Playing Royal County Down

[Thomas McQuillan]

I'm playing RCD on friday 12th March. I'll probably bring the camera. Does anyone want me to take pictures of specific parts of the course. I'm playing a match so opportunities will be limited but i'll try and take as many as I can and I'll post them the following day.

[jonathan_becker]

Thomas,

Take as many pictures as humanly possible, even if that causes a delay in your match. 

[Carl Nichols]

16 and 17.  17 is much malinged (I think), and 16 has been changed (I think). 

[Thomas McQuillan]

Will do.My match will probly have finished by then anyway as its played off scratch and im off 11. Any more suggestions?

[TEPaul]

Please take a picture of the new 16th green from the tee and then one of where the old 16th green used to be. My strong suggestion to them before they did it was to build the new green if they wanted to but don't obsolete the old green. The response was that they needed to take the sod from the old green and put it on the new green. For God's sake, at the very least, they should've replanted or resodded the old green.

It was a funny little half par hole. I thought it was really unique and perhaps great because of the way it was. It was a par 4 but I know if some good players didn't make a 3 on it they felt very letdown.

[Bill_McBride]

The 7th green from the side!  Notice how tiny the pinnable area of the green is, and how the fall offs back and left might affect an errant shot, even an almost perfect shot! 

We sat in the bleachers behind the green during all four sessions of the 2007 Walker Cup.  It was a thrill a minute and then over the hill to the 12th fairway.

[Aidan Bradley]

Here is the 7th green Bill...........

[Ally Mcintosh]

Tom Doak,

Do you fancy telling us why the 3rd is your favourite hole on the course?....ahem... 

[Emil Weber]

Please take photos of EVERY part of the course!!!

[Jud_T]

I would definitely take some pix of #4 from the tee.  Very scenic spot and I distinctly remember my knees knocking on that tee shot...

[Thomas McQuillan]

As this will be my first time playing the course, I'll need a little help finding the pld 16th green to take a pic for tom paul. Heres the pic of the 16th from the site profile. Could someone please show me where it is in relation to the picture

[Thomas McQuillan]

I'm crap at doing the pictures,
 so if it didnt upload properly could someone please tell me where it is in relation to the new green

[Bill_McBride]

Here is the 7th green Bill...........

It's a lovely photo as always, Aidan, but it doesn't really capture the terror of long or left.  That is one wonderful little par 3!

[Shane Wright]

I second Bill, #7 is truly one of the great short par 3's in the world.  You have to almost hit what you think is a miss on the right side of the green in order to keep it from falling down left.  7-9 is one of the best sequences of holes I've ever played so take plenty of pictures here. 


#4 is majestic.

But get plenty of ALL the holes. 

Have an incredible time. 

And keep your drives in the short grass.

[jeffwarne]

I second Bill, #7 is truly one of the great short par 3's in the world.  You have to almost hit what you think is a miss on the right side of the green in order to keep it from falling down left.  7-9 is one of the best sequences of holes I've ever played so take plenty of pictures here. 


#4 is majestic.

But get plenty of ALL the holes. 

Have an incredible time. 

And keep your drives in the short grass.

So the first time I play #7 it's 125 and the wind is blowing 30-40. (before proV1's)
I hit a really solid punch 4 iron about 10 feet in the air that lands pin high and just trickles to the back fringe.
Another pro playing with hits a very solid beautifully flighted boring full 6 iron that ends up on the green just inside of me.

We're playing with a reasonably cocky, atheletic tennis pro and I notice he's got a semilofted club which I assume is an 8 iron and I signal my buddy that There's no way he's getting this to the hole- He takes a mighty cut, the ball goes out and up about 50-60 yards, rises and starts coming backwards... We step out of the way, the ball,now traveling backwards , hits the ground directly between the tee markers, and DARTS VIOLENTLY backwards deep into the gunch well behind the tee.
Afer several minutes of hysterical laughter, we had almost recovered when he said (while still completely befuddled) "I knew the wind was strong so I hit the wedge "extra hard"

[Gary Slatter]

Thomas:  enjoy the game and then go back out and either play again or take pictures. 
Enjoy possibly the finest course in GBI !  Don't be looking for notes about photos, play the course Mon!

[Jon Wiggett]

Thomas,

just make sure you take all your pictures when your apponent is at the top of his backswing and if he complains tell him that what Tiger always did and he should stop copying him

[Shane Wright]

I second Bill, #7 is truly one of the great short par 3's in the world.  You have to almost hit what you think is a miss on the right side of the green in order to keep it from falling down left.  7-9 is one of the best sequences of holes I've ever played so take plenty of pictures here. 


#4 is majestic.

But get plenty of ALL the holes. 

Have an incredible time. 

And keep your drives in the short grass.

So the first time I play #7 it's 125 and the wind is blowing 30-40. (before proV1's)
I hit a really solid punch 4 iron about 10 feet in the air that lands pin high and just trickles to the back fringe.
Another pro playing with hits a very solid beautifully flighted boring full 6 iron that ends up on the green just inside of me.

We're playing with a reasonably cocky, atheletic tennis pro and I notice he's got a semilofted club which I assume is an 8 iron and I signal my buddy that There's no way he's getting this to the hole- He takes a mighty cut, the ball goes out and up about 50-60 yards, rises and starts coming backwards... We step out of the way, the ball,now traveling backwards , hits the ground directly between the tee markers, and DARTS VIOLENTLY backwards deep into the gunch well behind the tee.
Afer several minutes of hysterical laughter, we had almost recovered when he said (while still completely befuddled) "I knew the wind was strong so I hit the wedge "extra hard"

So what was your response..I would have had a hard time keeping my mouth shut.

[Matthew Hunt]

Thomas can I ask what you are playing in? I can agree that #7 is a great hole.

[Thomas McQuillan]

Thomas can I ask what you are playing in? I can agree that #7 is a great hole.

Colleges match against Queens

[TEPaul]

"As this will be my first time playing the course, I'll need a little help finding the pld 16th green to take a pic for tom paul."


Thomas:

Unless they've changed the tees on #17 which they may have, you shouldn't have much trouble figuring out where the old 16th green was. But I do realize if you've never been there before it may be hard for you to photograph the old hole from the 16th tee. It would be considerably to the right of where I understand the new green is. The thing I just always enjoyed about the old 16th is shorter hitters had the option of playing their tee shot under the plateau with a short drive or up to it with a longer one which is where the old green was.

[Anthony Gray]

  Great place Thomas. Are you playing Ardglass?

  Anthony

 

[Ash Towe]

Thomas,

I would like to hear your comments about the experience of playing RCD.  What were the memories and what you will take with from your round.

Goo luck with the match.

[Kevin Pallier]

Here is the 7th green Bill...........

It's a lovely photo as always, Aidan, but it doesn't really capture the terror of long or left.  That is one wonderful little par 3!

Bill

And the difficulty of trying to hold it on the surface ?  

Thomas

Walk the 18 before playing the match and take as many as you can - that or wait until after it ? Good luck

[Bill_McBride]

Here is the 7th green Bill...........

It's a lovely photo as always, Aidan, but it doesn't really capture the terror of long or left.  That is one wonderful little par 3!

Bill

And the difficulty of trying to hold it on the surface ?  

Thomas

Walk the 18 before playing the match and take as many as you can - that or wait until after it ? Good luck

We saw it downwind and it was a real bugger.  Lots of balls down at the bottom of the slope behind the green, very delicate pitch back up.  The effective playing surface of the green is a lot less than Aidan's photo makes it look.

In Aidan's photo, play is from the left, you can see the start of the fall off to the right that's actually part of the putting surface.  It's like a really steep false front only it's a false back!  There is an equally heinous fall off to the left that winds up in a bunker.  The short game really comes under pressure on this hole.