Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce

I played Portrush the day after I played its chief links rival, Royal County Down, and it held up so well in comparison that I might actually give it the edge between the two courses. Its more championship-coded looks and feel mean a few fewer blind shots and odd bounces while suffering no real loss in scenery or playing interest. The third through fifth holes overlooking the sea provide early ecstasy, while the famous Calamity Corner par 3 at 16 lives up to its billing as one of the world’s best.

With a passionate and knowledgeable membership and a commitment to presenting the course in the best possible playing conditions, it is hard to imagine a place more worthy of representing Northern Ireland in the Open Championship rota.

The course was great, but I found it to be overrated and the most penalizing course of the twelve we played. I really wanted to love it but not quite. Holes 5-7 are amazing but that’s it in my opinion. The back nine was rather bland for a course of this stature. My caddie was awful, very unhelpful and not nice(to use words I can say in here). The other caddie in the group made him look great as he was incredibly negative and much preferred to talk about his own game rather than help with yours.

Every 2 years, we have a group of guys that go somewhere on the world and golf for a week. This time we chose Ireland and we chose wisely!

There are not enough words for this course. The course, the view, the caddies....everything was first class.

We teed off around 9:30. It was cool and there was a slight wind. My caddy was Rory and he was a great lad. The course will challenge all aspects of your game. You have to drive it well, you need to be able to draw and fade, the greens are just amazing and the course will test you’re imagination. We were finished in less than 4 hours. It was absolutely a treat to play and I would play it 100 Ax’s more if I could.

What an incredible experience playing this Open venue. The staff was very helpful and went out of their way to make our visit a memorable one. The Starter had some good stories to share with us about the Open and some useful tips about playing the course.

Royal Portrush is a very difficult layout. It’s fairways are fast and the greens run true. Many of them are elevated with severe run off areas to the front and sides. The bunkers are deep and very welcoming to any shots off line. The rough is not so friendly. One golf writer of long ago described it as “porridge” to be avoided at all costs.

There are multiple sets of tees for golfers to choose from but make no mistake this a championship layout for experienced players only.

The weather was a challenge. We had high winds and driving rain for most of the round. Good rain gear is essential up here in Northern Ireland. All and all, this is an amazing links course which deserves to be part of all future Open rotations.

Eleven weeks out from The Open, and Portrush is ready to go. Its immaculate conditioning is second only to its stunning views. It's a difficult test, but it's playable, and highly enjoyable. As we were part of a large media outing, the pace of play was over five hours. On most other golf courses, this would have been a problem. But Portrush was so stunning to look at, the wait never felt like an issue. It's a place where, once you're there, you're going to want to take your time. If you've managed to keep a respectable card through 15 holes, good luck on 16, 17 and 18. Those three holes have the potential to wildly swing the result of The 148th Open on Sunday afternoon.

Played a beautiful round of golf yesterday on the iconic Royal Portrush Dunlace course. The course has the cliffs and the beautiful Irish beaches in the background. The course is very challenging. Highly recommend having a caddy to help navigate the undulating fairways.....or help you find your ball when you miss! We had Horry and jimmy.....2 of the finest. Thanks bunches.

Anytime you get to play a major championship venue – especially one that hosts The Open Championship – it's a real treat, and this was no exception. It's also a course that is apparently better than it was before a renovation last year that removed the last two holes for a spectator village that will be used for the 2019 Open. Because I never played the previous version, I can't make that judgment firsthand, but what I do know is that the two new holes, which are now the seventh and eighth as other holes shifted, are terrific and pretty much look like they have been there with the rest of the course since Harry Colt's incarnation of the Dunluce 85 years ago. The new par-5 seventh is a terrific risk-reward par 5 that features eight bunkers down the left side. The eighth, a difficult par 4, plays back down and up a steep hill alongside the seventh going the other way. As for rest of the course, it's classic links, with ocean views, tall dunes, terrific views and not too many blind shots. In the wind (and rain), it's as tough as it gets, but on a calm day, you can certainly score out there. You'll also want to hang out in the clubhouse for a soup, sandwich and beverage, where you get panoramic views of the links and sea below.

Great links course. Has the typical blind tee shots over dunes. Staff was very friendly. This, Port Stewart, and Castlerock Mussenden Worth the trip North.

I didn't get to play the two new holes on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush - they open in June - but they certainly look good.

Like every golfer, I lament the loss of the original "Big Nellie" bunker on the 17th hole, but architect Martin Ebert has created his own version on the new par-5 seventh hole. Coupled with the new par-4 eighth hole - both built upon land formerly a part of the Valley Links - they add challenge and length to a links now ready to host Ireland's first major championship since 1951.

The changes will reroute some of the old holes. For example, the famous 'Calamity' par 3, will now be the 16th hole, not the 14th. Otherwise, Harry Colt's best links remains intact and as charming and challenging as ever.

Wow, one look over the layout from the road as you pas by shows why this course is included in the Open rotation. The Dunluce course (yes there are two) has a broad sweep moving back and forth between duned areas to moguled valley holes. There is ample room for a large gallery to watch, something that Royal County Downs, a far tougher course does not have.

Our group took forecaddies and glad we did as knowledge of lines and distances with even the mild elevation changes was of real help. RCD has many completely blind shots while RPR is more subtle but requires long accurate shots over deep fescue and dune grasses on many holes. A perfect example is #5 (White Rocks) , a modest length par 4 that goes slightly downhill then turns sharply right and back up hill. The carry from the white tees is over 200 yards and coming up short will likely result in a big number if you find the ball.

Unlike many of the Irish links courses that tend to divide the two nines between the high dunes along the coast and the low areas leading up to the dunes, RPR mixes both nicely and makes for a more continuous look and challenging round through out the 18.

The course is getting ready for the Open in 2019 and you could see a lot of activity but this never detracted from our play. There is a decent range and practice facility and a nice club house with upstairs patio to enjoy afterwards. Thee is a quaint little halfway house in the middle that you should make sure to visit.

This is definitely a bucket list course and I am looking forward to a return.

The once and future site of the Open Championship and ranked 16th in the world was also the most expensive stop on my trip by far.
Portrush seems rather ordinary at first – a nice club house and locker room, but not Royally nice. The starter’s building changes that impression. The red blazer with club tie and grey pants donned by the starter and the caddies milling about give it a formal “you just paid a royal sum to be here” atmosphere.
The course is tough; rough comes in right where you don’t want it to and the green complexes seem to ensure balls bounce anywhere but onto the green. I played in the only really foul weather day of my trip – persistent rain for 6 holes and a stiff wind after the rain stopped. It lacks the views from vistas of some dunes courses and doesn’t run along the beach, but the challenge of the course is undeniable. The opening and closing holes were straight away par 4s with plenty of risk / reward opportunity that seems to come with major venues. There are few blind shots here, only tough lies, tight approaches, and punishing to mishits.

The Dunluce Links feel larger and longer than the 7,143 yards written on the scorecard.It's all marram grass and dunes, all big drives and wicked putts -- a veritable amusement park of golf. After you finish your round, head inside and marvel at the scorecard of the course record holder, a 16-year-old Rory McIlroy, whose score of 61 seems nothing short of superhuman. Enjoy the views of the coast from the 5th green, and be ready to hit some big drives if you're going to reach some of the par 4s in two. A must-play!

I don't think I was ever as nervous in my life as when I stood on the first tee at Portrush with all of the caddies watching me hit my first ball of the day. After that I relaxed and took in the beautiful scenery and history of the course. My caddie, Tony, gave me the historical tour of the course. We were blessed with a beautiful day with mild wind and a bit overcast. Even with the benign conditions the course gave me all I could handle. If the wind was up I don't what i would have shot! Every hole travels a different direction with huge sand dunes waiting to eat your golf ball. "White Rocks" and "Calamity" alone are worth the green fee. Don't forget to vist Dunluce Castle while you there, it's only five minutes down the road from the course.

I was never as nervous as when I teed off in front of about 30 caddies but I hit the fairway and it was a thrill the rest of the day. The course goes up and down and side to side with towering dunes and bunkers you'll want no part of. We had a great caddy(Tony) who managed to keep our lost balls to a minimum. The scenery with the white cliffs and shore line is special. I didn't give the course a perfect five because hole #18 is a weak par five, straight and flat although I did bring some excitement to it by almost putting my second shot into the parking lot.

Played this gem on 4th day of our 7 day trip and it was consensus best course of our tour. Everything was top notch , including the bar man and choice of fine Irish Whiskey's at the half-way house. The course and vistas are both memorable. Beware of the largest bunker in the world on 17, my friend Todd managed to find it. I cannot wait to go back and would encourage anyone who has a chance to play here to DO IT ! You will not be disappointed.

Its one thing to declare a course as distinctive based solely upon conviction, it is quite another thing when a course has the weight of history on it’s side.  Royal Portrush’s Dunluce course is the only course in all of Ireland to have hosted the Open Championship and in 2012 it played host to the Irish Open, becoming the first regular European Tour event to sell out!  Royal Portrush still retains the look and feel of a classic Harry Colt design and perhaps the greatest compliment one could make about the course is that it is a world-class competitive challenge, but always indisputably fair.  In short, Royal Portrush is a brilliant links golf course.

What a beauful place! The view of the water and cliffs can NOT be beat. As a Floridian, I would recommend to play in summer as my game is a bit (a lot) rusty and I'm not at all used to the wind-cold combo (roughly 25 MPH, with gusts that had me hating life, temp was 9-ish deg C, or 48F). That said, the natives seemed to think it was downright balmy (and, I will admit, a hot whiskey at the turn did seem to help my spirits a bit!). It's a tough challenge, but worth the grind. Make the trip if you can.

This course is one of the finest in the world, being the only course outside of mainland Britain to have held the Open Championship back in 1951 it really is one of the finest courses to have held the best Championship in golf.
Each hole is different and sticks out vividly in the mind and also have a unique challenge associated with them. I would definitely recommend playing a round here as you will treasure the memories of the course and the scenery for a lifetime.