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Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Hole-by-hole guide to The Open 2025: From Giant's Grave and Calamity Corner to Purgatory
For the first time in five years, the biggest names in Golf are heading to Royal Portrush in search of the famous Claret Jug For the first time in five years, the biggest names in Golf are heading to Royal Portrush in search of the famous Claret Jug. It is the final major of the year and there are a number of intriguing plot lines at play. But one thing guaranteed to test each and every golfer that steps out on the course this week is the iconic course itself. Hosting the Open Championship for just the third time, the course will measure 7,381 yards – only 37 yards longer than when Shane Lowry lifted the Claret Jug in 2019. Here is everything you need to know in our hole-by-hole guide. Hole 1: Hughie's – Par 4 – 420 yards The opener delivers an immediate challenge. A tee shot must avoid bunkers right (262 yards) and left (291 yards), while a mid to short iron follows to an uphill green with a false front, threatening to spin balls back down. As openers go, this is as challenging as it gets. Hole 2: Giant's Grave – Par 5 – 575 yards 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell calls it a 'definite birdie opportunity'—if you can steer clear of four bunkers, rough left, and out-of-bounds right from the tee. Simple? Hardly. Hole 3: Islay – Par 3 – 176 yards Wind complicates this elevated par-3. An accurate shot is crucial. Miss the green, and a tough up-and-down awaits. Hole 4: Fred Daly's – Par 4 – 502 yards Honouring Portrush hero Fred Daly, this stroke-index one hole demands precision. Bunkers guard the left, and OB lurks right. A slightly uphill approach leads to a tricky green—par here is an achievement. Hole 5: White Rocks – Par 4 – 372 yards Reachable for big hitters with a 3-wood, but beware two new bunkers and the out-of-bounds behind the green—just a few yards too far and your ball may tumble down the beach below. A photogenic, risk-reward gem. Hole 6: Harry Colt's – Par 3 – 193 yards Named after the course's legendary designer, this bunkerless hole is deceptive. Wind is a factor from its seaside tee. Balls short of the false front will roll off, and recovery isn't easy. Hole 7: Curran Point – Par 5 – 607 yards One of two new holes for The 2019 Open, Curran Point features a towering bunker (a nod to the old 'Big Nelly') and narrows toward an undulating green. The elevated tee makes wind a factor; aggressive play can yield rewards. Hole 8: Dunluce – Par 4 – 434 yards The second new hole doglegs left. Playing safely right avoids bunkers, but the daring can attack left. The green is guarded by humps on the right and a punishing runoff to the left. Hole 9: Tavern – Par 4 – 432 yards Formerly the old seventh and ranked the hardest at the 2012 Irish Open, this dogleg plays uphill to a green that slopes back-to-front and falls away right. A bunker at 250 yards challenges the tee shot. Hole 10: Himalayas – Par 4 – 450 yards No bunkers here, but a long, accurate drive left—at least 290 yards—is vital. A new tee adds nearly 100 yards, and the right side is full of trouble. Hole 11: PG Stevenson's – Par 4 – 475 yards A par-5 for members, it starts tight. Players must negotiate the corner at 260 yards, then face a valley before the green. Miss the putting surface's front and the ball rolls back. Getting down in four is a serious task. Hole 12: Dhu Varren – Par 5 – 532 yards The back nine's only par-5 features the course's only water—a stream right of the green. With bunkers right off the tee and thick rough left, the fairway is narrow, while the convex green creates tricky run-offs. Hole 13: Feather Bed – Par 3 – 199 yards Five bunkers protect a green sloping front-right to back-left, making a front-left pin hard to approach. The narrowing fairway and risk of roll-offs make par a strong score. Hole 14: Causeway – Par 4 – 466 yards Now over 80 yards longer thanks to a new tee, players must avoid a bunker just short of 330 yards. Failure to reach it leaves a blind shot to a right-to-left green, guarded by a deep front-left bunker. Hole 15: Skerries – Par 4 – 429 yards A leftward dogleg named for nearby islands, Skerries offers a generous fairway, though the left side is preferred. Bunkers right and a false front on the green demand precision. Hole 16: Calamity Corner – Par 3 – 236 yards Arguably the most famous hole here. A deep chasm waits right, while Bobby Locke's Hollow offers a safe miss short-left. The elevated green is wind-exposed and has a false front that repels timid shots. Will be essential viewing on Sunday. Hole 17: Purgatory – Par 4 – 409 yards Pull the drive left and you'll find a new bunker or gorse but a steep slope past the 300-yard mark could carry balls all the way down near the green. Its undulating surface and tight entrance punish careless approaches. Hole 18: Babington's – Par 4 – 474 yards Shane Lowry's crowning glory. From an elevated tee, players must aim just left of centre on a fairway that arcs right. A front-right bunker guards the green, while a dramatic run-off left and OB add risk. A fitting finale.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
There's nothing casual about how The Open arrives at any venue but Portrush is better prepared than most
I would pay good money to see how my late granny, a former Portrush bed and breakfast landlady, would react to the idea of paying up to £50,000 (€58,000) to stay for a week in her beloved Co Antrim seaside town. When the Open first casually rolled into Portrush in 1951, many of the top players found lodgings in boarding houses around the town. More than seven decades later the difference in the price of accommodation, prize money, spectator numbers and media coverage is inconceivable. In 1951, the total purse amounted to £1,700 (€1,970) with the winner receiving £300 (€350). Royal Portrush Golf club proudly announced the installation of 16 new telephones for the use of the press covering the event and the post office installed a mobile facility so that, over the three days of the tournament, the 7,000 spectators could send postcards from the course. They say home favourite, 1947 Open champion Fred Daly, slung his clubs over his shoulder and strolled each day from the family home on Causeway Street the short distance to the first tee on the Dunluce course. READ MORE As a 16-year-old, my father Maurice, now 89, gladly accepted a lift with a commercial traveller who was a guest in his mother's B&B in one of the few cars to be seen in the town in the early 1950s. They drove nonchalantly straight through the entrance gates and had their pick of parking spaces. Many years later, he confessed that on another day he and his friends sneaked in under the ropes without a ticket between them. Anne Marie and her father Maurice McAleese at Royal Portrush This year, as in 2019 when the Open last came to Portrush, we are taking no chances, and, much to his amusement, our tickets have been secured via the QR code on the app on my phone. I suspect that he also thinks that, as one of the few people who will have been to all three Opens held in Portrush, he shouldn't really need a ticket at all. In his debut professional tournament that summer of 1951 in Portrush, the late, great Peter Alliss recalled dancing at Barry's ballroom and swaying, not only to the music, but to the gentle swells of the Atlantic Ocean, merely a hop, skip and a twirl away. In 1951, Portrush was a bustling, fashionable holiday destination, which could already boast a long and successful relationship with the game of golf. More than five decades earlier, on a summer's evening in 1899, unsuspecting visitors to the popular resort would have noticed the centre of the town was unusually busy. Hundreds of people had gathered around the railway station to give a rapturous welcome to a teenage golfing sensation. As 17-year-old May Hezlett and her mother made their way towards the jubilant crowds, the sky above the resort's West Strand beach dazzled in a blaze of colour and the air was filled with the loud, crackling sound of fireworks, a celebration befitting the champion golfer that young Hezlett had, unassailably, just become. In back-to-back triumphs, she won the British Ladies Open Championship just two weeks after winning the Irish Ladies Open Championship. Both prestigious tournaments were played at the links course at Royal County Down. 'Miss May', as she was known, was the most accomplished of the four talented golfing Hezlett sisters. She was introduced to the game at the age of nine by her mother, also a skilled exponent of the relatively new sport. At just 11 years of age, she won her first competition using only a cleek, mashie and putter. Hezlett became the inaugural president of Royal Portrush Ladies in 1922, having been lady captain in 1905. She remained president until the Open was held for the first time at Royal Portrush in 1951. A portrait of her by artist Harry Douglas, commissioned by the club to celebrate her success, still hangs in the Portrush Ladies clubhouse. Seventeen-year-old May Hezlett caused a sensation in Portrush in 1899 when she arrived just won the British Ladies Open Championship and the Irish Ladies Open Championship back to back She died in the winter of 1978 at the age of 95. Little could she have known when she arrived on the platform of Portrush train station eight decades earlier that she would go on to carve her name in the annals of golfing history. As the Open returns for the third time to Royal Portrush, it's entirely fitting that the club recently unveiled an Ulster History Circle Blue Plaque in her honour, cementing her illustrious place in the history of the women's game. And how she would have relished the oldest and most prestigious golf tournament in the world returning to the scene of so many of her victories. She watched the Open when it was first played in Royal Portrush 74 years ago and, no doubt, in 2025 as in 2019, her spirit will be felt keenly by Royal Portrush Ladies watching proudly as the world's best golfers try to tame this mighty links. More than a century ago, behind many great golfing men, there was at least one even greater golfing woman. And so, it will be with a great sense of pride that I, along with my father, the three-time Portrush Open champion spectator, will find a place near the first tee on the first day of the 153rd Open on Thursday to cheer on the finest 21st century exponents of the game. As in 2019, there will be a collective hope among locals that a home-grown hero might just do it again. That smiling Shane Lowry, who has his own mural in Portrush now, might regain the claret jug and thrill the crowds as he did so magnificently six years ago on that rain-sodden Sunday when nothing could dampen his sprits or conquer his sheer talent. Rory McIlroy at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick this week during a pro-am before the Scottish Open. Photograph: Christian Petersen/Getty Or could it be written in the stars that his great friend Rory McIlroy will see his name carved in silver for a second time and banish the ghosts of the missed cut in 2019 ? Darren Clarke is also sure of a euphoric reception as he strides down Hughie's 420-yard first fairway. Always popular with the crowd, he became the oldest Open champion since 1967 when he won by three shots at Royal St George's at the age of 42 in 2011. Darren Clarke, who is from Co Tyrone, won the Open in 2011. Photograph: Phil Inglis/Getty Absent from the field will be pride of the parish Graeme McDowell. With a total of 11 tournament victories on the European Tour, and four on the PGA Tour, including one Major championship, the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach, the affection in which he is held in his hometown is undiminished . These days there's nothing casual about how the Open arrives at any venue. Preparations begin months in advance, the attendant infrastructure is vast and the impact on and off the course is felt long before and after the event. No matter the outcome, no matter the weather, for golfers and non-golfers, the fervent hope is that Open will once again triumph and for at least four days in July all amateurs will feel a bit triumphant as a result. Just don't take any chances on a car parking space. Anne Marie McAleese is a former BBC Radio Ulster presenter of Your Place And Mine and a keen golfer
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
The Open 2025: Hole-by-hole look at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — A hole-by-hole look at Royal Portrush Golf Club, site of the 153rd Open Championship to be played July 17-20. No. 1, 420 yards, par 4 (Hughies) Avoid two bunkers off the tee, and out-of-bounds to the left, then the real challenge begins. The second shot is to an elevated, two-tier green with a false front. The front two pin positions are the most demanding because any shot that comes up short will fall back off the front and run down the approach or into the cavernous bunkers. Advertisement No. 2, 575 yards, par 5 (Giant's Grave) Players will have to avoid three bunkers down the right side. A bunker on the left side also comes into play. A good tee shot allows the player to decide whether to lay up short of the cross bunkers or go for the contoured green. No. 3, 176 yards, par 3 (Islay) The first of the par 3s is one of the high points on the golf course, with a view over most of the links and out to the Scottish island of Islay. The green falls away on all sides and requires a very accurate tee shot to hold the putting surface. Anything that misses will be a difficult par save from all sides. Advertisement No. 4, 502 yards, par 4 (Fred Daly's) One of the signature holes is named after Portrush local Fred Daly, the 1947 champion golfer. The out-of-bounds runs all the way down the right. The tee shot needs to thread the left fairway bunkers and the out-of-bounds. The green is surrounded by sand hills, making it difficult to hit. The flag typically is partially hidden from view. No. 5, 372 yards, par 4 (White Rocks) The green teeters on the edge of the cliffs, providing a gorgeous backdrop. Two bunkers add some definition to the tee shot, but most players will take on the green. Out-of-bounds is just over the back of the green, and there is a ridge in the green that makes it challenging to hit. Players will be disappointed to walk away without making birdie. Advertisement No. 6, 193 yards, par 3 (Harry Colt's) With no bunkers around the green, this par 3 is defended by the natural undulations of its surroundings. The elevated green has a false front that will punish any shot that comes up short. No. 7, 607 yards, par 5 (Curran Point) This par 5 cuts through the dunes starting with a downhill tee shot. A replica of the 'Big Nellie' bunker is on the right, but the bunker on the left figures to be more in play. The second shot is uphill through a narrow approach to a well-contoured green. The wind strength and direction will determine how many players can reach in two shots. The Open Championship 2025: How to watch, TV times, featured groups and streams Advertisement Here's how to watch the men's final major of the season at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. No. 8, 434 yards, par 4 (Dunluce) This slight dogleg left begins with a tee shot over a ravine and tempts players to take off as much of the steep dune bank as they can. Players will need to avoid the bunkers down the right side to leave a short, simple shot to the green. Any approach short and left will find some difficult spots well below the elevated green. No. 9, 432 yards, par 4 (Tavern) This is typically the hardest hole for the members. The hole bends gently from right to left, and a bunker on the right will cause problems for players who want to keep driver in the bag. Two cross bunkers from the approach make the green appear closer than it is. The green is protected by a bank to the right, leaving a tough up-and-down. Advertisement No. 10, 450 yards, par 4 (Himalayas) A strong tee shot is required to get to the corner of the short dogleg to have a clear view of the green. There are no bunkers on this hole. The defense is dramatic contours in play on the tee shot and approach, and more contours on the long, narrow green. No. 11, 475 yards, par 4 (PG Stevenson's) Padraig Harrington once said this tee shot was the most difficult in golf. It starts with a narrow shot through the mounds on either side of the fairway. A good tee shot to the corner brings the putting surface into view. The green is perched among sand dunes above fairway level with a false front that will repel anything short. Advertisement No. 12, 532 yards, par 5 (Dhu Varren) A championship tee left of the 11th green adds 50 yards to the hole and allows it to be played as a par 5. The fairway slopes from the left, bringing bunkers on the right into play. The green can be reached in two, but it is elevated with a false front. No. 13, 196 yards, par 3 (Feather Bed) One of the most photogenic par 3s, this hole has a dramatic elevation change from tee to green. The putting surface slopes toward the back and is surrounded by five bunkers. The toughest pin position is to the front and the left. No. 14, 466 yards, par 4 (Causeway) The narrow tee shot should avoid the bunkers, including one down the left. The fairway slopes to the left, but the test is the second shot to an elevated green with a severe slope to the front and back, and a difficult bunker from which to get up-and-down on the left. Tom Watson of the United States Open Championship past winners: Full year-by-year look at champions and venues Advertisement Here are the players who have won The Open Championship and where they prevailed. No. 15, 429 yards, par 4 (Skerries) The tee shot is uphill to a wide fairway that slopes against the route of the hole. A fairway bunker to right will make players think twice before hitting drive, but laying too far back will leave the green out of view on the approach. The green is small and guarded by bunkers on the left and severe slope front and right. No. 16, 236 yards, par 3 (Calamity Corner) No bunkers are required for 'calamity' to strike. The tee shot is slightly uphill over an expansive ravine of rough. And a shot short and right is a tough par save from as much as 50 feet below the green. Bobby Locke decided to play to the left all four rounds in 1951, aiming to a hollow that now bears his name. He got up-and-down all four times. Advertisement No. 17, 409 yards, par 4 (Purgatory) This requires a good tee shot to find the slope and take on the green. The severe slope means players might be tempted to go for the green, but a bunker to the left might cause second thoughts. Playing safely to the top of the hill leaves a tricky, downhill pitch to a narrow greens protected by bunkers on the left and right. No. 18, 474 yards, par 4 (Babington's) The tee shot needs to be down the left portion of the fairway for the best view of the green on the second shot. The green sits slightly sideways with a drop-off to the left that will collect anything missing in that direction. Max Faulkner played a spectacular shot from against the out-of-bounds fence down the left when he won in 1951.
Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Times
How Ireland conquered the Open after decades in the wilderness
Amid the dreamy flow of drone shots drifting over a dozen of Ireland's most beautiful golf courses, the most striking scene from 'This Is Open Country', Ross Whitaker's gorgeous film broadcast this week on Sky charting the blossoming of an extraordinary relationship between Irish golfers and the Open, was how the landscape for Irish golfers looked before this generation reshaped everything. In the 18 years since Padraig Harrington's first Open title at Carnoustie in 2007, four Irish golfers have shared five Open championships between them; only the United States has a better strike rate in the same period. In 2007, 60 years had passed since Fred Daly's victory at Hoylake. The championships in-between were speckled with Irish golfers occasionally making the top 10. Between Daly's victory and Harrington only Christy O'Connor senior got that close, finishing second in 1965. The idea of winning? O'Connor aside, that was other people's business. All Harrington had as evidence that an Irish golfer could access that sort of success was the childhood memory of the trials and triumphs endured by O'Connor's nephew Christy Jnr around Royal St George's at the 1985 Open. O'Connor started that weekend shooting 64 in the first round to obliterate Henry Cotton's course record. That evening, as O'Connor detailed the glories of his round in the press tent, a voice piped up from the back of the room. 'Not a bad score for 17 holes, young man,' he said. 'Thank you so much Mr Cotton,' O'Connor replied. The rest of his weekend was a mix of everything. 'The second day, I had the best 76 I probably ever had in my life, in a hurricane,' he said in 2015. He was still in contention by Sunday and hit 17 greens in regulation but took 37 putts and slipped back to third. That was the best of it for decades. Ireland's relationship with the Open seemed tied forever to Harry Bradshaw finding his ball wedged in a broken bottle during his final round at the 1949 Open with the title within reach. That evening he recreated the whole scene for the photographers who missed the original snafu, a sporting calamity kindly re-enacted as an Irish joke. 'There was a certain attitude [that] maybe you couldn't win, coming from Ireland in that sense,' says Harrington in Whitaker's film. O'Connor getting close in 1985 was a beginning no one saw. Four years later O'Connor was the lowest ranked player by a distance at the Ryder Cup and left among the tournament's immortals, his two-iron into the 18th green setting up the putt that beat Fred Couples forever stitched into Ryder Cup showreels. Ronan Rafferty also won the European Tour's Order of Merit that year. Irish teams featuring Rafferty, Des Smyth, Eamonn Darcy, David Feherty and Philip Walton won two Dunhill Cups either side of 1989 when those team tournaments mattered. These were the pioneers setting out ahead of Darren Clarke and Harrington in particular, Harrington's first Open title as a self-made golfer eternally tinkering and reassembling his game for maximum effect eventually inspiring the ones with more natural magic in their fingertips. As all of them teased out their own stories in Whitaker's film, the impact of Harrington making that breakthrough becomes even more pronounced. In the five years that followed Harrington first won back-to-back Opens and a US PGA championship in 2008, followed by four more major wins shared between Rory McIlroy (2011 US Open and 2012 US PGA), Graeme McDowell (2010 US Open) and Clarke (2011 Open). That surge didn't merely lift the most incredibly talented ones, either. Since 2007, 17 Irish golfers have shared 85 tournament victories in Europe and America. In the 61 years before that, reaching back to Daly's victory at the 1946 Irish Open, Irish golfers had won 110 tour titles between them. Once the Irish golfers started winning, the values instilled by their upbringings on links courses with nothing easily earned on the courses or in life itself developed the shot-making imagination and resilience that opened up opportunities at various Open championships years later. 'You've got to be comfortable being uncomfortable,' said Clarke. If the golf courses bred character, so did their backgrounds. Nothing ever came easy, even for the greatest of them. McIlroy's father was a bar manager. Harrington's father was a Garda. Clarke's mother worked as a rep for a textile company and his father was an officer manager. McDowell's father was an accountant in Portrush where his son was reared on golf at Rathmore. 'The 'haves' played at Royal Portrush,' said McDowell in 2015. 'The 'have-nots' played at Rathmore. But the golf ball didn't know that.' Lowry's father Brendan was an All-Ireland football medal winner with Offaly who worked for the ESB. His son started out with a pencil-thin golf bag, carrying maybe a half-dozen clubs. 'I maybe didn't believe I was as good as I was when I was a kid,' says Lowry in Whitaker's film, 'which maybe made me go at it a lot harder than other people and want it a bit more.' That attitude eventually yielded historic success but the Open often put manners on them all over the last 17 years. The year after his second Open title in 2008 Harrington finished 65th and missed the next three cuts. When Harrington was winning in 2007, Clarke and McDowell were missing the cut. Before winning at Portrush in 2019 Lowry had missed the cut at the four previous Opens. Clarke and McIlroy both missed the cut that year at one of the most significant tournaments of their lives. 'I'd been dreaming of this tournament a long time,' McIlroy told Whitaker. 'All these different emotions that I had in my head for three or four years leading up. I just didn't expect on that first tee on Thursday how nervous I would be. I put that tee in the ground and my name was called. I had no idea how I was going to feel.' Even victory sometimes brought them to the depths. Before Harrington's nerveless dismissal of Sergio Garcia in the play-off that won the 2007 Open, he suffered the sight of two shots on dropping into the burns of Carnoustie on the 18th and his carefully collated lead disappearing beneath the water. 'That was the first time I've ever been on a golf course where I wanted to give up,' Harrington says. But he persevered. They all did. Available to watch on Sky Sports Golf and NOW
NBC Sports
4 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
The Open 2025: Hole-by-hole look at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland
Mike Tirico takes you through the front nine of Royal Portrush, 2025 site of The Open Championship, the final men's major of the golf season. PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — A hole-by-hole look at Royal Portrush Golf Club, site of the 153rd Open Championship to be played July 17-20. No. 1, 420 yards, par 4 (Hughies) Avoid two bunkers off the tee, and out-of-bounds to the left, then the real challenge begins. The second shot is to an elevated, two-tier green with a false front. The front two pin positions are the most demanding because any shot that comes up short will fall back off the front and run down the approach or into the cavernous bunkers. No. 2, 575 yards, par 5 (Giant's Grave) Players will have to avoid three bunkers down the right side. A bunker on the left side also comes into play. A good tee shot allows the player to decide whether to lay up short of the cross bunkers or go for the contoured green. No. 3, 176 yards, par 3 (Islay) The first of the par 3s is one of the high points on the golf course, with a view over most of the links and out to the Scottish island of Islay. The green falls away on all sides and requires a very accurate tee shot to hold the putting surface. Anything that misses will be a difficult par save from all sides. No. 4, 502 yards, par 4 (Fred Daly's) One of the signature holes is named after Portrush local Fred Daly, the 1947 champion golfer. The out-of-bounds runs all the way down the right. The tee shot needs to thread the left fairway bunkers and the out-of-bounds. The green is surrounded by sand hills, making it difficult to hit. The flag typically is partially hidden from view. No. 5, 372 yards, par 4 (White Rocks) The green teeters on the edge of the cliffs, providing a gorgeous backdrop. Two bunkers add some definition to the tee shot, but most players will take on the green. Out-of-bounds is just over the back of the green, and there is a ridge in the green that makes it challenging to hit. Players will be disappointed to walk away without making birdie. No. 6, 193 yards, par 3 (Harry Colt's) With no bunkers around the green, this par 3 is defended by the natural undulations of its surroundings. The elevated green has a false front that will punish any shot that comes up short. No. 7, 607 yards, par 5 (Curran Point) This par 5 cuts through the dunes starting with a downhill tee shot. A replica of the 'Big Nellie' bunker is on the right, but the bunker on the left figures to be more in play. The second shot is uphill through a narrow approach to a well-contoured green. The wind strength and direction will determine how many players can reach in two shots. Golf Channel Staff, No. 8, 434 yards, par 4 (Dunluce) This slight dogleg left begins with a tee shot over a ravine and tempts players to take off as much of the steep dune bank as they can. Players will need to avoid the bunkers down the right side to leave a short, simple shot to the green. Any approach short and left will find some difficult spots well below the elevated green. No. 9, 432 yards, par 4 (Tavern) This is typically the hardest hole for the members. The hole bends gently from right to left, and a bunker on the right will cause problems for players who want to keep driver in the bag. Two cross bunkers from the approach make the green appear closer than it is. The green is protected by a bank to the right, leaving a tough up-and-down. No. 10, 450 yards, par 4 (Himalayas) A strong tee shot is required to get to the corner of the short dogleg to have a clear view of the green. There are no bunkers on this hole. The defense is dramatic contours in play on the tee shot and approach, and more contours on the long, narrow green. No. 11, 475 yards, par 4 (PG Stevenson's) Padraig Harrington once said this tee shot was the most difficult in golf. It starts with a narrow shot through the mounds on either side of the fairway. A good tee shot to the corner brings the putting surface into view. The green is perched among sand dunes above fairway level with a false front that will repel anything short. No. 12, 532 yards, par 5 (Dhu Varren) A championship tee left of the 11th green adds 50 yards to the hole and allows it to be played as a par 5. The fairway slopes from the left, bringing bunkers on the right into play. The green can be reached in two, but it is elevated with a false front. No. 13, 196 yards, par 3 (Feather Bed) One of the most photogenic par 3s, this hole has a dramatic elevation change from tee to green. The putting surface slopes toward the back and is surrounded by five bunkers. The toughest pin position is to the front and the left. No. 14, 466 yards, par 4 (Causeway) The narrow tee shot should avoid the bunkers, including one down the left. The fairway slopes to the left, but the test is the second shot to an elevated green with a severe slope to the front and back, and a difficult bunker from which to get up-and-down on the left. No. 15, 429 yards, par 4 (Skerries) The tee shot is uphill to a wide fairway that slopes against the route of the hole. A fairway bunker to right will make players think twice before hitting drive, but laying too far back will leave the green out of view on the approach. The green is small and guarded by bunkers on the left and severe slope front and right. No. 16, 236 yards, par 3 (Calamity Corner) No bunkers are required for 'calamity' to strike. The tee shot is slightly uphill over an expansive ravine of rough. And a shot short and right is a tough par save from as much as 50 feet below the green. Bobby Locke decided to play to the left all four rounds in 1951, aiming to a hollow that now bears his name. He got up-and-down all four times. No. 17, 409 yards, par 4 (Purgatory) This requires a good tee shot to find the slope and take on the green. The severe slope means players might be tempted to go for the green, but a bunker to the left might cause second thoughts. Playing safely to the top of the hill leaves a tricky, downhill pitch to a narrow greens protected by bunkers on the left and right. No. 18, 474 yards, par 4 (Babington's) The tee shot needs to be down the left portion of the fairway for the best view of the green on the second shot. The green sits slightly sideways with a drop-off to the left that will collect anything missing in that direction. Max Faulkner played a spectacular shot from against the out-of-bounds fence down the left when he won in 1951. Mike Tirico looks at the back nine of Royal Portrush, which features iconic holes such as Calamity Corner that will add to the drama of The Open Championship.
