This is how amateur golfers fare at Royal Portrush (and it’s not pretty)
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Royal Portrush is one of the toughest tests in golf – but how would an amateur hold up against its brutal layout? Thanks to data from Shot Scope, we now know just how punishing the Dunluce Links can be for everyday golfers.
One of the beautiful things about the game of golf is that amateurs can test themselves on the same courses the professionals play.
The stakes might not be the same, but most tournament venues can be played by the average golfer (if your pockets are deep enough).
But how would the weekend warrior fare faced with such a challenge?
Ahead of the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, the good people at Shot Scope provided insight into how an amateur would get on playing the iconic par-71 Dunluce Links.
The hardest 1st tee shot on the Open rota
There is no gentle handshake to kick things off at Portrush. In fact, the opposite is true. With internal out of bounds left and right, the par-4 opener is a proper baptism of fire.
Rory McIlroy fell foul in 2019, kicking off his first round by hitting it OB left and racking up a quadruple-bogey eight that put him immediately on the back foot.
As for amateurs, here are some scary stats…
- They are seven times more likely to hit it out of bounds off the 1st tee than at any other Open venue. Seven!
- Even if you avoid the OB, the rough is penal. The average score after hitting it in the left rough off the tee is 1.3 shots over par, while the right is only marginally kinder at 1.2 shots over par.
- It is so intimidating that one out of every 10 amateur golfers will have to hit three off the tee.
- All of which means that seven out of every 10 mere mortals make a bogey or worse.
Get through this hole unscathed with a par, then, and you have already stolen a march on most of your competitors.
What about Calamity Corner?
The signature hole at Royal Portrush is the devilish par-3 16th. At its full yardage of 236 yards, with brutal rough and a steep clifflike drop-off short and to the right of the green, it is aptly named ‘Calamity Corner’.
It wreaks havoc on the pros, so what chance do amateurs have? Even though it’s typically played at a more digestible 199 yards, it still causes chaos.
- The green is found just 21% of the time.
- Like the 1st hole, pars are at a premium, with 65% of people playing the hole making a bogey or worse.
- What about birdies? Only 4% of Shot Scope users have ever made a two on the hole.
While these numbers seem quite shocking, the best players in the world only recorded 24 birdies on this hole during the entire 2019 Open – so we mere mortals shouldn’t feel too bad about ourselves.
Is the 16th the hardest hole, then?
You might think all that would make the 16th the hardest hole on the course – but you’d be wrong. That distinction belongs to the 502-yard par-4 4th.
And here’s why…
- The 4th boasts the most lost balls off the tee of any on the course, where a strong coastal breeze pushes players towards the course boundary on the right-hand side. Those who stay in bounds but find the rough play the hole, on average, 1.7 shots over par.
- The green is tough to find and tricky when on it, meaning players average 2.25 putts per GIR.
- Only 1% of Shot Scope users have made a birdie, while pars are rare at 18%. The majority of the time, you are walking to the 5th tee having made a bogey (45%) or worse (36%).
- This all results in an average score of 5.33 (1.33 shots over par).
What is the easiest hole?
There are some holes that offer some respite. One of those is the 532-yard par-5 12th, which plays easier than any other hole.
- The average score on the 12th is 5.57, just 0.57 shots over par.
- Birdies are made 6% of the time, with par (48%) the most likely score. Bogey sixes are common at 36% but doubles or worse (9%) are less so.
What is the average score?
Working from the tee forward, here are the stats for amateurs fortunate enough to walk in the footsteps of some of the world’s best.
- Fairways in regulation: 44%
- Greens in regulation: 28%
- Up and down percentage: 25%
- Putts per GIR: 2.09
- Average score: 85.7
That’s almost 15 shots over par, which is pretty good considering the average handicap of Shot Scope users who have played Royal Portrush is 11.
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How do amateur golfers fare at Royal Portrush?
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The 12th hole at Royal Portrush is the easiest on the course for amateurs.
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The 4th hole at Royal Portrush plays the hardest on the course for amateurs.
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The 16th hole at Royal Portrush is known as 'Calamity Corner'.
