The publicly accessible Royal County Down Golf Club in Northern Ireland is located in Newcastle, County Down, an hour south of Belfast. Royal County Down is one of the oldest clubs in Ireland and has two 18-hole links courses, the Championship Course and the Annesley Links.

The Annesley Links at Royal County Down shares the same magnificent setting as the more renowned Championship Links and is full of character. Although much shorter than the Championship Links, it is still a very testing course, with magnificent views of the sea, mountains, and towering dune land.

This par 66 layout is a genuine challenge and players can definitely afford to leave their driver at home. The numerous twists and turns of the heavily undulating and narrow fairways play to small sloping greens that are very fast and often require a blind approach. As such any meaningful attempt on the course par requires a solid short game as well as a little luck with the irons.

The Annesley layout, which was originally designed by Donald Steel, was significantly modified in 2015 by the design partnership of Colin Mackenzie and Martin Ebert who were both lead designers for Donald Steel for fifteen years before starting their own design firm.

Golfers at Royal County Down will find a Pro shop and caddies are available as the course is walking only. The clubhouse has both bar and dining options as well as offering excellent views of the Mountains of Mourne.

Course Architects: Donald Steel, Colin Mackenzie, Martin Ebert and George Coombe