Value golf in Northern Ireland is a weekday round at a members' club or a council course, or an entry in one of the Open competitions that clubs price separately for visiting golfers. The courses below start at £15 for Portstewart's Old Course, most eighteen-hole clubs charge £25 to £45 on a weekday, and a published Open entry runs from £10 at Cairndhu's Tuesday Stableford to £35 at County Armagh. Two championship links above that range, Castlerock and Kirkistown Castle, are here because their own Opens get a visitor on for £45 and £29.
Prices were read from each club's own website, or the council's own page, on 23 August 2026. Green fees change by season and by day; check the club's page or timesheet before you travel.
How does an Open competition work, and why is it the best value in Northern Ireland?
An Open competition is a club's own competition thrown open to visiting golfers who hold a handicap, entered in advance through the club's own booking route, usually for a fraction of the standing fee. Cairndhu prices its weekly senior gents' Stableford, for men aged 50 and over, at £10 against a £40 standard round; County Armagh's Open rate is £30 midweek and £35 at the weekend against a £35 to £40 standing round; and the value is starkest at Castlerock, where the standing round costs £250 in summer but the club's own Open on 31 August 2026 is £45.
What an Open needs is a current handicap index from your own club and entry in advance. The honest caveat: you play the club's format, often a Stableford, often in a three-ball the club makes up, and you take the tee time you are given.
The Causeway Coast and the Glens
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portstewart Golf Club, Old Course | £15 (weekday, 2026); £20 (weekend) | Opens listed (EJ Donnelly Open, JB Kennedy Rosebowl, Jul 2026); no fee published | not published |
| Ballycastle Golf Club | £42.50 (Golf Ireland member, weekday, main season); £47.50 (weekend/bank holiday) | Opens listed; fees not shown | £29.50 (weekday, main season); £35 (weekend/bank holiday) |
| Cushendall Golf Club (9 holes) | £25 online / £30 at course (weekday); £35 online / £40 at course (weekend) | could not read | £20 online / £25 at course (weekday) |
| Cairndhu Golf Club | £40 (Golf Ireland rate, summer weekday); £50 (weekend) | £10 (senior gents' Open Stableford, 50+, every Tuesday, Apr-Sep) | £20 (summer weekday); £25 (summer weekend) |
| Castlerock Golf Club, Mussenden Links (worth the stretch via Open) | £250 (1 May-30 Sep 2026); £66 (1 Nov 2025-31 Mar 2026, limited weekend availability) | £45 (4th Castlerock Open, 31 Aug 2026); £25 (Ladies Open Greensomes, 11 Sep 2026) | not published |
Portstewart's Old Course, where the club says it all began in 1894, is priced apart from the club's championship course next door: £15 on a weekday and £20 at the weekend in 2026, with a society rate of £13 and £15 for twelve or more. At 4,890 yards and a par the club states as 64, the front nine runs along the rocky shore before the back nine turns inland. Two Opens sit on the 2026 fixture list, both in July, but neither carries a published fee. The course is reserved for members from sunrise to 9am every day, worth knowing before an early booking.
Ballycastle has played the Warren Links since 1890. A visitor with a Golf Ireland handicap pays £42.50 on a weekday and £47.50 at the weekend in the main season, 1 March to 31 October 2026; without one, the published rate jumps to £140 for an overseas visitor, with nothing printed in between, so ask which column applies before you book. A year of Wednesday Opens and Open Stablefords runs through the fixture list, though the club prints no fee against them. A member's guest pays £29.50 on a weekday and £35 at the weekend.
Cushendall's nine holes sit above the Glens of Antrim, the River Dall creating out of bounds on seven of them. The rate card the club had posted was headed "UPDATED JUNE 2025" and was still live on 23 August 2026: £25 online or £30 at the course on a weekday, £35 or £40 at the weekend, with nine holes alone at £15 to £20. Its Open fees are shown only inside the timesheet, so they are not printed here; the office, open Monday to Thursday mornings, can confirm by phone. A member's guest pays £20 online or £25 at the course on a weekday.
Cairndhu, at Ballygally on the coast road north from Larne, was laid out in 1928 by J.S.F. Morrison of the Colt, Alison and Morrison partnership, 6,071 yards at par 70. A Golf Ireland handicap brings the summer weekday rate to £40 and the weekend to £50; without one, a UK or European visitor pays £55 and £65. Every Tuesday from April to September the club runs a £10 Open Stableford for senior gents aged 50 and over. A member's guest pays £20 on a summer weekday and £25 at the weekend.
Castlerock's Mussenden Links, reworked by Harry Colt in 1929 and rebuilt again over the winter of 2017-18, is a championship course of 6,780 yards and par 73, well above this list's usual range: £250 a round in summer and £66 from November to March, with limited weekend availability. The stretch is worth making through the club's own Opens instead: the 4th Castlerock Open on 31 August 2026 is £45, and the Ladies Open Greensomes on 11 September is £25. A member's guest rate is not published.
Belfast and the council courses
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Belfast Golf Club (Mallusk) | £16 (weekday); £20 (weekend/public holiday) | no Opens published | not published |
| Aberdelghy Golf Course (council) | £23.00 (weekday, 2026-27); £25.00 (weekend/bank holiday) | no Opens published | £18.00 (weekday); £20.00 (weekend) |
| Castlereagh Hills Golf Course (council) | £25.00 (weekday, 2026-27); £32.00 (weekend/public holiday) | no Opens published | £20.00 (weekday); £26.00 (weekend) |
| Ormeau Golf Club (9 holes) | £24.00 (18 holes, weekday, summer); £27.00 (weekend) | no Opens published | £20.00 (weekday, summer); £22.00 (weekend) |
City of Belfast, at Mallusk off the M2, describes itself as a mature parkland course extended with a new par four; its pages give no hole count or par, and the club's site does not describe itself as council-run, so it is not called that here. A round is £16 on a weekday and £20 at the weekend. No Opens are published and no member's guest rate is shown.
Aberdelghy, run by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council at Lambeg, is an eighteen-hole parkland course of 5,563 yards and par 67, its fairways tight and tree-lined. The 2026-27 card charges £23.00 on a weekday and £25.00 at the weekend, with twilight from £15.00. No Opens are published. A member's guest pays £18.00 on a weekday and £20.00 at the weekend.
Castlereagh Hills, the other Lisburn and Castlereagh council course, calls itself the hidden gem of municipal golf in Northern Ireland, set above Strangford Lough. Its par is 69; the club's own yardage figure matches sister course Aberdelghy's exactly, so this list leaves the number out rather than repeat what looks like a shared template error. Eighteen holes is £25.00 on a weekday and £32.00 at the weekend, with nine holes at £17.00 to £22.00. No Opens are published. A member's guest pays £20.00 on a weekday and £26.00 at the weekend.
Ormeau, in south Belfast, has played nine holes since 1893 and calls itself one of the oldest clubs in Ireland. Eighteen holes, playing the nine twice, is £24.00 midweek and £27.00 at the weekend in summer, or £23.00 and £26.00 in winter; nine holes alone is £16.00 to £20.00, and twilight from 5pm is £20.00 all year. No Opens are published. A member's guest pays £20.00 midweek and £22.00 at the weekend in summer.
County Down and the Ards
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donaghadee Golf Club | £34 (weekday, 1 Apr-31 Oct 2026); £40 (weekend/public holiday) | could not read | £25 (weekday); £30 (weekend/public holiday) |
| Scrabo Golf Club | £36 (resident UK & IRE, weekday, summer 2026); £40 (weekend) | could not read | £25 (weekday); £31 (weekend) |
| Kirkistown Castle Golf Club (worth the stretch via Open) | £39 (Golf Ireland member, weekday); £46 (weekend) | £29 (weekday and weekend) | £27 (weekday); £28 (weekend) |
| Holywood Golf Club | £40 (Golf Ireland visitor, Mon-Thu); £45 (Fri-Sun/bank holiday) | could not read | £20 (Mon-Thu); £25 (Fri-Sun/bank holiday) |
Donaghadee has played golf since 1899 on a course it calls part links and part parkland, 5,904 yards and par 71, its original nine laid out by Willie Fernie. From 1 April to 31 October 2026, a visitor pays £34 on a weekday and £40 at the weekend, or £18 and £20 for nine holes. The Open fixtures live inside the timesheet rather than on the public site. A member's guest pays £25 on a weekday and £30 at the weekend.
Scrabo, above Newtownards, is a links-style course of 6,227 yards and par 71, formed in 1907, its fairways bordered by gorse. The 2026 summer card runs to three tiers: £31 and £35 for a Golf Ireland or Golf Union card holder, £36 and £40 for a UK or Irish resident without one, and £68 and £90 from Europe or further afield. Opens are entered through the timesheet, where the fees are. A guest playing with a member pays £25 on a weekday and £31 at the weekend.
Kirkistown Castle, on the Ards Peninsula, calls itself the nearest links course to Belfast and the most easterly eighteen-hole course in Ireland; James Braid consulted on a redesign in 1934, and the course plays to par 70. A Golf Ireland handicap brings the standard rate to £39 on a weekday and £46 at the weekend; without one, the GB and Europe rate rises to £75 and £95. The value route is the club's own Open, a flat £29 whichever day you play. A member's guest pays £27 on a weekday and £28 at the weekend.
Holywood, five miles from Belfast with views over the lough, was formed in 1904 and counts Rory McIlroy among the members it produced from age seven. A visitor with a Golf Ireland handicap pays £40 from Monday to Thursday and £45 from Friday to Sunday; without one, the rate is a flat £60 any day. The Opens link on the club's site led nowhere on the day, so no fee is printed. A guest playing with a member pays £20 midweek and £25 at the weekend.
Armagh, Banbridge and the Lagan Valley
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| County Armagh Golf Club | £35 (weekday); £40 (weekend) | £30 (midweek); £35 (weekend/bank holiday) | £20 (weekday); £25 (weekend) |
| Banbridge Golf Club | £30 (weekday); £35 (weekend) | no Opens published | £20 (weekday); £25 (weekend) |
| Portadown Golf Club | £35 (weekday); £45 (weekend/bank holiday) | £20 (Thursday events); £25 (weekend/bank holiday events) | £25 (weekday and weekend) |
| Silverwood and Loughgall (council) | £21.50 (weekday, 2026-27); £24.50 (weekend) | no Opens published | £17.30 (weekday); £20.00 (weekend) |
County Armagh, laid out in Georgian parkland in the city since 1893, plays to a par the club states as 70 over 6,043 yards, and has hosted provincial and national championships. A visitor pays £35 on a weekday and £40 at the weekend, for eighteen holes rather than a day ticket. The club's own Open rate is £30 midweek and £35 at the weekend, though no fixture dates are listed. A member's guest pays £20 on a weekday and £25 at the weekend.
Banbridge has played mature parkland golf since 1913, over 5,665 yards at a par of 69. A round without a member is £30 on a weekday and £35 at the weekend. No Opens are published. A member's guest pays £20 on a weekday and £25 at the weekend, though the club limits any one guest to three visits a year.
Portadown has played golf since 1900, an eighteen-hole, par 70 parkland course where the ninth drives over the River Bann. A round is £35 on a weekday and £45 at the weekend, with twilight after 6pm at £25. Its 2026 Open Fixtures list runs to twenty-three dates, and the club's own rate card prices a Thursday event at £20 and a weekend one at £25. A member's guest pays £25 either day.
Silverwood and Loughgall Country Park, the two courses Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council runs at Lurgan and Loughgall, are priced on the council's 2026-27 card: £21.50 for eighteen holes on a weekday, £13.10 before 10:30am, and £24.50 at the weekend. Silverwood is a par 72 course just under 7,000 yards; Loughgall a par 72 layout in the country park. No Opens are published. A member and guest together pay £17.30 on a weekday and £20.00 at the weekend.
Fermanagh, Tyrone and the north-west
| Course | Visitor green fee | Open entry | Member's guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enniskillen Golf Club | £30 (weekday); £35 (weekend/public holiday) | no Opens published | not published |
| City of Derry Golf Club (Prehen) | £30 (Golf Ireland member/local, weekday, summer 2026); £35 (weekend) | no competitions found (checked 23 Aug 2026) | not published |
| Omagh Golf Club | £35 (weekday, summer); £40 (weekend/bank holiday) | no Opens published | not published (£5 reduction for up to three guests of a Category 1 member) |
Enniskillen, founded in 1896 and playing to a par of 71, has a back nine recognised as an Area of Special Scientific Interest, the first parkland course in Northern Ireland to hold that status. A round is £30 on a weekday and £35 at the weekend; students pay £15 on a weekday. No Opens are published, and no member's guest rate is shown.
City of Derry's Prehen course has played parkland golf through mature woodland since 1912. From 1 March to 31 October 2026, a Golf Ireland member or local golfer pays £30 on a weekday and £35 at the weekend; a visitor without a Golf Ireland handicap pays £50 and £70. A weekend round after 2:30pm drops to £20. The club's own competitions page showed none listed on the day this list was checked. No member's guest rate is published.
Omagh calls itself one of the province's finest parkland courses and has been chosen to host Golfing Union of Ireland events; nine holes opened in 1910 and the course was completed to eighteen in 1983. A day's golf is £35 on a weekday and £40 at the weekend in summer, dropping to £25 and £30 in winter; there is no separate nine-hole rate. No Opens are published. Up to three adults playing with a Category 1 member get a £5 reduction each.
What counts as value here?
The fees above buy a full round on a course with real history behind it: a links at Portstewart that opened in 1894 for £15, a Georgian parkland course at Armagh for £35, an Ards Peninsula links James Braid touched in 1934 at Kirkistown for £39. What the fee does not buy is a tee time at the championship links along the same coasts, whose own rates run well beyond anything printed here, or a Saturday morning slot at the hour a visitor would choose.
A visitor pays less than the standing rate in three ways the tables show. The weekday: County Armagh is £35 against £40 at the weekend, Portadown £35 against £45. The Open, where a club publishes a fee, runs from £10 for Cairndhu's Tuesday Stableford to £30 for County Armagh's midweek Open, both well under either club's standing round. And the season or the clock: Castlerock's £250 summer fee falls to £66 in winter, Omagh's winter day rate is £25 against £35 in summer, and Aberdelghy's twilight round is £15 against £23.
How do I get a tee time as a visitor?
Most clubs in these tables take a visitor booking through their own online system, a phone call or an email; Cushendall's office is open Monday to Thursday mornings only, so ring ahead. Where a club prices by Golf Ireland handicap, as Scrabo, Cairndhu, Ballycastle, City of Derry, Holywood and Kirkistown Castle all do, know which tier applies before you book: Ballycastle's own page states a rate for a Golf Ireland member and for an overseas visitor and nothing in between, so a UK golfer without a Golf Ireland handicap should ask which column to pay. Portstewart's Old Course is reserved for members from sunrise to 9am every day, worth checking before an early tee time.
What this list leaves out
Every figure above was read from each club's own website, or the council's page, on one day, 23 August 2026, and only a course with a published fee appears here. A course priced only inside a booking system on the day checked, or not at all, is not here. Where a club's Opens are priced only inside its timesheet, the table says so rather than guessing, and the timesheet itself will show the fee in a minute. Prices are one day's reading: Cushendall's rate card was headed June 2025, and Castlereagh Hills' yardage matched its sister course closely enough to leave out rather than repeat. Opens are seasonal, and a fixture printed against a 2026 date is what a club asked that year, not a promise for the next.
What stands in for this list is the club's own page and, where the tier depends on it, a phone call: Ballycastle prints no rate for a golfer without a Golf Ireland handicap, and a minute on the phone settles which column is yours.
Where to start
Play a links for £15 at Portstewart's Old Course, or take a summer Tuesday Stableford at Cairndhu for £10, and you have found the two ends of what value golf costs here. Everything between them is a weekday booking away.