[Brian_Gracely]

I wish I had taken more pictures from the back nine, but the course was doing a number on me and I needed to try and concentrate a little harder.

The 10th is a reachable Par 5, if you can navigate around the bunkers on the right.  Once again, a great use of actual fairway bunkers to narrow the landing area for longer hitters:


I finally hit one straight:



The 11th is a short, downhill Par 3 that doesn't appear that difficult from the tee, but falls off in all directions on the green and has several deep bunkers.  The direction post in the background is for #15 (which is visible in the picture), which is a downhill Par 4 that is blind off the tee.


The 14th (Calamity) is one of the great Par3s in the world and aptly named.  It also the site of one of my all-time great "You know you're screwed when.." as I pushed it right and took about 4 to get off the side of the dune.  Really gotta work on that posture.


The 17th and 18th are somewhat let-down holes after the previous 16, although 18 is no pushover.  I wanted to show the sheer size of the enormous bunker to the right of the fairway.  It's probably 60-80 feet tall.  The only play is backwards or directly sideways.  Believe it or not, the sun actually started shinning at 8pm, so my brother decided it was time to even out that farmer's tan.  The green to the right is from the Valley course.  



I wish I had pictures of #6, #13 and #16 put we had to squeeze in some golf between all the pictures.  

[David_Tepper]

Brian-

Thanks for the Portrush pictures. They brough back memories on my round there in 1994. Did you get a chance to play the #2 course at Portrush? It is not in the same class as the Dunluce, but it is still quite good. It actually has more holes closer to the ocean than the Dunluce.

DT

[Brian_Gracely]

David_T,

Unfortunately we didn't know what we were doing on that trip and we used a travel agent.  We were lucky to play the Dunluce course twice, but I would have loved to play the Valley course or Ballyliffin for variety.  

One curious thing I noticed today was that the Valley course is not longer listed on the RPGC website.  Is it still owned by the club?

[Paul_Turner]

Those are new fairway bunkers on the 10th, I think?

11th is quite rare for Colt-slightly dropping.  Although I wouldn't call it a "drop shot" par 3.

I love the 12th green complex.  The bunker on the left is like a black hole.

[Brian_Gracely]

P_Turner,

I added a picture of that left-hand bunker on #12 to this thread, http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=8965

[Brian_Gracely]

Those are new fairway bunkers on the 10th, I think?

11th is quite rare for Colt-slightly dropping.  Although I wouldn't call it a "drop shot" par 3.

These pictures were taken in the fall of 2001, so I'm not sure when the bunkers on #10 were built.  

I don't think I called #11 a "drop-shot" hole, although it does feel like you're looking almost straight down at the green.

[TEPaul]

Some think the last two hole of Port Rush are sort of a letdown. Not me. The only sort of blah spot on those two last holes to me is the second half of #17. The drive on #17 ironically is one of the more unusual and character filled anywhere, in my opinion. Just looking at that bunker right is unforgettable. And although #18 is a real flatland hole it plays really well---the bunkering right on the tee shot, the length and the last half is really good, in my opinion.

[David_Tepper]

Brian-

You are right. There is no reference to the Valley Course on the RPGC official website. It is referred to (green fee listed) at: www.royalportrush.com

My 1999 edition of "1000 Best Courses In Britain and Ireland"
shows both courses having the same Secretary and Professional.

As I recall, the Valley Course did have a separate clubhouse with its own parking lot and the 1st tee of the Valley Course was adjacent to that clubhouse rather than the RPGC clubhouse alongside the Dunluce Course. The 1st tees of the 2 courses at 1/4 to 1/2 mile apart.

It is possible that both courses are adminstered by the same staff but the Valley Course has a separate membership.

Can anyone out there explain this situation?

DT    

[hp@hc]

I can clarify the situation - both the Valley and Dunluce are indeed operated by the same body - that is, the membership of Royal Portrush, spearheaded by the Secretary Manager Wilma Erskine.

The Valley has it's own clubhouse and membership, and is called Rathmore - these members can play the valley course, but not the Dunluce.  If you are a member at Royal Portrush, you can play either course.

Essentially, the lady members of RPGC play much of their golf on the Valley course, and the men play all events on the Dunluce links.  In fact, if you stand on #18 tee of the Dunluce, you are standing next to the Ladies clubhouse (yes, they have their OWN clubhouse).  On the other side of that is Rathmore clubhouse, which is the working mans Royal Portrush, for want of a better term of explanation.

Hope this clears it up.  Oh, and by the way, Darren Clarke loves to play as much of his golf on the Valley as he does on the Dunluce when he is in town, and Graham McDowell, the new rising star on the Euro Tour played ALL his golf at Rathmore - his Dad is a schoolteacher, and could not afford the lofty fees at RPGC.!

[Brian_Gracely]

Some think the last two hole of Port Rush are sort of a letdown. Not me. The only sort of blah spot on those two last holes to me is the second half of #17. The drive on #17 ironically is one of the more unusual and character filled anywhere, in my opinion. Just looking at that bunker right is unforgettable. And although #18 is a real flatland hole it plays really well---the bunkering right on the tee shot, the length and the last half is really good, in my opinion.

By letdown, I only implied that you've spent the previous 3-3.5hrs battling winds and dunes and rough, and then come out and you're in this flat part of the grounds.  It almost lulls you into a false sense of security as the drive on #17 is formidable and #18 is as difficult a hole as there is on the course.  

Is the new tee on #17 going to be elevated or at the same level as the current tee?  The challenge I had with that shot is that the left-hand dune off the tee obscures how wide the fairway is on that side.  If it's above that dune, the shot becomes less visually intimidating.    

[David_Tepper]

hp@hc-

Thanks for clearing up the Valley/Dunluce courses situation. I knew there was one clubhouse at the Valley Course. I did not know there were two clubhouses!

DT
 

[hp@hc]

Brian

The new tee at #17 is already in place, and is about 1 foot higher than the old tips, thus the fairway is still not totally visible from the tee.  I think this is part of what I like about it - the bank, or dune as you call it, is almost pinching you toward Big Bertha, and you have to overcome that visual intimidation, and trust that there is some room out left.

Good hole, especially in match-play, where you can make 4 or 7 very easily with all those fairway bunkers dotted down both sides.

[Paul_Turner]

Anyone got pics of The Valley course?  I've only seen a couple;  the best one being in the first few pages of The Confidential Guide...is that the par 5 10th?  It looks to be a great hole but I haven't played the course.

Would love to see some pics of the Valley.  If you can't post them, then I can...please email to me at: pbtjab@aol.com

Thanks!

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