Jitz Desai

I played this course on a glorious sunny morning although in very strong (up to 30-40 mile) winds. I was fortunate to play with a member and everything about the club oozed class. From entering the familiar gates (that you saw the top players entering when The Open was held there in 2024) to the clubhouse. Why do clubs favour the dirty yellows?

After changing in the vast changing rooms we headed off to the practice areas… multiple putting greens, chipping areas, grass pitching area and driving range. We definitely needed a warmup as although sunny the windchill felt like it was 5C. I went out with 5 layers on with a sixth waiting for any rain and the obligatory woolly hat on a links course. Caps are no good as the wind will whip it off and you will have no chance of catching it.

Feeling suitably warmed up we headed off the 1st tee - ‘The Hughies’ a shortish par 4 at 382yds but looks like a 500yd par 5 with a wide open fairway which all members can watch from their high vantage point in the clubhouse. Nervously faded my drive and kept it just within the out of bounds small ditch that runs along the right side of the fairway. Was told going left was a no-no.

The second shot is what makes this hole one of the hardest opening holes in golf. The green is 50ft or more in elevation with a huge false front and anything short will just come straight back down to your feet or end up in the deep bunker protecting the green half way up the hill. Go long and it’s a tricky pitch back with every danger that the ball will trickle back down the false front through the quick green… decisions… decisions. I hit a smooth 5i to the right of the green (the only area that I was told was a bit safe) and unfortunately struggled to get up the green and trickled all the way back down the slope. Welcome to links golf in Ireland.

Having walked away with an 8 after not playing badly I was fearful for the remaining holes. The 2nd, ominously named ‘Giants Grave’ did not put me at ease. This beautiful par 5 makes you navigate the hole carefully between bunkers left and right at strategic points providing a challenge to long and short hitters alike. Having avoided the bunkers I manage to get on the green in 4 … but 3 putts and my fear of a large score seemingly being realised.

So off the the par 3 3rd - on one of the highest but inland portion of the course, the winds from the land and sea were fighting for control so I decided to ignore it and hit straight… whoops.. wind catches it and miss left of the elevated green with a tricky pitch where you cannot see the flag but somehow managed it and land on the green. A ‘Jack Nicklaus’ inspired putting stance helped me roll in a 15 footer and suddenly I’m in love with links golf.

The next few holes were of a similar vein with deep bunkers and rolling fairways protected by long fescue grass acting as ‘rough’. A true links experience especially in the sunny but windy conditions.

By the time you hit the 9th - The ‘Darren Clarke’s’ (named in his honour in July 2025 for his long association with the club and being instrumental in bringing The Open back in 2019 after more than 60 years) you feel you have been really challenged as my GPS tracker and range finder were giving me club distances that bore nothing in reality as the wind was playing havoc and so I decided to give up on those and just hit what I felt would work.

The back 9 starts on the appropriately named 10th - ‘The Himalayas’. Navigating the sand duned mounds and bunkers and you are doing well if you get on the green in 3. Walk away with a par and you will feel a million dollars - nope I did neither and walked away with a grateful 7.

Back to back par 5’s follow with open fairways and a chance to redeem your score. Luckily I managed to get over being intimidated by the course and hit a few good drives and irons to walk away with a couple of pars.

A par 3 and a couple of par 4’s on the coastline later, you come up to the long par 3 - ‘Calamity Corner’. A beast of a hole with trouble all along the left with fescue filled dunes and a deep ravine to the right. Hitting straight and short is never really an option as the slopes will roll the ball into the ravine. Another dilemma as the wind had now picked up and gusting onto our left cheeks at 40 miles an hour. Members honour I think! I see my partner & son hit their drives left against the wind at almost 30-40ft left .. wind catches them and they float into the ravine. I decide to hit it further left about 60ft … same result. No point taking another only for ravine to gobble it up.. take a drop and put it out.

This is a truly majestic hole and think the Open should be held in April when winds are strong…there will only be an Irish winner and the Americans will wonder what happened to their game.

After the 16th the final 2 holes feel a bit anticlimactic with difficult but not impossible opportunities for pars and in a way disappointing that the 18th finished behind the practice areas with no opportunity for club house watchers to see people coming in. But I’m just looking to pick holes on a truly magnificent course.

I was grateful to walk off shooting 105 but it is an experience I will never forget and will definitely try to come again if I get an opportunity. But I’m not paying the American prices of 100’s of pounds. Just make a friend of a member and get on to play on this iconic course.

Visit the Harbour Inn in the heart of Portrush (Get to sit in Darren’s corner at the bar and stare at all the famous faces and golfing memorabilia) where all the famous Irish & international golfers congregate and get chatting - if they believe you love golf, you will find a friend who will in all likelihood take you round for a couple of pints of Guinness.

The clubhouse is fantastic and adorned with various trophies and historic memorabilia with a formal restaurant and a bar restaurant. A great fish & chips, a few pints of Guinness’s later I have to go and sample the showers.

As expected glorious warm private showers and members tell me to go and play the ‘Valley Course’… that’s where I’m headed next. Hope you enjoyed the review.

So if you’re ever near Benidorm, Altea is quieter more friendly part of this particular coastline. I played 9 holes on this course as a whim as it was a couple of miles from where we were staying in Altea Hills.

Arriving at the club, you could easily miss it at there seems to be no indication of a golf course as you drive up. From the unassuming front (with plenty of parking), you are greeted by steps down to a fitness/wellness centre… 3 flights of stairs down you find the club shop (after passing what looked like a very nice restaurant).

I had looked to book online (very easy to do) but as I was on my own, didn’t want to be turned away if I booked the Pair + Buggy deal. I was there early doors as they opened up and they couldn’t have been more helpful… even reminded me to get a glove & some water (it was mid June after all). So went armed with 6 balls, tees & marker to the buggy already waiting with my hire clubs already loaded.

This was the first time I see the golf course… and what a view. The first tee is in front of the club house that is built into the mountainside with a vast expanse of green downwards.

I found a local waiting for me to tee off and I suggested we make a 2 ball (google translate doing its job as he spoke very little English). So no warm up, take a couple of practice swings and hit the middle of the fairway with beuno beuno ringing in my ears at 7:40 in the morning.

Of course the course is set in the hills so extremely hill with many different levels. Trees surround the fairways and greens. The grass on the fairways is a mixture of the tough Spanish and English grass so makes it less tough than others I’ve played in Spain.

As we were the first to tee off, ground maintenance teams were out and about and the fairways were freshly watered making the ground softer than you would expect. I’m sure you would get a lot more run out later in the day when it had all dried out.

2nd shot on to green which held the ball.. most other Spanish courses I think I would have hopped off to the back. The green had be freshly mowed but still with few/water so figured it would be slow.. how wrong I was… after rolling past by 15ft I 3 putted.

As we went along, the course was interesting with many dog legs with greens either a lot below or higher than your feet… judging distances using hired clubs was difficult and ended up short most of the time.

There’s no real rough yo consider and it was easy to find the ball if it just went into the trees… any further then just consider it lost and move on.

2nd was an up hill par 3 with the 3rd a dog legs right with out of bounds all along the left… hit an iron to stay in the fairway or your balk disappears down the cliff onto the 5th hole fairway. Go right or short means a second shot lay up.

The 4th is a long par 3 (the card said 156 but my partner said it plays 190). I trusted him so out came 3wood and just left of the green up a slope … a difficult down hill chip with 5ft of green to play with… however I managed to go slightly left and managed to get the ball to 5ft… welcome par.

On to the long Par 5 fifth… great views over a fountain and towards the club house. I see my ball from the 3rd hole in the middle of the fairway, I aim for it and land next to it …

Still plenty to do to get round the dog leg so chance it over the trees … hit them and land behind a barrage of trees protecting the green… hoik it out and find I have to go over a bunker with very little green to play with … be sensible I said to myself and aimed for the middle of the green… narrow part so hopped off to the back… a decent up and down so of to the 6th.

Mmm … there are nets either side of the tee protecting houses so gives you a natural challenge to hit the ball straight or play your 3rd from only 20yds further up. Luckily I smashed one straight down the middle, only y try I find that the green was elevated into the mountainside… decisions decisions. Had 160yds and no way I can get it onto green and hold it … I go for lofted club and come up well short into the bunker… managed to force my way to to the green … long 20ft putt just missed.

Onto to 8th par 5… long down hill chip/ up hill dog leg left…. Plays a lot longer than the advertised 427yds…

On to my final hole the 9th… wonderful view into the mountainside setting of the clubhouse… once again elevated tee and green… playing partner slips in the water loaded fairway with both chuckle about loving & hating golf at the same time… and finish off our round with a hearty handshake.

Although I played only 9 holes, this is an 18 hole… each hole played twice… however the tees are totally different places so each hole plays very differently.

If ever in the Benidorm / Altea region in Spain, would recommend you play at least a round here… could partake in the restaurant/club facilities as it was early and I was done before everything opened up… but from what I saw, I’m sure it would be great… drinking/eating overlooking both the 1st/9th/10th/18th holes.

I would recommend booking directly as it was a lot cheaper than going through other golf sites.

Hope you enjoyed the review and found it helpful.

First time play here and what a wonderful course. Despite the dry weather fairway true and not too hard, greens excellent with consistent speed and the whole course well looked after. Great clubhouse and practice facilities and would really recommend this for anyone

Parkland course which is not the longest with small greens so need to be accurate. Long hitters would not find this challenging but for my game gave me good pitching practice (not that I did well and only emphasised that I need to get onto the range a bit more). Bunkers were well kept except for lazy golfers not raking once they’d finished.

Set in the midst of parkland in deepest West Sussex you find a beautiful course with heather at pretty much every hole. Not a very long course at Par 68 but don’t get fooled into thinking you will be able to drive and pitch for easy pars. This is a tough course which will penalise you if you stray of the straight and narrow. The combination of heather and the well positioned bunkers are always lying in wait. I played the day after the hottest day of the year in July and the fairway’s were parched and heather not in full splendour (as would be expected after a long dry spell) which meant the ball ran longer than usual making the course even tougher.

All in all, an excellent course with all the amenities of food, drink, locker/shower in very good condition and good practice facilities close to the clubhouse (even 2 putting greens), chipping area, driving bays (not covered) and a reasonable pro shop.

Is it worth the 1hr travel it too me? I’d say yes but maybe a bit far to play this regularly. Would love to play this in spring when fairways are a bit more plush to see if it is less challenging - my guess is not as the the hazards are well positioned to equalise the game against long hitters.

Course is tough and really have to play for position otherwise you will be carding a big score. Greens have been better and fairways well maintained.

Of course the 17th & 18th are holes that make it all worthwhile (Both over water and leading to clubhouse) especially if you manage to par them both.

Well worth a visit to really test your game and see if on train is really as good as you think