The Irish Open at RCD

[Josh Stevens]

I think critics of those holes may want instead to cast their gaze at Pebble Beach.

[BHoover]

I wonder what Finchem is thinking at the moment, trying to run some event in Texas up against the majesty of RCD.

First time in a while the course has overshadowed the players - makes a nice change

Also a nice change to see scruffy little sandpits rather than those neat as a pin revetted bunkers.  Adds enormously to the visual appeal.

Completely agree about the appearance of the bunkers. I admit that I like the revetted look, but the scruffy, dare I say, natural look presented by the bunkers at RCD is much more pleasing to my eye.

Also, the blend of colors is simply spectacular--the different shades of greens, browns, blue, etc. in the course and the dunes and the sky are just awesome.

[Sam Krume]

What a golf course..have played it a number of times and each time fall in love with it a but more. Quite a few holes don't quite get the attention they deserve, like #6 & 8. Just tremendous golf

[Colin Shellard]

Played it five years ago on a trip to NI (was also my unofficial stag do) RCD is quite simply the best course I have ever played, and we had it in quite benign conditions. The course layout, condition and the stunning view make it my number one.

Would return in a heartbeat.

[mike_beene]

It is sad that the PGA tour pits the Nelson against such a great event. Despite years of drawing huge crowds ( 50 thousand on weekdays 70 thousand weekends) the tour treats it like a step child. Hopefully the new course in 2017 will bring new treatment.It is no RCD, but will be in my view one of the best tour courses when it is done.

[Adam Lawrence]

It is sad that the PGA tour pits the Nelson against such a great event. Despite years of drawing huge crowds ( 50 thousand on weekdays 70 thousand weekends) the tour treats it like a step child. Hopefully the new course in 2017 will bring new treatment.It is no RCD, but will be in my view one of the best tour courses when it is done.

The problem with the Irish Open is schizophrenia. One year it'll be at RCD, Portmarnock or Co Louth, next year it'll be back at Druid's Glen or the K Club...

[Jeff_Lewis]

Come on guys.   Be happy for a moment.  You turn on your HDTV on a Sunday morning.   The sun is shining, puffy clouds are wafting across the sky and the wind is blowing 30mph.  And you are watching ROYAL COUNTY DOWN.   

[Chris_Hufnagel]

Come on guys.   Be happy for a moment.  You turn on your HDTV on a Sunday morning.   The sun is shining, puffy clouds are wafting across the sky and the wind is blowing 30mph.  And you are watching ROYAL COUNTY DOWN.   

Seriously, +1...

[Bill Brightly]

Come on guys.   Be happy for a moment.  You turn on your HDTV on a Sunday morning.   The sun is shining, puffy clouds are wafting across the sky and the wind is blowing 30mph.  And you are watching ROYAL COUNTY DOWN.   

+2

RCD is AWESOME and I bailed on playing today so I could watch it on my big screen HDTV.

[Benjamin Litman]

+3

I love how, on genuine links, sunny days are almost always the windiest. And how the windiest days make identifying truly great shots so much easier.

[Brent Hutto]

Half the guys I played with yesterday did not even know the Irish open was being played.

[Brent Carlson]

Sleeting and high wind.  It's fun to watch the pros in challenging conditions.  The course looks great as always.

[BHoover]

Come on guys.   Be happy for a moment.  You turn on your HDTV on a Sunday morning.   The sun is shining, puffy clouds are wafting across the sky and the wind is blowing 30mph.  And you are watching ROYAL COUNTY DOWN.  

Seriously, +1...

Reminds of the line from Vacation -- "You know what your problem is, Ellen? You wouldn't know a good time if it jumped up and bit you!".

I overslept this morning and missed my tee time, but I'm really enjoying watching the Irish Open and seeing the views of RCD. If there's a better course in the world, considering the shotmaking demands, the routing and the setting, I'm not sure what it would be. And I say that without having been there.

I'm also wondering why Golf Channel's European Tour coverage is generally better than its PGA Tour coverage--there seems to be much more golf-focus than at US events.

[Chris_Hufnagel]

Come on guys.   Be happy for a moment.  You turn on your HDTV on a Sunday morning.   The sun is shining, puffy clouds are wafting across the sky and the wind is blowing 30mph.  And you are watching ROYAL COUNTY DOWN.  

Seriously, +1...

I overslept this morning and missed my tee time, but I'm really enjoying watching the Irish Open and seeing the views of RCD. If there's a better course in the world, considering the shotmaking demands, the routing and the setting, I'm not sure what it would be. And I say that without having been there.

I will say this, I am off to Ireland in August and playing 36 at RCD one of the ten days we are there.  I couldn't be more excited - but now after watching the tournament - playing RCD with only my hickories feels a bit more daunting than I originally anticipated.  I believe the forward tees are around 6,200 yards, but I am still intimidated.  I don't know exactly how many forced carries to expect, but anticipate that to be one of the larger challenges playing with my Stewarts, that and extracting my ball from the occasional bunker I may find along the way with my thin-soled niblick...

[Tony_Muldoon]

Half the guys I played with yesterday did not even know the Irish open was being played.

Prety similar here. Just more than half knew that Rory missed another cut...somewhere.

[David Davis]

Best Irish Open I've ever seen by a mile! What a struggle the last day and some pretty solid play all things considered when the winds were up to 50 mph at times.

Kjeldsen did a great job of using the wind, eliminating the spin on his shots and swinging at about 70% most of the time. How awesome would it be if Chamber's Bay had the exact same conditioning?

Then we would really hear a lot of complaining from the PGA Tour guys but it would sure be fun golf to watch.

[Brent Carlson]

Best Irish Open I've ever seen by a mile! What a struggle the last day and some pretty solid play all things considered when the winds were up to 50 mph at times.

Kjeldsen did a great job of using the wind, eliminating the spin on his shots and swinging at about 70% most of the time. How awesome would it be if Chamber's Bay had the exact same conditioning?

Then we would really hear a lot of complaining from the PGA Tour guys but it would sure be fun golf to watch.

Chambers will be as firm as Mike Davis wants.  Based on experience however I do not anticipate strong winds.  I am hoping for some wind to make it intersting.

[jeffwarne]

It is sad that the PGA tour pits the Nelson against such a great event. Despite years of drawing huge crowds ( 50 thousand on weekdays 70 thousand weekends) the tour treats it like a step child. Hopefully the new course in 2017 will bring new treatment.It is no RCD, but will be in my view one of the best tour courses when it is done.

The problem with the Irish Open is schizophrenia. One year it'll be at RCD, Portmarnock or Co Louth, next year it'll be back at Druid's Glen or the K Club...

Exactly what the PGA of America is slowly doing to the  PGA Championship.

[Ed Tilley]

I was in Rome over the last few days. The only downside to this trip was that I missed almost all of the coverage of my favourite course. Got back in time to see the last hole and the playoff but have highlights recorded so will watch in due course. What I saw looked fantastic.

Big well done to fellow Frilford Heath member Eddie Pepperell who is now up into the world top 100 for the first time. I don't know him personally but I do know that the money he receives from Frilford to "represent" them on the tour he donates back to the club to promote the junior programme of which he himself was a beneficiary - nice touch. I do know his caddie - a PGA pro and friend of my brother. I actually played golf with him at RCD on my brother's stag do a few years back - I like to think we showed him where not to hit it!

[Brent Hutto]

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?

[David_Tepper]

Brent -

I played RCD 30+ years ago, back in the persimmon days. There are 8 blind drives where all you can do is aim at a barber pole on top of a sand dune ridge. Even though I did not break 90 that day, I remain very proud of the fact that I got around the course without losing a ball.

DT

[Ed Tilley]

Brent,

I play off 11 and I'm wild as can be. Last time I played RCD I made 3 birdies - as well as a few "others". There are plenty of approachable holes on the course if you hit reasonable shots. 1 and, particularly, 12 are short par 5s. 16 is 300 yards, 2 and 6 are shortish par 4s. 7 is 125 yards. I thought Portrush was way more ball gobbling than RCD. If you can get round RSG then you can get round RCD.

Ed

[Ed Tilley]

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,33952.0.html

The above thread has pictures of RCD (and Portrush). Tough, yes, but does this look unplayable to you?

[jeffwarne]

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 would be a grave mistake.
Of course you'd get it around there.
and you'd love it.

Portrush on the other hand has certainly lost a LOT of its charm for the reasons you cite above

[David Davis]

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've played them both recently and both are awesome but totally completely different. I think RCD from the visitors tees is easier even in the wind. Just my opinion I guess. I think you'd love it but you may need to play with either a caddy or a member who knows the course well. This partially due to all the blind shots.

Note I could be biased by my passion for true links golf but RCD is not unreasonably hard. Sure there are some places where you can lose balls if you get wild in the wind.

It's my favorite links course on the planet!