughout its first 40 years. Originally laid out by its membership, the club then brought Old Tom Morris in to create a new 18 holes.

In the early 1900s, the membership (George Coombe in particular) took matters into his own hands, updating the golf course. Finally, Royal County Down enlisted Harry Colt to make final revisions to the course, creating the vast majority of the 18 holes that are on site now. A few of Colt’s major revisions include adding Nos. 4 and 5, as well as turning two of the existing holes into No. 9, now one of the most photographed and celebrated holes in all of golf. On top of the addition of these holes, Colt’s work also removed some of RCD’s propensity for blind shots. While players will still face them, Colt’s work made many shots at RCD more visible. This amalgamation of different work through the years has given us one of the most sublime golf experiences in the world.

Take Note…

Quite the room. When Royal County Down’s first and 18th holes started and ended at the train station, the club used to have rooms for members in the train station itself.

Creating the ninth. Harry Colt’s creation of the ninth was done through a few key routing changes. The eighth green was moved up to its current ridge from its existing location down by the first green. By moving the eighth green up to the top of the ridge it allowed Colt to create the ninth, which has possibly the most stunning tee shot in all of golf with the spire from the Slieve Donard and the Mourne Mountains in the distance.

Don’t skip the pre-round meal. For those that love a good breakfast, I would recommend the Railway Cafe, which boasts one of the best cups of coffee you will find in Northern Ireland.