Portrush vs Royal County Down

[archie_struthers]

 


A few of my friends sent me some pictures from Portrush yesterday. I played there about fifteen years ago on a fantastic trip. Played three rounds at Portrush and only one at County Down.  Both were incredible but might have given the nod to County Down at the time. For those who have seen them more than me can you say one is better. Obviously both are fantastic. When I turned to see the 5th at Portrush and saw the sea it literally took my breath away. Thought that if I took the right trail down the hill I might see Gene Kelly at the gates.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Portrush.

[Adam Lawrence]

I remember the first time I went to RCD, I thought it was the greatest course I had ever seen. Then the following day I went to Portrush...

[Rob Marshall]

Haven't played the new holes at Portrush but I like RCD better

[Niall C]

Is this one of those instances where your initial view changes after a few plays of each ?


Niall

[Thomas Dai]

Valley vrs Annesley?
Atb

[Tommy Williamsen]

RCD is my favorite course in the world. The place is just mesmerizing and the golf is so good it takes my breath away. Portrush is just plain excellent and is only a notch below.

[Tom_Doak]

County Down is going to win if you prioritize beauty, though both courses are beautiful.


Portrush is going to win if you prioritize fairness.  County Down in a good wind can beat up the best of players [witness Tiger Woods' first round there], and with all of the blind shots, they're going to call it unfair.  Portrush is more refined, particularly around the greens, but for good players it is "all out in front of you" and they are suckers for that.


Both of them used to be hobbled by a weak finishing stretch.  Portrush "solved" this by offing the last two holes and replacing them with two holes that don't quite fit in, but fall much earlier in the round, so that you tend to forget about that.


It's subjective and neither one is the "correct" answer.

[Niall C]

Tom

How has RCD dealt with their weak finish ?


Niall

[Ally Mcintosh]

There are a few links courses where I use “elegant” as the primary adjective. These are ones that have good undulation and land movement whilst feeling perfectly in scale across the 18 holes and not usually offering any WTF moments.


Portrush is one such course. For the sake of choosing one in each home nation, I’d also go with Dornoch, Sandwich and Porthcawl.


Portrush has a really top notch selection of holes. Green complexes are wonderful. The “elegant” hand of Colt is all over it. I think Tom does it a disservice by focusing on fairness / good players etc… There is just enough blindness, deception and variety. The new holes also sit in nicely but I tend to agree the detailing is not quite the same as the other 16.

[Sean_A]

A few of my friends sent me some pictures from Portrush yesterday. I played there about fifteen years ago on a fantastic trip. Played three rounds at Portrush and only one at County Down.  Both were incredible but might have given the nod to County Down at the time. For those who have seen them more than me can you say one is better. Obviously both are fantastic. When I turned to see the 5th at Portrush and saw the sea it literally took my breath away. Thought that if I took the right trail down the hill I might see Gene Kelly at the gates.

I can't say it's better than RCD, but I think Portrush is more interesting.

Ciao

[Brent Carlson]

Valley vrs Annesley?
Atb

RCD just barely over RP but Valley over Annesley

[Tom_Doak]

Tom

How has RCD dealt with their weak finish ?

Yes, I tend to forget they’ve tried to change that.


They turned 16 from a weird 270-yard all carry hole to a modern short par-4 w a difficult small green.  Unfortunately, the only time I played it, it was impossible to hit a shot that stayed on the green from 60-100 yards downwind.  So that’s a wash for me.


I’ve heard they removed the pond in the drive zone on 17, which takes away a negative, but still not a really good hole.


They’ve added a ton of pot bunkers at the 18th which make zero difference in my assessment; still a dullish par-5 far away from the sea.


That’s harsh I know, but I am only trying to explain why it’s a 9 and not a 10.


Never thought of Portrush as a possible 10, honestly.  Ally is right that I did it a disservice as it is a much more elegantly constructed course than most famous links; I was only trying to separate which parties favored one course over the other and Portrush’s quirk is mostly tamed to the tastes of low handicappers.  Also the past 20 years they have groomed narrow fairways and deep rough which made you paint within the lines, or pay a heavy toll. 

[Niall C]

Thanks Tom, as for being harsh, when you are trying to distinguish the very best then I think you have to be. Otherwise they would all be 10's.


Niall

[JMEvensky]

RCD is my favorite course in the world. The place is just mesmerizing and the golf is so good it takes my breath away. Portrush is just plain excellent and is only a notch below.

Mesmerizing is a great way to put it--I agree with you on both.

[archie_struthers]

 


Pretty much the way I thought it would go here. Two fantastic golf courses which on any day could arguably be the best. Royal County Down , save the finish has hole after hole which are architectural masterpieces. I thought Royal Portrush had a special harmony to the holes, perhaps a softer look and feel than RCD. 


Anyone who gets to play them should savor the day , just fabulous golf!

[JMEvensky]

Pretty much the way I thought it would go here. Two fantastic golf courses which on any day could arguably be the best. Royal County Down , save the finish has hole after hole which are architectural masterpieces. I thought Royal Portrush had a special harmony to the holes, perhaps a softer look and feel than RCD. 


Anyone who gets to play them should savor the day , just fabulous golf!

Which course do you think Sully prefers?

[Richard Choi]

Had a great fortune of playing both last year. I thought RCD was the best course I have ever played. Portrush was great as well, but I just liked the rhythm and beauty of RCD more.

[mike_malone]

It has been years since I played them but I have played each 5 times.  I preferred RCD because there were doglegs at RPR that were ill defined causing lost balls for tee shots hit straight. I want to get back someday because it seems that Portrush has improved.
  They are both world class.

[David Kelly]

Valley vrs Annesley?
Atb

RCD just barely over RP but Valley over Annesley

Valley in a walk over Annesley.  Annesley definitely has its charms but the Valley course is one of the most underrated courses in NI or the entire island for that matter.

[Brad Tufts]

I've been rolling this around in my head since Archie first posted...I played them both almost a month ago now, my third visit to RP, second to RCD.


I think I'm on team RCD emotionally...the views, the heather contrast, the vibe...but my critic side wants to say RP, which is a touch more fair and refined, and includes plenty of heroic shots.


Tough one, whichever way you go it's 9.5 to 9.

[Jim Hoak]

I love Portrush, but one of the greatest experiences of my golf life was playing 72 holes at RCD over 2 days. 
Standing on the 9th Tee is as good as golf gets--not just for the beauty of the Mountains of Mourne and the City, and the varied vegetation, but for the incredible golf hole with the fairway leading up to the green with dunes on both sides. 
The picture is burned into my brain.  Quite possibly it is the greatest hole in all of golf!

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

I've been rolling this around in my head since Archie first posted...I played them both almost a month ago now, my third visit to RP, second to RCD.


I think I'm on team RCD emotionally...the views, the heather contrast, the vibe...but my critic side wants to say RP, which is a touch more fair and refined, and includes plenty of heroic shots.


Tough one, whichever way you go it's 9.5 to 9.

Would agree 100% with this post. Recently played each for the first time, and loved them both. Would give the slightest of nods to RP. 

[Michael George]

Both are incredibly good and are in my top 10 golf courses that I have ever played.

In my group, it tended to fall on the quality of golfer.  Portrush was generally liked by the better golfers and RCD was generally liked for the lesser golfers.  Portrush requires good ball striking or else you are in heavy fescue.  RCD is wider off the tee, even though it should be due to the multiple blind tee shots. 

However, the "feel" or "hang" at both clubs isn't close - RCD is better.   The walk from the hotel to the course, the walk from the clubhouse to the putting green to the first tee, the clubhouse itself and especially the bar, the way the course feels tucked between mountain and sea --- aren't close.   RCD just seems more intimate.   

Personally, I preferred the golf course at Portrush.  I actually liked the new holes and feel like that are good compliments to the old holes and they certainly fix the average finish as old 17 and 18 weren't much to write home about.  Plus, I got a little tired of the several blind tee shots at RCD.   But I liked the entire experience better at RCD - in terms of full disclosure, the endless supply of Guinness at the upstairs bar overlooking the course is my kind of thing.

[Mark Smolens]

Cindy Crawford or Elle McPherson? Both are incredible. Hard to pick betwen the two...