ROYAL PORTRUSH: There is More to It Than Calamity Corner

[Tony_Muldoon]

Bryan this is the next set along it looks like they were built up in front later.  From here Greg got up and down to a back pin location.

[Sean_A]

Fantastic photos!  I'll be at Portrush for the first time in two weeks time.  I can't wait.

Those shelters look more like fortified bomb shelters.  What sort of nutty weather goes on out there?  My lord.

Sean, you say the fairway width is relatively narrow.  Typically, how many yards wide are the fairways at Portrush?

Jim

I didn't pace off any fairways because it didn't seem to matter.  My guess is they average in width around 35 yards - very narrow for the cross wind holes with such nasty rough awaiting and turning fairways at the driving zone.  The holes into/against the wind were ok, but still a bit tight.  Its a great pity as the course doesn't need this sort of reduction in width to create challenge. 

Ciao

[Ian Dalzell]

Just got back - played two rounds on my home track, both times first thing in the morning.  IMO one of the finest pieces of links golf found anywhere in the world, and I have been fortunate to play some good golf courses.  To me I find difficulty in identifying a weak hole, and each plays differently in it's own way.  Some new tee boxes are an attempt to tiger proof it, but with the current course record of 61 by a 16-year old Rory McIlroy, I'm not sure that can be bettered anyway.  They added a new box on 8 from which I hit driver 4-iron (usually that hole is 2-iron, 9-iron) and the new back tee on 13 is a monster. 

Good photos - my personal favorites are 4 on the front and 12 on the back.  Green sites are amazing at both!

Ian

[Sean_A]

Out of curiosity, can anybody confirm if Morrison redid #s 8 & 9 and why?  Were these new holes built over the same ground as the old holes? 

Ciao

[Paul_Turner]

Sean

This thread (at the bottom) should clarify.  The plan shows the abandoned 18th and 1st which were replaced by the 8th and 9th.

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,44582.msg1007741.html#msg1007741

[Sean_A]

Sean

This thread (at the bottom) should clarify.  The plan shows the abandoned 18th and 1st which were replaced by the 8th and 9th.

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,44582.msg1007741.html#msg1007741

Paul

Cheers.  Where did the 38-39 dates for the changes come from?  P Dickinson states the changes happened 1945ish?  Did Morrison design the holes and was Cot involved?

Ciao 

[Paul_Turner]

Sean

I have a 1940s article which describes the changes...it states that the holes were built before the war but the holes lay fallow and play was delayed until after the war was over.  I'm not 100% sure if Colt/Morrison did the design work, but as it was only a few years after the "new" Dunluce course was completed (1933), I suspect they would have been.

The Colt and Co firm had a long association with the club, dating back to the early 1920s,  so I'm sure many options would have been discussed including the potential relocation of the clubhouse.  The original clubhouse site in the town restricted Colt and Morrison somewhat with their 1933 redo because they had to return back into the town.

One thing I do wonder is whether they fully supervised the 9th hole though.  The fairway is way too flat, all the contours taken out.  The surrounding land forms are very similar to the adjacent 4th hole which has much more interesting fairway contouring.

[Sean_A]

Paul

What a small world.  I was wondering about the Morrison work because the 9th was fairly flat compared to its near neighbours 7 and 4.  The 8th too is somewhat flat and has the appearance of being totally manufactured through a dune - at least the second half of the hole.  I wonder if Franks Bros were used for this work?  

Why was the work left fallow?  Was it a money issue (as the club seems to have had money issues when Colt was ionvolved)? 

Ciao

[Sean_A]

I am told Portrush is under the knife once again. I heard the 7th green is going to be altered to become a two tier type at the request of the R&A. If memory serves me well, isn't the 7th green very large, back to front with some good low key contour?

Ciao

[Ally Mcintosh]

I am told Portrush is under the knife once again. I heard the 7th green is going to be altered to become a two tier type at the request of the R&A. If memory serves me well, isn't the 7th green very large, back to front with some good low key contour?

Ciao

I assume you mean the new 7th green, one of the two holes built by M&E five years ago? Don’t think this is the original Colt 7th green (now the 9th).


Ally

[Sean_A]

I am told Portrush is under the knife once again. I heard the 7th green is going to be altered to become a two tier type at the request of the R&A. If memory serves me well, isn't the 7th green very large, back to front with some good low key contour?

Ciao

I assume you mean the new 7th green, one of the two holes built by M&E five years ago? Don’t think this is the original Colt 7th green (now the 9th).


Ally

Of course!  I didn't think changing the old 7th green made much sense  .


Ciao

[Jamie Pyper]

Ally and Sean,


Correct, it the new par 5 seventh green to be renovated that never did fit with the other greens. The R&A will be paying for the work by Martin Ebert. It's expected to be completed by March.

[Ally Mcintosh]

I haven’t actually seen that green since it came in to play.


Why do you think it didn’t fit with the other 17 greens, Jamie?… And does a two-tier green fit any more so (if that is indeed what is being built)?

[Jamie Pyper]

Ally,
There was a general consensus among the membership that the new 7th green had more pronounced contours and exaggerated fall-offs than the original Colt greens. I have not seen the revised plan so can't comment on the new two-tiered design. The other Dunluce green that was out of character up to the recent renovation was the current 10th, constructed after the Colt course was completed by his good friend and long time Portrush Captain Sir Anthony Babington, along with club professional P.G. Stevenson. This was elongated and tweaked during Martin Ebert's recent reno.