Golf has been played at Carnalea for over 100 years.
It was in 1892 that the oldest golf club in Ireland, Royal Belfast Golf Club, moved from its original site at Kinnegar to the beautiful seaside setting of Carnalea, west of Bangor, resplendent with its picturesque views over Belfast Lough, the County Antrim hills that lie beyond and, on a clear day, Ayrshire and Ailsa Craig in Scotland.
Carnalea Golf Club has an 18 hole course, PAR 69, measuring 5647 yards. It is divided into two separate nine holes by the Belfast to Bangor railway line and covers an area of approximately 88 acres. In spite of its limitation in length, there are more problems here than on many courses of far greater yardage and Carnalea is a course for the thoughtful and accurate golfer. It is a very popular course with both its members and visitors and it would be difficult to improve upon its magnificent setting. It is by no means tiring and with its undoubted charms, can be enjoyed even by golfers not performing as well as they should.
