A unique parkland golf tournament designed to showcase Northern Ireland as a must-see golfing destination has been launched.

The Belfast Parkland International tournament has been created by the Greater Belfast Golf Cluster, the first regional golf cluster to be set up under Northern Ireland’s Golf Tourism Strategy.

The annual tournament will showcase five prestigious golf clubs in the Belfast area and will offer golfing tourists the opportunity of playing three, four or all five parkland courses.

Open to both male and female golfers, it will run from 3 – 9 July this year and has attracted a range of top prizes.

The tournament will also involve an opening reception and gala prize-giving ceremony on the final night for visitors and competitors.

Belfast is the pilot cluster in ongoing work by Tourism NI and the industry to develop further geographic golf cluster groups in Northern Ireland as part of the Golf Tourism Strategy, which aims to make golf tourism worth £50 million to the economy by 2020.

The founding clubs in the Greater Belfast Golf Cluster include Rory McIlroy’s home club, Holywood Golf Club, as well as Belvoir Park Golf Club, Malone Golf Club, Royal Belfast Golf Club and Shandon Park Golf Club.

Simon Wallace, Tourism NI Golf Sales and Marketing Manager, said: “Our links courses such as Royal Portrush and Royal County Down are world famous and rightly so, but we have a host of fantastic parkland courses also, with some of the best located within the Belfast cluster. The Belfast Parkland International tournament will therefore be an excellent vehicle to promote the quality of Northern Ireland’s parkland golf and indeed further enhance our reputation as a premier golf and tourism destination.

“Tourism NI is also committed to growing the value of golf tourism and to the development of further golf clusters. They will work on a collaborative marketing group basis to grow golf visitor numbers and revenue, and showcase Northern Ireland as a must-visit golfing destination in key markets.”

The Belfast Parkland International tournament venues and dates are:

4 July 2016 – Malone Golf Club

5 July 2016 – Royal Belfast Golf Club

6 July 2016 – Holywood Golf Club

7 July 2016 – Belvoir Park Golf Club

8 July 2016 – Shandon Park Golf Club

For further information on the tournament or to book, please visit www.belfastparklandinternational.com