Your Golf Travel asked 550 golfers recently which golf club they would add to the roster of Open venues. The following made it to the top four:
- Kingsbarns (13%),
- Royal Porthcawl (13%),
- Royal Dornoch (20%),
- Royal County Down (31%).
Consistently voted the number one golf course in the world, Royal County Down (designed by Old Tom Morris; George Combe; Harry Vardon; Harry Colt) currently sits in third place behind only Cypress Point and Pine Valley in the Top 100 Golf Courses list.
The most recent significant golf competitions were the European Ladies’ Team Championship in 2021 and the 2007 Walker Cup, in which the US team emerged victorious.
There is no doubt about the quality of the golf course. However, I wonder if Royal County Down would be able to accommodate more than 200,000 spectators/visitors. The highest attendance of fans was 290,000 at St Andrew’s from July 10 to 17, 2022.
Furthermore, they will be able (and willing) to meet the expectations of the Golf Environment Foundation and organize a sustainable golf tournament.