Royal County Down plans significant changes, will The Open finally go to the World's Number One Golf Course?

Royal Portrush Golf Club on the Antrim Coast has hosted two wildly successful editions of The Open since Golf's Original Championship returned to Northern Ireland, with Shane Lowry securing a popular victory in 2019 and World Number One Scottie Scheffler lifting the Claret Jug in 2025. 237,750 fans attended during the 2019 Open Championship, and this number increased to 278,000 in 2025, with around 47,000 fans attending on each of the championship days from Thursday to Sunday.

Whilst Royal Portrush has established itself as Northern Ireland's leading championship venue, there is almost no question that the Antrim course has spent much of its history in the shadow of its marginally younger brother 90 miles South West. Royal County Down has long been ranked as the Number One Golf Course in the World by Golf Digest, and consistently highly ranked by other golf publications, and golfers themselves, but due to its incredible site on enormous dunes on the edge of the Murlough Nature Reserve, the course has not been deemed appropriate to welcome Open Championship-size crowds.

Over the course of the last two decades Royal County Down has hosted three significant golf events - the 2007 Walker Cup, and the 2015 and 2024 Irish Opens - crowds for the Walker Cup were limited to 10,000 per day, this number increased significantly to around 20,000 per day for the 2015 Irish Open, but was reduced to 16,000 per day for the 2024 Irish Open. These numbers, whilst incredible for a regular DP World Tour event, are significantly less than the 40-45,000 per day that The Open attracts, and requires.

So it has seemed the dream of seeing The Open staged at this magnificent golf course was always that, a dream.

The destination, the town, is perfectly located and easily accessible from Belfast in the North, and Dublin in the South, and Newcastle is well accustomed to handling large numbers of visitors every year, with more than 400,000 overnight trips to the wider area taking place every year. So it is the course and surrounding infrastructure which needs addressing if the dream is to become a reality.

Belfast Live reported on 17 June that 'The prestigious golf club have announced a planning application for 'modifications to the championship course'

The report continues "The Golf Club has filed a pre-application planning notice, proposing modifications to its championship course.

The finer details of those changes will be revealed on August 26, online - through their consultancy firm Clydeshanks - and at a consultation meeting in Newcastle.

The proposal to the council states: "Information relating to the proposed development will also be available to be viewed at www.clydeshanks.com/public-consultations, where an online consultation magazine will be available from 26 August 2026, and will be available to view for a minimum of 28 days thereafter.

"The online consultation will display details of the proposed development and facilitate comments from members of the public, relating to the proposed development."

A cover letter on the proposal also explains: "The community consultation will take place at Newcastle Centre, 10-14 Central Promenade, Newcastle, Co. Down, BT33 0AA on Wednesday 26 August 2026 from 4-7pm.

"It will comprise a number of large wallboards that will graphically explain what is proposed, enabling interested parties to understand the nature of the development and how the scheme may look when completed."

This is not just a lengthening of a few holes, or the addition of a couple of bunkers. The Championship Course already measures 7,206 yards from the championship tees, and 130 bunkers, and it is one of the most formidable courses in world golf. The fact that a number of large wallboards explaining the proposals are set to be available to the public shows that this is potentially a major project, which poses the question - what are they?

To enable the site to be capable of staging The Open and all the infrastructure that it includes could require significant work outside of the boundaries of the fairways, allowing for large numbers of spectators to move around the site safely and be able to view the play. Space for the Tented village, Media Centre and TV compound would also need to be worked on, as well as potential new entry and exit points to the property to prevent the main entrance to the club being overcrowded, and reducing the effect on the local population who live on the border of the course.

Map of Newcastle, County Down showing the location of Royal County Down Golf Club / Google Maps

It will certainly be a story I will be keeping an eye on for the next few months, having caddied for two glorious summers at Royal County Down, this course holds a special place in my heart, as does the town of Newcastle. To see The Open played there during my lifetime would be a thrill.

SHANK, by Matt Hooper

Matt Hooper is an Associate Member of the Sports Journalists Association