Royal Portrush – Dunluce Course

It may be a cliché, but it is genuinely difficult to select the best holes at Portrush. On balance though, the best on the front nine are probably the 5th and 7th holes. Aptly named “White Rocks” due to the grand view from the tee, however good your drive at the par 4, 5th hole, your approach to the green is fraught with danger and you may be better following the safer dogleg approach. Rated the most difficult on the course and measuring 431 yards from the back tees, the 7th is one of the finest par 4s anywhere. Your drive must be long and accurate. Your approach to a sharply sloping green must be struck with anything from a wood to a medium iron.

The par 3, 14th and par 5, 17th are among the holes on the homeward stretch that will linger longest in the memory. Worryingly but justifiably called “Calamity Corner,” the 12th hole measures over 200 yards and requires a long carry over a deep ravine in order to reach the green. Miscalculate here and you’re playing three from the tee. The 17th is a long par 5 of almost 550 yards and provides ample opportunity for mistakes. From the tee, you are faced with a deep bunker cut out of the hill, while your second shot, which is played to a narrowing fairway, must be accurate to avoid bunkers to the left and right.