And down the stretch they come:
#13s: RCD's thirteen is a brilliant hole routed through a valley in the gorse-covered dunes. The shaggy bunker edges and the gorse bordering the hole effectively narrow the safe playing area. The green is larger than it looks, and is surrounded by a good amount of fairway and short game space. Portrush's par four thirteenth plays over the highest point of the course, and offers one of its best views from the fairway past the green to the ocean. Another good hole with two fun shots. Tie! 10-10.
#14s: RCD has a good par three, the furthest point from the clubhouse. The entire green slopes from right to left, the front part severely into guarding bunkers. The hole looks relatively benign, but this is far from the truth. At Portrush, Calamity is simply one of the best and most challenging par threes in the world. The player stands on the tee thinking the entire course is built around this one shot. Portrush 10-8.
#15s: The fifteenth at RCD is a brutal par four of over 450 yards, made even longer periodically by being played dead into the wind. The tee shot is semi-blind up a rise, and the second is to a broad green on the far side of broken ground. An underrated hole, 15 is played by most players as a par 5. At Portrush, the 15th is a fun hole with an awkward second. Strangely, layup shots and driver bombs seem to congregate in the same location in the rough on the left side of the fairway at the bottom of the slope. The green here feels too large to fit the inevitable short approach. It's not horrible by any stretch, but more of a filler between Calamity and the finish. RCD 10-8.
#16s: RCD's sixteenth is the drivable par four on the course, and unfortunately is a bit awkward at 260 yards from the visitor tees. From there, the shot is almost like a long par three, but from the fairway, the green is very small and sloped, and surrounded by drop-offs. A fun hole that fulfills the one type of hole lacking to this point. At Portrush, the par four sixteenth is the first flat hole, and the approach is the star shot. The hole narrows due to bordering whin-covered mounds that obscure much of the green. RCD 9-8.
#17s: The much-reviled #17 at RCD is a long par four down to the pond (which has been in evidence since the very early 1900s b.t.w.), then rising to the large undulating green. Not a stunner, but the pond is really not in play for most, and the green has its wide bowl shape. At Portrush, the par five seventeenth is focused on the "Big Bertha" bunker off to the right of the fairway. Mounds to the left protect the eighteenth green, and also hide the left half of the fairway, pushing shots toward BB. The second and third shots are probably the least interesting on the course, as they are dead flat, and the green is an extension of the fairway. Portrush 9-8.
#18s: RCD's 18th is a bit of a slog, but not surprising as both courses finish on the flattest parts of their respective land. The par five at RCD is long and straight, slowly rising and splitting almost two dozen bunkers on the way. The green is interesting however, as it is pushed up attractively about 4-5 from its surroundings. The finisher at Portrush is long, a converted par five that plays 450 yards today. The hole is dead flat, has 8-10 flanking bunkers, and the green is large and flat as well. Most American courses save the best for last, but many Irish courses keep the best land for the middle and the meat of the match. I like the Irish version better. RCD 9-8.
Final Score: RCD wins 164-159.
Have I proven anything? My score is near identical to Ed's (though I gave more 8s), and seems to reflect the general prevailing opinion.
I tried not to be biased by my sunny round at RP, and my overcast 14 holes at RCD, before the 50 mph soak-you-to-the-bone maelstrom we played into on holes 15-18. I would love another crack at both!