Where does Portrush (Dunluce) rate?

[Matt_Ward]

With the British Senior Open coming up this Thursday I wanted to know from those who have played a good sampling of courses in the UK and Ireland where the Dunluce 18 at Portrush would rate when all of the courses are factored together?

I know Tom Doak gave the course a 9 in "Confidential Guide" and when I played it last year I was quite impressed.

My only concern was that the fairways were overall narrow and given the daily weather pattern bordered on excessive penal conditions. Granted I only played there one time so I defer to those who have played there multiple times.

Is the Dunluce 18 among the top five -- top ten when both the UK and Ireland are combined?

Appreciate any informative opinions.

[TEPaul]

In my opinion, Portrush's Dunluce is in or very near the top ten in the WORLD! The only possible chink in its armor is the second half of #17. Some think #18 is somewhat weak--I don't think so---it's a fine par 4 finisher!

[Gerry B]

Matt:

IMHO it ranks way up there. Not quite Royal County Down (in my top 10 in the world) , but is ranked #12  by Golf magazine in its top 100 world rankings for a reason.I like some of the other tracks in the UK, Ireland, Scotland that I have played a little better but Portrush  is not to be missed.

[Mike_Sweeney]

In my opinion, Portrush's Dunluce is in or very near the top ten in the WORLD! The only possible chink in its armor is the second half of #17. Some think #18 is somewhat weak--I don't think so---it's a fine par 4 finisher!

Tom Paul ranking courses on Matt Ward threads !! What the hell is going on ?

[Bill Gayne]

I spent three days last summer playing the course and it's as good as it gets. The greens are the best that I've seen on a links course. I'm playing County Down for the first time in about three weeks and I can't wait. I'd place  Portrush ahead of Ballybunion although a very strong case can be made for Ballybunion.

[Paul Richards]

There's Heaven,
Cypress Point,
Royal County Down
and
Everything else.


 


Royal Portrush is in the 'everything else' category.

That being said, it is a world-class golf course, in the top 30 in the world, and dear to my heart since my Grandmother and her family came from 15 minutes away in Coleraine!

 

[michael j fay]

Royal Portrush probably is underrated mainly because of the weather. I feel it is a much better balanced course than County Down, but not as scenic.

I would put it in the top three in the Bristish Isles after Royal Dornoch and the Royal and Ancient.

If Portrush has a weakness it is the 17th hole a shortish par 5 that plays down the prevailing winds. It can be reached with a driver and a mid iron, even by guys not known for their length (like me). I feel this is balanced very well by # 18 which is a 450 par four that plays in the opposite direction.

County Down is marvelous but ends with three mediocre holes.
I have not seen the reworked 18th a par five that was of little note and tepid difficulty. The 17th is just a bad hole and 16 is too short to be a par four.

[TEPaul]

Michael J:

RCD's #18 has had additional fairway bunkering added and in the last senior British Open played exceedingly difficult. Any of the competitors seemed delighted to make par.

I loved the 16th. I just hope when they built a green far to the left they left the present green.

In my opinion, the first half of #17 including that incredibly pathetic looking little pond would be bad on any golf course but actually the green on #17 is excellent! If you think about it the green surface on #17 just might have the most interesting slope and contour on the entire golf course, with the possible exception of #13 or #14.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Dunluce is one of the most demanding first shot courses I have played.  If myou can get the ball in the fairway the shots around the green are reasonably easy.  

[michael j fay]

Tom:

I agree with your assessment of the 17th green, but the path to the green is amateurish. 16 with the old green just does not live up to todays standards. I probably would not comment negatively about the finish at County Down if the first 15 holes were not so damned good.

[Chris Flynn]

I played Portrush twice - definitely in my top 5 GB&I courses. #4 is as tough as a par 4 gets, especially into the wind left to right - OB right and a long iron or more into a green protected by mounds left and right. #14 is a great par 3 - wind drives strategy - was down/right to left which forces you to make the decision to start it out over the cliffs edge or aim left and cut it back. Easy bogey if either don't work out.

[mike_malone]

I have played it five times.I find the lack of definition on the drives with many doglegs disconcerting.This reduces my enthusiasm for the course.I would rank Ballybunion,Royal County Down,andPortmarnock above it.How about Baltray with the Irish Open this week?

[Larry_Keltto]

It's at the top of the GBI courses that I've played. I played it and RCD twice apiece on consecutive days, and hole for hole, I thought Dunluce was better. Dunluce's green complexes are of the highest order.

Dunluce lacks some of the visual drama of RCD and Ballybunion (perhaps because only the fifth hole is at the edge of the land), but for shot values, routing, conditioning, it's unmatched.

[Paul_Turner]

I'd only have RCD, TOC and Sandwich above it.  

Its great strengths are: variery of holes, the way the holes turn and the green complexes.  The best green surfaces in Ireland?  

As for beauty?  Which links are more attractive in setting and design?

Not sure that Colt designed the course with narrow fairways.  I haven't seen old pics of the course.  Where are they!!

[TEPaul]

Michael J;

I concur that the path to the 17th green at RCD seems amateurish. However, I think the primary reason for that is frankly it just looks so bad---that pond in the middle of the fairway is about the worst looking thing I've ever seen on a really good course.

In a certain way though, as bad as the first half of #17 looks it does work relatively well, strategically, in my opinon, particularly in decent wind. On the tee the hole definitely does get the players attention and demands a good amount of concentration from him.

My recollection is the player on the tee can't see much on that drive. The first thing he thinks about is what he needs to come as close to that pond as possible distance-wise without going in it--and again he can't see it. The next thing very much in his mind are those bunkers right he surely doesn't want to be in he also can't see. So the tee shot on that hole is sort of a no aiming point, trust your swing, feel shot although there really is a ton of room out there. But my recollection is it's not great to be way out left on the fairway as it screws up the possibilities on approaching that green.

Added to that the second shot in sure did feel to me like one many golfers in a decent wind would want to bring in low and bounce onto that green. The left to right cant of that green guarded on either side front makes the place to be over on the right side of that fairway important to me for obvious reasons. And again, the player can't see where those right side bunkers are on the tee.

All in all from tee to green these are some pretty good shot value demands making this hole a pretty good one. But again the first half or the first 3/4 of the hole just looks so awful probably not many think about the things I just said. They could probably come up with an easy fix to make the look of this hole much better but they probably just don't care.

Basically, this hole is just another blind drive, although far less of dramatic blind drive than those blind drive holes that precede it. RCD, of all the courses I've ever seen has to be at the pinnacle of the golf world for endless blind drives!

[T_MacWood]

In 1939 the club proposed a new clubhouse...which was eventually carried out after the war. The current 18th was the second hole. The old third became the first. The old first and 18th were abandoned; both holes were across a road and required long walks (it is difficult to tell from the aerial photo, but both looked to be very solid holes). The 8th and 9th were the new holes that replaced the abandoned holes.

[TEPaul]

Tom MacW:

That is truly interesting! I had no idea, and I did a lot of asking when I was over there. It's lucky, then, that they had the room to carve two new holes (present #8 and #9) around both sides of the old 9th (present #7).

[Paul_Turner]

Yes.  I have tht same aerial of the original 17th and 18th in a 1940s Golf Illustrated.  

Portrush took ages to build.  The club didn't have much cash and Colt had to be careful with how much he could do.  I think that's one reason why the course has so few bunkers.  I have an interesting essay by Lord Babbington the man behind  the club.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Matt, I feel Portrush Dunlace is in the fight for 2nd with Ballybunion in Ireland. It is probably 3rd to me. Royal County Down is the best and did I say the best in Ireland. I am struggling with a rank in all the UK for it will be tough to break into the top 10. TOC, RCD, Dornoch, Muirfield, Turnberry, Royal Birksdale, Carnoustee, then you have the Woodhall Spa, Royal St. Georges, Machrihanish, Troon, Ballybunion, St. Edonoc, Cruden Bay and Portrush to fight for spots along with them and a few others from England. It is a grand place to play and I hope to be there again soon.

[George Pazin]

Will they be making setup changes for this event, or will it play pretty much as is?

[Paul_Turner]

The article I have states that the 8th and 9th were built before the war, but were little used until the club moved to the new clubhouse after the war.  The clubhouse was the old Holyrood hotel.

The plan for the new Portrush courses was first contemplated by Lord Babbington in 1922.  So the course was built over a long period of time.

Is Portrush the best 36 in Ireland?  Even in GB and Ir?

[David_Tepper]

Paul Turner-

Having played both the Dunluce & Valley Courses, you could very well be right that Portrush is the best 36-hole club in Ireland. I cannot think of any others in the same ballpark. Killarney and Ballybunnion are the only contenders that come to mind.

With regards to the whole of GB&I, there are some awfully strong contenders, assuming you are not talking only links courses. Sunningdale (Old&New), Wentworth (East&West, Berkshire (Red&Blue) and Walton Heath (?) make the London suburbs very compelling. The 36-hole links I can think of are St. Andrews (Old&New), Turnberry, Saunton and, with the much improved Struie, Royal Dornoch.

DT      

[ForkaB]

Let's not forget Ballyliffin!

PS--I understand that Faldo is coming in to do some (needed, IMHO) improvemnts to their "Old" Course.

[Bill Gayne]

Other 36 hole facilities in Ireland include Lahinch and the K Club.

I haven't been to the K Club but the reviews on both courses are very strong. For 36 holes I'll gladly take Ballybunion over Portrush. The difference between Ballybunion Old and Dunluce is splitting hairs and could go either way. However, I think the Cashen course wins easily against the Valley course. Simply because the dune land is more interesting and it is much more exposed to the sea. Both are relatively short at 6,200 (Cashen) and 6,300 (Valley). However, the Cashen course may be the longest 6,200 yard course with the way it weaves through the dunes. The 13 hole on the Cashen course is one of my favorites.

[Matt_Ward]

I have to ask those who may know if the fairway widths at Portrush have always been so narrow. When the wind conditions are "active" it can be extremely penal given the haylike conditions that border so many of the holes.

Was the rough originally intended to be so close and to be so dense and deep? Likely, some of the historians on GCA can better answer that.

Personally, I can't see why the fairways were not a bit wider to expand the playing angles that exist. From my lone visit the only option in nearly all instances when being in the rough was a SW or PW out.

Like I said initially, I really enjoyed the course because it does offer so much beyond anything I generally play here in the States. A trip to Ireland / Northern Ireland without a round at Portrush (Dunluce) is a trip that badly shortchanged.