Kirkiston Castle Golf Club

Kirkiston Castle Golf Club sits just outside Newtownards in County Down, a proper links-style course that's been quietly doing its thing for decades. The layout runs across open countryside with genuine character - it's not trying to be Augusta, which is precisely why serious golfers rate it. Eighteen holes of straightforward, honest golf where the weather and the rough grass do most of the talking.

You'll need to be a member or get a guest pass through a current member, so this isn't the sort of place you just rock up to on a whim. That said, if you've got golfing mates in the area, it's absolutely worth the trip. The course plays to around 6,400 yards and won't humiliate you, but it will test your course management. Early morning rounds are best - the greens are quicker and you'll have the place almost to yourself.

For a golfing holiday in the Ards area, you're well positioned. Silverbay Caravan Park is barely two miles away and gets top marks from families and couples alike, making it an easy base for a long weekend. Non-golfers might find a full day here tedious, but if your crew has mixed interests, Newtownards itself has enough going on - shops, pubs, decent restaurants - to keep everyone occupied while the keener golfers are grinding through eighteen holes.