Staff WriterIn a move that proves golf marketing doesn’t always have to feel like watching paint dry on a clubhouse wall, Callaway Golf has done something rather splendid.
They’ve produced a film. Not a commercial, not an infomercial — a film. It’s called CHARM, and it’s every bit as heartfelt as a post-round pint in the Harbour Bar after slicing one into the gorse on 17.
Narrated by actor and hometown hero James Nesbitt, CHARM opens a window into the soul of Portrush, that wind-whipped, storybook stretch of Northern Ireland’s coast that hugs Royal Portrush Golf Club like it’s guarding buried treasure.
“With CHARM, we set out to tell a story that’s both local and universal,” said Chris Gregg, Marketing Director at Callaway Golf Europe, presumably after wiping a tear from his eye with a Pro V1.
“In Portrush, the town, the links and the sea are inseparable. The film showcases how the game is about more than the iconic course — it’s about the people, the place, and the invisible thread that ties them together.”
Shot by Callaway Media Productions Europe, the film saunters from harbour to fairway like a Sunday afternoon round — full of anecdotes, accents, and authenticity.
Local legends like Matt McAlpin, landlord of the beloved Harbour Bar, feature alongside the unsung heroes prepping the turf for the British Major.
Yes, the same Major that makes the town collectively hold its breath every few years, and the same fairways that will welcome a returning Open Champion, Xander Schauffele, this July.
There’s even a cheeky nod to Jamie Dornan, the Fifty Shades heartthrob and proud Portrush native.
Nesbitt, mug in hand, holds up a photo of Dornan with a mock grimace — the kind of humour that lets you know this was made by people who live here, not just visit in helicopters.
But it wouldn’t be Callaway Golf without a bit of product pizazz, and they’ve timed the release of their July Major Tour Bag to perfection.
A thing of beauty, the bag is splashed with a graphic of Dunluce Castle poised between a turquoise North Atlantic and the kind of sky Irish poets dream about. Orange life ring zips and rope netting round out the design — equal parts shipwreck chic and seaside swagger.
And if you’re not near Portrush this month, fret not. CHARM is available to watch now across Callaway Golf Europe’s social and digital channels.
For the couch caddies among us, 60-second cuts of the film will air on Sky Sports each day of the British Major — from Thursday, July 17th to Sunday, the 20th — bringing that salty Portrush magic to living rooms across the UK and Ireland.
So, pull up a stool, pour a Bushmills, and settle in. Because in CHARM, Callaway hasn’t just captured a place — they’ve bottled the feeling of golf as it was meant to be played: rough-edged, wind-swept, and deeply, stubbornly human.
Watch the film. Feel the CHARM. And remember: at Portrush, it’s not just golf — it’s a way of life.
