125 - Gracehill

Location: where the Dark Hedges are, for Game of Thrones fans

Rating: 7.6

By far the most unassuming golf course I have played. Wanting to play some of the more local, unknown courses on a short trip to Northern Ireland, I stumbled upon Gracehill.

The lack of website intrigued me but the fact that as recently as a few years ago they were under administration macks a lot of sense. There’s no pro shop, there’s a small office under a staircase which acts as reception.

Google maps struggles to find the entrance which is blocked by boulders, so you have to go a little further down the road and enter through the hotel entrance and then drive down behind The Pantry café to the course.

The course itself is a great challenge, you can tell the quality in terms of maintenance is slowly coming back and I’m sure a lot of work is going into it.

There are some fantastic holes throughout, the 1st is a par 4 bending to the right where your first shot is an iron laying up short of a ravine where you have an approach to a green guarded by very tall trees. Some of the other notable holes would be the par 4 13th, a course weaving through forest of trees requiring a very accurate tee shot and one of my favourites, the par 5 15th which is actually a relatively easy hole to play at 399 meters but has a magical tee shot across a field of heather with a fairway twisting through the trees and heather. This is without a doubt a hidden gem and one that I hope will continue to get better in the future.

Sadly the one area that it lacks is practice facilities, there’s a small putting green and supposed practice area next to the 9th hole but not much more than that. Although you’re not coming here for that, you’re coming to play for the charm of the course. £25 is an absolute steal to play here.