Over the years Portstewart Golf Club has hosted many important events:

1931	First major competition to be held on the Strand Course was the Irish Native Professional Golf Championship which took place at the end of July.
1946	Portstewart hosted the Ulster Professional Golfers Championship.
1951	Portstewart was one of the qualifying stages of the British Open which was held at Royal Portrush.
1960	In the summer the Club played host for the first time to the Irish Amateur Close Championship.
1974	The IPGA Championships were again held in Portstewart. The winner was Eddie Polland who set a course record of 66 which was not beaten until 1991.
1982 & 1983	The Smirnoff Irish Ladies PGA Open was held in Portstewart. The 1982 winner was Linda Bromen of the USA. 1983 winner was Cathy Panton of Scotland.
1984	The Ulster Professional Championship, which returned after a gap of nearly 40 years, was won by Paul Leonard of Royal Co. Down with a score of 70.
1986	The All Ireland Mixed Foursomes.
1992	The Irish Amateur Close was held in Portstewart for the second time and was won by Gary Murphy of Limerick.
1995	GUI National Cups and Shields Finals
1998	Senior Inter-Provincials won by Leinster
2000	Ladies Senior Inter-Provincials also won by Leinster
2004	British Ladies Senior Championship won by Eva Ansgarius of Sweden
2006	British Girls Championship won by Belen Mozo of Spain. British Girls Home Internationals won by Scotland.
2014	Amateur Championship won by Bradley Neil of Scotland.
2015	British Ladies Amateur Championship won by Celine Boutier of France.
2017	Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, part of the European Tours’ Rolex Series, hosted by The Rory Foundation and won by Jon Rahm of Spain.

Ms Maureen Madill, now Mrs Garner, was undoubtedly the most successful golfer that Portstewart ever produced. Among her many other achievements she was three times Ulster Ladies Champion, an Irish International from 1978 to 1985, British Amateur Stroke play Champion 1980, and British Ladies Match play Champion 1986. She can frequently be heard today commentating on golf.

Mr Des Ballantine, won the North of Ireland Amateur Championship in 1985.

Mr Paul Cutler, our youngest member at the age of just 20 won the East of Ireland Championship in 2009, won the 2010 Lytham Trophy, the 2011 Irish Amateur Close and West of Ireland Championship and represented Great Britain and Ireland on the Walker Cup Team 2011.

Before 1906 the secretaries included Marcus Gage JP, Lizzie Knox and JJ Flynn.

1906 brought the enthusiasm of Rev P. H. Blaikie to the role of secretary. It was stated in the AGM of 1919 that Rev. Blaikie was one of the finest secretaries in Ireland. He gave everyone a hearty welcome, ‘imparted all the knowledge possible and when going away, took them by the hand and asked them to come back.’

T. R. Dobbin of Lisburn became the secretary in April 1932. He was chosen from 75 applicants after the Rev Blaikie passed away. During his term of office he lent an indefinable air of relaxation to Club affairs.

Robert Ferguson succeeded T R Dobbin after his retirement. Although partially disabled by polio, he played an active role during a critical period in the Club’s history.

On his retirement in 1958 he was followed by Jack Armstrong who served the Club for 16 years before his retirement in 1974. He is commemorated in the Trophy which still bears his name.

In 1974 Major Robert Smith became secretary and coincidentally with his arrival, the Club hosted the Irish Professional Golfers’ Association Championship for the second time.

Lee Gage was secretary for a year from 1976-1977.

Mr Michael Moss, MBE, BA, took up the post in 1978 and steered the Club through many changes. Michael retired from post following the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open after 39 years in post – Michael has been the longest serving secretary/manager and has now also been awarded the MBE for services to golf and tourism.

Michael was suceeded by Ms Judith Hutton, originally from Ardglass in County Down. Judith joined the Club in 2017 prior to the hosting of Portstewart’s first Irish Open.

In April 2022, David MacLaren arrived as the Club’s new General Manager. David has strong family connections to the area, is part of a family of talented female golfers and spent a large part of his career managing the DP World (European) Tour’s network of international golf venues.

In 1905 James McCurdy took up post as the club maker combined with caretaker of the club house. As well as refreshments, care of the building and the repair of golfing clubs, he was required to teach and play golf.

He remained with the club as caretaker of the Old Course until his passing in 1942.

In 1912 the extension to the Clubhouse on the Strand provided accommodation for the Club’s first full-time professional, Mr William Coltart of London. His duties also included those of Greenkeeper and, together with his wife, Caretaker and Caterer.

In 1916 William resigned as professional to take up a post at Cliftonville Club in Belfast.

In his place came Charlie Pope of Fortwilliam who was at that time The Irish Professional Champion. Charlie remained with the club until 1919.

William Coltart returned to fill the vacancy and remained at Portstewart until 1922.

James Rea took up the post of Professional in 1922. Once again sharing the duties of caretaker and caterer with his wife. He served the Club for 25 years until his retirement in 1947.

He was succeeded by Johnny Hunter who had learnt his trade during the 30’s alongside the legendary Fred Daly MBE and winner of the 1947 Open Championship at Hoylake.

Johnny remained in this post until his passing in 1974. He was remembered for his kindness and courtesy to members and visitors alike as “a Gentleman in the true sense of the word.”

After a short spell on the continent, Alan Hunter returned to Portstewart in 1975 to follow in his father’s footsteps and retired in 2013, making him Portstewart’s longest serving Professional at 38 years.

The Shop has since been in the hands of resident PGA Professional Neil Graham. Neil relocated to take up position from Portavogie, County Down.

Course Manager

In 1986 Bernard Findlay took up the new post of Course Manager and, in addition to the considerable day to day responsibilities of maintaining a 54 hole complex, he has been an invaluable asset in the major developments that have transformed golf at Portstewart in recent years. Bernard retired in 2024 after 38 years navigating the fairways at Portstewart Golf Club.

In 2024, David Feeney was appointed the position of Course Manager. David has many years of experience in links and championship courses, including Prestwick.