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By David Brice
Golf International, Inc.

Northern Ireland can be confusing to the visitor who comes here for the first time. No larger than the state of Connecticut, the country occupies the small northeastern corner of the Island of Ireland and is actually a province of Britain. The currency of the realm is the British Pound as opposed to its immediate neighbor to the south, the Republic of Ireland, where the Euro is used. And in Northern Ireland, the red, white and blue of the British Union Jack replaces the orange, white and green striped, tricolor flag of The Republic.

Royal Portrush is Ireland's No. 2, hot on the heels of Royal County Down.

Visitors quickly dismiss these incidental points, realizing they have discovered a very special corner of the Emerald Isle, where everything Irish just seems to be more so. The Northern Irish are the most genuinely friendly people you will ever encounter and the scenery is arguable the most spectacularly beautiful on the entire island. From the magnificently varied coastline to breathtaking glens and mountains, to the hushed tranquility of the interior lakelands, Northern Ireland has been blessed with as generous a helping of handsome good looks as any country - and much more than most.

The picture-postcard coastline running north from Belfast to Portrush qualifies as the most stunning in all of Europe, culminating with the Giants Causeway, a spectacular quirk of nature that classifies as one of the world's great wonders.

Royal County Down -- Irelands No. 1 is also among the world's top 10.

For those who enjoy city pleasures, the capital of Belfast has in the last decade become one of Europe's most fashionable. Boasting excellent shopping, superb dining, an impressive range of hotel accommodations and a nightlife that rivals Dublin's, a stay in Belfast puts you within little more than an hour or so drive of virtually every Northern Ireland attraction.

The city of Londonderry, one of the oldest on the Emerald Isle, is just as enticing. Within its ancient walls a carefully preserved 17th century city intertwines with the vibrancy of an intriguing city that is very much a part of today's world.

And this is still only the beginning of the Northern Ireland story. This tiny country measuring a scant 85 miles from east to west and only 110 miles from top to bottom, is literally filled with an amazing collection of over 90 quality golf courses. Included are two ranked among the world's top ten and the best on the entire Emerald Isle.

Royal Belfast founded in 1881 is Ireland's oldest golf club.

Royal County Down and Royal Portrush, lead a pack of truly world-class layouts, both seaside links and parkland. With so many courses located so close together, a serious golfer could spend two weeks wallowing in this wealth of golf. Even playing a pair of different layouts each day, there would be barely enough time to include all of the courses calling out to be played - sadly, some untouched gems would still have to be left for another visit.

Spending a week focused strictly on Northern Ireland's top courses such as Ardglass and Royal Belfast; Portstewart, Castlerock and Malone, is really only skimming some of the cream from the top of the bottle. But there are other golfing temptations sitting just outside of the country. Easily combined with Northern Ireland, they just add to the number of choices available to the visiting golfer.

Portstewart's Strand Course -- another Northern Ireland jewel.

It takes only a little over an hour to drive from Portrush, passing the ancient city of Londonderry, across the border into County Donegal and the pair of superb links courses at Ballyliffin, with even more excellent golf just a little further on at Portsalon and Rosapenna.

From Royal County Down in the southern part of the country, it will take less than 2 hours on the new motorway to reach Dublin and all of the golfing wonders that surround the city -- Portmarnock, The K-Club, Baltray and a host of others, including one of most delectable links delicacies you will ever find -- The Island Golf Club is a must play for any golfer visiting the Dublin area.

Northern Ireland has a wonderful flexibility that allows it to be fitted in very comfortably with any number of other golf havens, including Scotland's west coast. There are 8 fast ferry crossings a day leaving from Belfast to Stranraer in Ayrshire on Scotland's west coast. The ferry takes only 1 hour and 45 minutes and it's a further hour's drive to reach Turnberry, Troon and the 20 or so links courses calling this coast, home. Flying from Belfast into Glasgow airport reduces the travel time by an hour.

Castlerock Golf Club -- championship links golf at its best.

Play Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Royal Troon and Turnberry and you will have conquered 4 of Britain's Top 20 Ranked links courses, all within a week and still have plenty of time to play another couple of nearby gems.

Take Northern Ireland in a mix or neat and undiluted, but be sure to find a way to include at least a sampling of the excellent golf contained within its borders in your itinerary - it's an enchanting little country that is fast becoming a giant as far as golf is concerned. But be warned, golf in Northern Ireland is nothing less than seductive and you'll quickly learn that one visit just won't be enough. Things could be worse - fortunately, Northern Ireland is also one of Europe's best golfing values.

For a few ideas on how best to include some of Northern Ireland's top courses on your golf trip, click here.

© 2007 David Brice / Golf International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Golf International -- Providers of quality golf travel arrangements since 1988.