The Open Championship 2019 course guide: What is it like playing Royal Portrush? We take a look at the Open venue in Northern Ireland
Golf fans are in for a real treat when they watch the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, but what's it like to play the great Northern Irish course? Paul Higham took on the challenge.
Ever since it was announced that Royal Portrush was returning as Open Championship host for the first time in 68 years, it was being billed as one of the best decisions ever made by the R&A with the Northern Irish gem on many a golfer’s bucket list.
All of the courses on the Open rota are special venues given the wealth of history and magic moments that have been played out on their rolling fairways and undulating greens, but Portrush is something special.
Like most of the other top-notch links courses, the setting is magnificent at Portrush with the course clinging to the very edges of the North Atlantic coast with some stunning views as far as Scotland while you wind your way around a testing examination of links golf.
Before we delve into the nuances of the course itself, just a word about the glorious Causeway Coast of Northern Ireland and the welcome players and fans will receive from golf-loving locals who’ve waited almost seven decades to host the biggest and best golf tournament again.
It’s a magnificent golfing mecca with course after course that’d grace anyone’s bucket list, and is also now attracting visitors in their thousands to view the majestic settings for Game Of Thrones. This time though, instead of battling for the Iron Throne it’s the Claret Jug that people are flocking to see.
Course guide
It's a wonderful part of the world with the magnificent Portstewart five minutes up the road, and the course travels right to the very cusp of the Atlantic Ocean with the fifth hole in particular having the back of the green sit just yards from the cliff top.
Unlike many old links courses it's not an out-and-in straight nine and nine, with the course changing direction a number of times meaning the wind isn't a constant factor on successive holes. It's a fantastic course though and could well be the best course on the Open rota.
Course overview & strategy
It’s a decent sized property which gives Portrush more of a feel of a Birkdale or a Hoylake than a Lytham, and there aren’t too many tricks about the place – “it’s right there in front of you” is a phrase you’ll hear a lot from players during the Open.
There aren’t too many blind shots to take on, one of the few things that’s as taxing for the pros as it is for the hackers, but as always there are dangers lurking everywhere, from pot bunkers to desperately difficult rough to avoid, so plotting your way around is, as ever, key to mastering the Open.
Off the tee: Placement is everything, the bigger hitters don’t need to hit driver off too many tees to get in range, so someone like Dustin Johnson may only pull out the furniture on as few as three holes and still have enough ammunition to get it into position.
Fairways: In short, are the only place to be! There's not a lot of mystery about them, and as stated there aren't too many blind shots to take on but the real gamble is when going for that extra length, as modern players like to do, as that brings in a world of trouble into play in the rough. With the extra rain juicing up these hellish patches of untamed wildlife even more, it really is curtains for your birdie chances if you land in them - avoid at all costs!
Greens: In most cases probably harder to get on to than putt on when you're there, but there are some fiendish flags that the R&A could produce to give our field some real problems. They're as good quality-wise as you'll find though, rolling true, and a good putter on his game will enjoy them. They will start off a bit slow and, again, the weather will dictate what sort of speed they'll be at come game time - but there's no excuses for our players here.
Key holes at Royal Portrush
1st (Hughies), 421 yards, par 4: Mainly because it's key to get off to a good start, but also because it's not just a stand up and hit driver hole. It's well in reach with fairway wood but uphill all the way and the left bunkers will make it a struggle. A front pin on the elevated green will also make it a tasty opener.
5th (White Rocks), 374 yards, par 4: This could well be my favourite hole and is one well worth watching if you're attending in person. The key here is how much of the corner of the dogleg the players want to try and bite off, and there's a whole heap of trouble (trust me, I know!) from landing in the scrub and rough on the right.
The second shot is a lot easier if you can carry it further up though, and the green is the most picturesque on the course with the Atlantic ocean just behind - and you've got just a few yards off the back of the green before you're on the beach!
7th (Curran Point), 592 yards, par 5: One of the two new holes (with the 8th) that is a wonderful par five on the edge of the course, with a huge dune all the way down the right hand side protecting you from the elements making it long a long bowl of a hole. Well in reach for these guys, but there's trouble on either side and anything wide right will have them getting their mountaineering gear out again.
15th (Skerries), 426 yards, par 4: The closing stretch is magnificent and starts with a hole that should, in theory, be no problem for our challengers with just an iron or fairway wood needed to hit over the brow of the hill. There are bunkers right though and rough further right so any radar issues will leave a tricky shot down the hill to a well protected green with hillocks and bunkers in play. You can also get a blast of wind at the top of the hill that you can't feel off the tee.
16th (Calamity), 236 yards, par 3: Where do we start with this one! Every hacker's nightmare, a huge carry over a monumental gorge, canyon even, that looks impossible to carry when you're stood trembling on the tee. And as I found out, if you take a right flag on and don't quite nail it, you're into mountain goat territory in all sorts of bother. There's actually a big green to hit and bail out zone on the left - this will get A LOT of action this week and you get nothing for going right apart from a sore back after a steep climb.
17th (Purgatory), 408 yards, par 4: Massively downhill shortish par four will have big-hitters licking their chops at the chance of driving the green if the wind allows. Even off our tees, with a good hit and right bounce the green was almost within your grasp, but finding an aim point is a bit tricky as you can't see the ball landing - there should be some fun and games at this one during the tournament.
18th (Babingtons), 474 yards, par 4: Not the hardest finishing hole in major championships but still not the easiest with the Claret Jug on the line! The fairway has plenty of room but there's enough to think about with bunkers on the right making it tough to then find the green in regulation. The greenside bunkers are also tough enough to make an up-and-down for the title all you can handle.
Keys to victory
As mentioned, off the tee, accuracy is definitely favoured over length as juicy rough and devilish pot bunkers need to be given a swerve at all costs, so it then comes down to the iron play - where knowing where to miss is arguably as important as knowing where to hit.
A lot of these greens will repel anything arriving in the wrong spot, the domed nature of many of them more reminiscent of Pinehurst than your regular links track, and the run-off areas will be well-worn pathways this week.
That will put huge emphasis on a player's touch around the greens, they'll have to be inventive with chipping and pitching and there'll be a lot of flat sticks coming out from way off the putting surface - and that putter could well be the key club in the bag this week.
There are a lot of warnings here, there always are when your less-than-average golfer tackles an Open course being set-up to test the best in the world, but Portrush is not the hardest Open venue and there are certainly good scores to be had, depending on the weather of course, so it could be a low-scoring championship to thrill the huge crowds that will no doubt make it an Open to remember.
Card of the course
- 1st (Hughies), 421 yards, par 4
- 2nd (Giants Grave), 574 yards, par 5
- 3rd (Islay), 177 yards, par 3
- 4th (Fred Daly's), 482 yards, par 4
- 5th (White Rocks), 374 yards, par 4
- 6th (Harry Colt's), 194 yards, par 3
- 7th (Curran Point), 592 yards, par 5
- 8th (Dunluce), 434 yards, par 4
- 9th (PG-Stevenson's), 432 yards, par 4
- 10th (Himalayas), 447 yards, par 4
- 11th (Tavern), 474 yards, par 4
- 12th (Dhu Varren), 532 yards, par 5
- 13th (Feather Bed), 194 yards, par 3
- 14th (Causeway), 473 yards, par 4
- 15th (Skerries), 426 yards, par 4
- 16th (Calamity), 236 yards, par 3
- 17th (Purgatory), 408 yards, par 4
- 18th (Babingtons), 474 yards, par 4
Why the long wait to return?
We've all heard about the reasons for the Open not coming back to Portrush for so long, and some are understandable, but more recently, infrastructure has been the main sticking point with the R&A often mentioning the hotel room capacity and suitability of access and the like.
OK, there's not a huge motorway network on the doorstep, but we're hardly talking about dirt tracks. And on the accommodation point, there are plenty of beds available in the area through hotels, caravans and the campsites with it being a popular holiday spot already.
Plus, Belfast is served by two airports, and is itself a major city that can house thousands of golfing fans who are just a short train ride away from Portrush. Huge numbers of fans at St Georges next year will come by train from London, similarly with Lytham and Birkdale from Liverpool, so to be it's set-up to be one of the more accessible Opens on the rota - proved by record ticket sales.
There's also plenty to do for those that don't go to the golf everyday, or travel with family who don't attend or who just want to tag on a few days of holiday before or after the event. Game of Thrones dominates the region with a huge exhibition in Belfast along with some scenic drives long the coast spotting various filming locations.
Belfast has a wealth of history and the Titanic Museum is a definitely must-see whilst there, and there's always a Guinness or two to be sampled! And that's before we've even mentioned the vast numbers of golf courses to play.
Nothing gets you more in the mood for a round than watching the big boys peg it up and with the likes of Portstewart, Ardglass, Castlerock and Royal County Down (voted No.1 in the world by Golf Digest) highlighting around 100 top tracks there are plenty of options.
With so much golfing history and excellence, it's about time the Open returned to this neck of the woods, and if things go as expected, you'd imagine they'd be back again a lot sooner next time.
For more on playing Royal Portrush or any other of the courses in Northern Ireland go to www.Ireland.com/golf or follow @DiscoverirelandGB and @TourismIreland on Twitter.