Royal Port rush Golf Club
Royal Port rush Golf Club is the same club in which Rory McIlroy use to practice and won a tournament in 2005.It is designed by H.S. Colt on the beautiful North Antrim Causeway coast. It occupies a triangle of giant sand hills. The course is situated near the 13th century Dunluce Castle. It has two links one is the course of Dunluce and the other is the Valley Course. It has the privilege of hosting the first open championship held in Ireland. This July it is going to host The North of Ireland Amateur Championship from the 12th-16th.
The course itself has scattered greens on huge sand dunes. These sand dunes rise gently above the Antrim coast. The beauty of the place is way too distracting for the player because of the cliffs and the sea that surrounds the course.
The royal Port rush experience starts with an uphill short of par 4 at the 1st hole. The trick is to thread the tee shot carefully between the out of bounds on both sides of the first fairway and the second shot is a hit to an elevated green.
The 2nd hole is of par 5 .The green is reachable at 490 yards but it has grass on both sides which is hidden from the 1st fairway so a shot not taken straight will go right into the deep grass. There are two bunkers in the middle of the fairway at 60 yards from the green. A shot smaller in length can cause of quad bogey.
The 3rd hole is a straightforward par 3 shot to the green but if the player misses it then another bogey is on the way, as the green slopes away in all directions.
The 4th hole requires two straight shots .The shot from the tee must balance between a bunker on the left at the 240 yards and out of bounds on right.
The famous 5th hole “White Rocks” is a par 4. A good driver can reach the greens with less trouble. The green runs to the cliff’s edge, with a deep bunker at the left and Irish Sea at the right. However 3 woods and a long iron can work its way to the greens.
The 6th hole is a green situated on a plateau. The trick is to deliver an accurate shot, or the ball will be thrown aside by the two tiered green in deep grass.
The 7th hole is the most difficult on the course of par 4 and 431 yards from the back tees. The player can use 3 woods to a medium iron but the drive should be long and accurate.
The 8th hole has a dogleg to the right beginning at the 220 yards and its target is a long narrow green for which distance accuracy is very important.
The 9th hole is another par 5 dogleg right aimed towards a narrow fairway. It is in the middle of the fairway is a gorge right in front of the green.
The 10th hole is a par 5 with elevated greens and undulating mounds falling sharply in the right corner. A safe tee shot followed by a long straight second is the only way to find the green.
The 11th hole is a par 3 which is the easiest hole on the course. A gentle slope to a medium sized green with sand bunkers on all sides makes it the easiest target for the players to achieve.
The 12th hole is the most difficult hole on the back-nine. The trick to reach the greens is an accurate tee shot followed by a long, straight second shot to the green.
The 13th hole requires a short iron for the tee into the fairway with a beautiful view of the North Coast. But on the front right of the green there is a bunker so a shot not aimed for the front left can get a double bogey on the score card.
The par 3 14th hole is also called the “Calamity Corner”. It stretches on 210 yards and requires a long iron or wood to shoot the ball over a deep valley onto the green. A short drive can guarantee a double bogey.
The 15th hole ”Purgatory”, requires a straight drive to a tight fairway that drops steeply to a small, undulating green surrounded by a bunker.
Then there is the par 4, 16th hole which is a dogleg right into the long green. The trick that can be used here is to keep the ball on the right or its going to end in out of bounds.
The 17th hole is a par five of 550 yards. From the tee, a deep bunker awaits a sliced drive. The second shot to the fairway must be accurate to avoid bunkers to the left and right. From here the course becomes relatively flat, but the 18th hole has eleven bunkers which make the target difficult to achieve. It is stretched on 469 yards with par 4.
Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell are the renowned members of the course. If they have practicing on a course so cruel like this, then an old course will not be a problem at all.
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