The Irish Open at RCD

[JESII]

Brent,

I played in two British Amateurs; first at Royal St Georges and the second at Royal County Down. My medal score at RCD was 17 strokes lower than at RSG...

[JMEvensky]

Brent,

I played in two British Amateurs; first at Royal St Georges and the second at Royal County Down. My medal score at RCD was 17 strokes lower than at RSG...

You played RCD in 1999?

[JESII]

Yes

[JMEvensky]

Yes

I was there the week after--that's the hardest golf course I've ever played. I can't imagine what RSG must be like for the same person to shoot 17  strokes higher for 36 holes.

[JESII]

That was an 18 hole comparison Jeff...just RCD versus RSG...

[JMEvensky]

That was an 18 hole comparison Jeff...just RCD versus RSG...

Gotcha. Did you make match play at RCD?

[Brent Hutto]

Well thanks guys. That's the reason I asked. It's hard to tell from TV coverage exactly how narrow the playing corridors effectively are. You can never quite tell how far back or what length telephoto lens the camera is using. Some of the views of RCD gave me the impression of one of RSG's twisty-turny holes stretched out to double length and half the width. 

I guess it's really in the TV folks' interest to choose angles and views that accentuate the other-worldliness and difficulty of a course where guys are shooting 80!

[Sean_A]

After watching a fair bit of the Irish Open I've got to say as much as I'd love to visit and see that course, I felt no wish whatsoever to tee it up there. Even with a 10-15mph breeze instead of the huge winds this past week I can't imagine finishing a round there without losing golf ball after golf ball. I doubt I could make a single par on a Par 4 or Par 5 from the visitor tees. Just looks brutally hard.

That said, my favorite course I've played is Royal St. Georges (aside from Cypress Point which is a whole 'nother category). To me it's a pretty tough course but after a couple rounds I can navigate it from the visitor tees with only an occasional errant shot into the deep, lost-ball gunch. Never played it in a 20mph wind or from the back tees but still, it seems "manageable".

To those who have played both RSG and RCD, how would you rate their difficulty for a) a scratch golfer and b) a bogey golfer? Are the TV views misleading or is Royal County Down seriously bad news for anyone who doesn't flight their ball correctly and isn't able to consistently hit very narrow targets off the tee?

Brent

I will take the opposite side as those above.  The course features several blind drives which in no way or form could be called generous in terms of width.  It is very easy to lose balls in this gunge and not really have a clue as to where to look.  I watched guys do it.  Everything depends on when you visit...fall or spring is good...high summer is asking for trouble.  The issue isn't quite the same as at Portrush with high hay and drives playing with cross winds, but RCD is a demanding driving course.  Its still worth playing though.

Ciao

[Carl Johnson]

After watching a fair bit of the Irish Open I've got to say as much as I'd love to visit and see that course, I felt no wish whatsoever to tee it up there. . . . Just looks brutally hard. . . .

Brent, here's my take on RCD.  Eight of us, mostly from my club in Charlotte, played it about three years ago.  I'm boggy plus, six were boggy or so minus, and one guy, a long hitting top-ranked N.C. senior, about a 3 then.  Two days before the latter guy was one over at Royal Portrush, playing one back from the visitor tees.  At RCD they let him play way back, out of sight, but I can't tell you exactly which tees.  He did not break 90.  For me, even from the front tees, the course was not playable.  Regarding the other guys, they've gone back to Northern Ireland, and in spite of a new guy to the group wanting to play RCD, the rest of them refused.  It is a beautiful course and no doubt a great course . . .  for the very expertly skilled player.  P.S., in contrast to the caddies we had at Royal Portrush, the one caddie in our group at RCD was great.

[Martin Toal]

One of the Sky TV commentators (announcers in Americanish) said that he thought it was a wonderful course but much more pleasurable in matchplay than with a card and pencil. 

There is no doubt it is a bloody hard course, but it usually stays fair and playable. OK, you might be hitting a lot of club, but that's links golf for you. The trick at RCD is to accept the altered reality of the prevailing conditions. That par 3 of 140 yards might be a punchy 4 iron, your 3 wood off the tee might run into that gorse over 300 yards away. None of the blind drives are so long that you can't make them even into the wind.

Playing off the medal tees at about 6500 yards is usually enough for most players, even good ones.