Course Notes on Royal Portrush Before The Open Kicks Off Thursday Morning

For the third time in the championship’s history, The Open is at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland this week.

In 1951, The Open left the island of Great Britain for the first time, and the tournament was staged at Portrush. And 68 years later, it finally returned in 2019 when Ireland’s own Shane Lowry hoisted the Claret Jug as the Champion Golfer of the Year.

A lot has happened in the game over the last six years, none more important, for the locals, anyway, than Rory McIlroy completing the Career Grand Slam at the Masters in April. The hometown kid will be the overwhelming fan favorite over the next four days.

Most of the fans watching Stateside this week have not seen much of Royal Portrush. Maybe you can remember a few things from 2019, but before the action gets underway, we wanted to highlight a few of our favorite spots on the track. So let’s dive in.

The Opening Tee Shot

Just ask Rory, the opening tee shot at Portush is no joke. The par-4 only measures 420 yards, but there’s out of bounds left and right of the fairway. In 2019, Rory’s first shot of the tournament went out of bounds, leading to an opening eight. He’d go on to sign for a 79.

And according to Brad Faxon, Rory hit it out of bounds on both Monday and Tuesday during his practice rounds. Let’s hope that doesn’t continue Thursday morning.

Don’t Go Long on No. 5

The fifth hole at Portrush is a short par-4, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t danger. Any shot that bounds just a few yards long of this green will trundle over the cliff and onto the beach below.

No. 7 is Framed By a Massive Dune

The seventh hole is the front side’s second par-5 and it measures over 600 yards. In between the fairway and the beach lies a massive dune that resembles a shrunken-down mountain range. Is it in play? No, probably not for these guys. But it’s going to look so, so sick on TV.

Late Danger at No. 16

The last par-3 at Portrush is dubbed, “Calamity Corner.” For those unaware, here’s the definition of calamity: an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster. So, yeah, it’s a terrifying hole. There’s a little room to miss left of this 236-yard hole, but anything short and right is dead.