History

  
     
  Almost 70 years ago, Bernard Darwin, that doyen of them all, drew aside the bedroom curtains of his hotel to catch his first glimpse of the Mourne Mountains, and wrote that, “to see Slieve Donard’s crest just emerging from a sea of early mist is to taste one of the intense joys of shaving on the morning of a workless day.” After the golf he reflected that the course which lay below it was one of “big and glorious carries, nestling greens, entertainingly blind shots, local knowledge and beautiful turf – the kind of golf that people play in their ecstatic dreams.” Bill Campbell, who knew the great man,  said that he always looked for the best in people and places and, while his sheer love of the game often lead to joyous prose, Mr Darwin’s eye for detail was beyond question, and he was never inaccurate.

Oddly enough, County Down’s very early development is in some ways a little obscure. Although it was officially founded in 1889 by some influential Belfast business and professional men at the time when Newcastle had become a popular Victorian seaside resort and when formal golf in Ireland was still in its infancy, it seems probable that one or two local residents had already been knocking balls around the rabbit warren and may well have created as many as nine rudimentary holes.

 
     
 

The events of these early days are well documented in Richard Latham’s recent scholarly book on the evolution of the links at Newcastle, but the enormous potential had been realised, and ‘The County Down Golf Club’ was formed in March 1889.

  
     
 

The newly formed council, in a cautious mix of enthusiasm and parsimony, commissioned Old Tom Morris to travel all the way from St Andrews “for a sum not to exceed £4” to inspect what existed and advise on a second nine.

The outcome of this munificence resulted in Old Tom spending two days “on the ground” and suggesting 18 holes which were in play some months later, proof indeed that golf club design in those days was a very different kettle of fish, but proof also that so many of the great links courses of today were created on natural dune land that had always been there.

And so it began to evolve, all the work in the years ahead being carried out by the green staff, little of it recorded, often instigated and certainly supervised by the chairman of the green, George Combe, always authoritative, more often than not autocratic, but like Capability Brown possessing a gift of vision.

 
 
 
As the years progressed, the links changed to meet the demands of the time, so that, with advice from Harry Vardon and Ben Sayers before the First World War, and later some important alterations from H S Colt, little was left to be done by the 1930’s. One or two minor extensions after the Second World War, important improvements to the closing holes in 1998, and a complete new 16th hole in 2004 completed its evolution.

The course is laid out in two 9-hole loops, each staring and finishing at the clubhouse, advantages of which were recorded in an early golfing journal “as being apparent to golfers without enumeration”. Very few of the holes can really be seen from any other, and each in its own way is supremely testing. The course is scrupulously fair, when played thoughtfully but will tempt the impulsive. Either way it stimulates and challenges.
 
     
 

In its early evolution the links had an unusual number of blind shots regarded then as sporting challenges. Those that still exist today are sometimes criticised, but it was Tommy Armour that said, “There is no such thing as a blind shot to a man with a memory,” and on the brow of the hill at the 9th even the most insensitive will pause to cherish one of the most stunning, and most often photographed views in golf.

  
     
 

Royal County Down has been the scene of many wonderful championships, particularly in the very early days when the greats of the day such as Vardon, Taylor, Ball and Kirkcaldy came to play “for a purse of sovereigns”. Over the years it became less used as a professional venue but has always remained a supreme challenge that attracts the top professionals, such as Tiger Woods and Tom Watson, as individuals. The course continues to present a major challenge to the top amateurs, particularly in match play which is, after all, the heart and soul of golf. The Irish Open Amateur Championship was held at Newcastle 15 times until it was abandoned in 1959, the Irish Close 10 times, the Amateur Championship and Home Internationals 5 times between them. Not unsurprisingly, it has also been the scene of many great Ladies Championships, the Irish and British Open Amateurs a total of 18 times and the Curtis Cup in 1968. To crown these championships the Walker Cup matches were held in 2007.

Throughout the years the game has changed, as have the expectations of the players, and the links itself has adapted itself to meet climatic changes and the every increasing demands placed on it by world-wide recognition. But through it all, County Down has never lost its real character, and the majestic sand hills, whiskered bunkers, and stunning views still entice writers of eminence to effuse. Only a few years ago Donald Steel wrote that it was “golf on a heroic scale”, and the late Peter Dobereiner that it was“ thrilling even without a club in your hand”.

  
 

The content of this page was reproduced by kind permission of the writer, Harry McCaw

  
  All graphics on this page come from the 2007 Walker Cup program.