2025 Open Championship: Your definitive hole-by-hole Royal Portrush course guide

Head Pro Gary McNeil guides us round Royal Portrush - host of the 2025 Open Championship.

With a little help from Rory, Royal Portrush Head Pro Gary McNeill runs through the toughest tee shots, the trickiest greens, and the risk and reward shots that may define the Open Championship.

Royal Portrush promises to be a very different proposition for the 2025 Open Championship than it was in 2019, according to Gary McNeill – the club’s Head Pro since 1999 – who also played as a marker six years ago for Paul Waring, breaking 80 in both rounds.

A friend of Darren Clarke and former coach to Graeme McDowell, there are few, if any, better to guide us through the pitfalls of this iconic course and where it’s slightly vulnerable to attack.

So without further ado, here’s your 2025 Open Championship course guide.

Open Championship Course Guide: Royal Portrush

1st: HUGHIE’S | Par 4 | 420 yds | 2019 average score: 4.192 (6)

A really demanding opening tee shot, with internal out of bounds on both sides. Everyone remembers Rory McIlroy went OB on the left in 2019, but he very nearly repeated it with his second shot as well. It is easily done, but the clever play is to lay up short of the bunker on the left side and to take your chances with a mid-to-long iron. The approach plays uphill, over a false front, to a green which cambers a bit from the right, particularly up to those back pins. Expect to see most players favouring the right half, as there’s a horrible bunker on the left and some heavy rough beyond that.

2nd: GIANT’S GRAVE | Par 5 | 575 yds | 2019 average score: 4.675 (17)

This is an early birdie opportunity, and I think we all imagined it would yield more birdies than it did six years ago. It does get quite narrow off the tee, and the fairway condenses at about 320 yards, with out of bounds down the right and thick rough on the left. A lot of players kept the driver in the bag, which helped them to avoid the four bunkers in the driving zone. I’d imagine most players can get home hitting two 3-woods, but the line is straight over three cross bunkers about 60 yards short of the green. It’s one of those holes that offers up some nice vantage points, particularly around the green.

3rd: ISLAY | Par 3 | 176 yds | 2019 average score: 2.974 (14)

A straightforward par 3 until you miss the green. The bunker on the left corner shouldn’t trouble the players, but it’s one of those elevated greens that can be quite firm and run away from them. Middle of the green is ideal, regardless of where the pin is, as there are a number of nasty slopes and swales that can bring bogey into play.

4th: FRED DALY’S | Par 4 | 502 yds | 2019 average score: 4.201 (5)

Named after Fred Daly, who won The Open at Hoylake in 1947, this hole has been lengthened since 2019 and brings the two bunkers into play off the tee. There’s an out-of-bounds boundary down the right, so it’s a good driving hole and stroke index one for our members. All the trouble with the second shot is around the front of the green, which sits nestled among the sandhills. Most players will be aiming for the back portion and will use the contours to bring the ball back towards the pin.

5th: WHITE ROCKS | Par 4 | 372 yds | 2019 average score: 3.882 (15)

This is our picture postcard hole, with views along the coastline to Dunluce Castle and the Giant’s Causeway. Playing slightly downwind, the green is more than in range for the players. A few of the guys went long in 2019, and there’s actually a boundary very close to the back of the green, literally two steps off the back edge. Go over that and you’re out of bounds, so you’ve got to be careful. There are also two bunkers to avoid, one right and one left, with a steep step about a third of the way up the green. After that, the putting surface runs away, downhill toward the back section, so it can bare its teeth very quickly.

6th: HARRY COLT’S | Par 3 | 193 yds | 2019 average score: 3.085 (10)

This is a great hole, and one that Harry Colt wanted to put his name to after finishing his work here. The tee box sits right by the beach, next to the 5th green (see above), so it’s a very picturesque part of the course. It’s a big green to hit, but there are swales on both sides and another false front, which is a feature at Portrush. Usually on a links course, you can run your ball onto the green, but here you have to fly it on. There’s a small upper section that tapers in, and I remember there was a flag there on the Saturday in 2019. No doubt it will be back there again.

7th: CURRAN POINT | Par 5 | 607 yds | 2019 average score: 4.871 (16)

A new back tee has added another 20 yards and brings our big feature bunker on the right into play off the tee. Again, the approach plays uphill and through a narrow corridor, which is pinched by banks and bunkers left and right. There was a pronounced undulation at the back of the green in 2019, but we’ve taken the decision to flatten that out, and I know the R&A have been looking at some pin positions there.

Rory says: “Visually, it’s quite an intimidating tee shot. You’ve got Big Nellie on the right and another bunker on the left. For a long hole, with a driver in hand, it’s actually quite a narrow landing area. The way the hole shapes up, you probably want to aim it up the left side and cut it up there. If you get a good tee shot away, you are going to have a chance to go for this green in two. Most of the green feeds into the middle, but you have to get it on line. If you go offline at all, it repels the ball away from the green, and the drop-off on the left side is quite severe.”

8th: DUNLUCE | Par 4 | 434 yds | 2019 average score: 4.107 (9)

The strategy here is entirely dependent on the wind. Players will either lay back short of the bunkers on the right or try to cut the corner of the dog-leg to leave a shorter second shot in. It’s such a clever hole, because left is dead and anything short of the green will catch a false front and end up in an overused hollow.

Rory says: “This is a fantastic par 4 and a huge improvement to what was the 8th hole before. You’ve got two options off the tee: you can take the bunkers out of play short or long. To get past the second bunker is about 320. You can lay back with a 3-wood or long iron, or take driver and hit it past them. It’s a narrow entrance, but a good drive will leave just a wedge in.”

9th: DARREN CLARKE’S | Par 4 | 432 yds | 2019 average score: 4.172 (7)

Formerly known as Tavern, this hole has been renamed to honour the 2011 Open Champion, who considers it one of his favourite holes. Left is a no-go off the tee, as your view gets completely blocked out by a big bank. Shane Lowry was adamant about playing short of the bunkers on the right and keeping himself in play. It’s a great second shot, played uphill to an angled green, with a pair of cross bunkers that you shoot over. There’s a big gathering area on the right that sees a lot of action, but there’s a little buffer at the back of the green where your ball can roll back if you over-club slightly.

‘THE BACK NINE PROBABLY LENDS ITSELF TO MORE BIRDIES THAN THE FRONT. BUT THERE’S A REALLY TOUGH SECTION IN THE MIDDLE THERE, AROUND 9, 10 AND 11, WHICH ARE THREE KEY HOLES’

10th: HIMALAYAS | Par 4 | 450 yds | 2019 average score: 3.983 (13)

From the Championship tee, this is such a tough hole despite the absence of any bunkers. The Himalayas refers to all the humps and hollows and the sandhills on the right-hand side of the fairway. The line off the tee is just slightly left of centre, but there’s a little shoulder at 300 yards that players will be looking to clear to leave the best view for their second shot. The green is long and narrow, with some pronounced contours, the further back you go. Par will be a good score here.

11th: P.G. STEVENSON’S | Par 4 | 475 yds | 2019 average score: 4.352 (1)

The members play this hole as a par 5, which may explain why it was the toughest hole in 2019. It’s probably the most demanding tee shot of the lot, with thick rough and lots of little sandhills and humps to deal with. It’s a cracking second shot, played towards another false front which can repel balls 30 or 40 yards back down the fairway and into a valley.

12th: DHU VARREN | Par 5 | 532 yds | 2019 average score: 4.664 (18)

From the toughest to the easiest hole on the course in 2019. The drive plays from an elevated tee to a fairway that slopes towards three bunkers on the right. We’ve been growing the rough up on the left-hand side, which will make it tricky, but it’s still a potential eagle opportunity if you can find the fairway. The green tends to fall away on the right, towards a big swale, but the key is hitting it far enough to clear a big false front. Anything that leaks too far right or comes up short could end up in a little stream, which is the only bit of water on the course.

13th: FEATHER BED | Par 3 | 199 yds | 2019 average score: 3.011 (12)

The site of Emiliano Grillo’s hole-in-one during the first round in 2019. Two of our par 3s don’t have any bunkers, but this one has five dotted about. The green slopes from front to back, and with a southerly wind, a lot of balls tended to run through the green last time. The R&A can push the tee up if they want, so there’s a chance it might play as short as 130 yards on one of the four days.

14th: CAUSEWAY | Par 4 | 466 yds | 2019 average score: 4.349 (2)

This is all about the second shot. You’re shooting at a tabletop green with another false front and a horrible bunker on the left that needs to be avoided. There’s no good news over the back of the green, either, but anything falling off the right side tends to stay up and catch a little shelf that sits slightly below the green. You do tend to get a hanging lie on this fairway, where the ball is above your feet, so for right-handed golfers, that can bring all the trouble into play on the left.

15th: SKERRIES | Par 4 | 429 yds | 2019 average score: 4.109 (8)

This is Rory’s favourite hole, and one of the more generous fairways on the course. It calls for a semi-blind drive, over the sandhills on the left, to avoid the three bunkers on the opposite side. The real danger comes on the second shot, which plays downhill to a small target, protected by steep slopes to the front and right, as well as bunkers to the left.

16th: CALAMITY CORNER | Par 3 | 236 yds | 2019 average score: 3.247 (3)

This is one of the most iconic par 3s on The Open rota. As the name suggests, it’s a very challenging hole from the Championship tee – played over a large chasm to not a not-so-huge target. The drop-off at the front and right of the green is about 50ft or 60ft, so the safe play is to the back-left portion of the green. Bobby Locke’s Hollow lies just to the left, and most members putt from there and quite often walk off with a three. If the wind is blowing into your face, however, players could be using anything from a 2-iron to a fairway wood. Everyone would happily take a three here in each round, because it has the potential to be a real card-wrecker.

17th: PURGATORY | Par 4 | 409 yds | 2019 average score: 4.072 (11)

Knowing the mindset of the modern player, I think most will take a crack at this green. It’s a blind tee shot, but there is a steep drop, around the 295-yard mark, so if you get a good kick forward, you can get very close to the front of the green. Ultimately, there is a bit of luck involved because there’s a bunker just at the base of the hill, on the left-hand side, so any drive left of centre could trickle down into that, leaving an awkward 60-yard bunker shot. It does offer the potential for a two-shot swing come Sunday, and it will be a fun hole for the fans, too, trying to guess whose ball is tumbling down the hill.

18th: BABINGTON’S | Par 4 | 474 yds | 2019 average score: 4.229 (4)

What was our old 16th hole is now a really iconic finishing hole. Again, players are faced with another elevated tee shot which needs to be taken down the left-hand side, close to the out of bounds, to leave a better angle in. One deep bunker guards the right side of the green, but anything slightly left will be swept away into a big hollow, leaving an equally tricky up and down.

A moment of magic: Max Faulkner pulled off one of the greatest recovery shots of all time during his Open victory in 1951, after hitting his tee shot near some steps and a barbed wire fence in the third round. Somehow, he managed to slice his 4-wood through the fence, over the out-of-bounds, and onto the green to salvage an unlikely par. “Toni Cerda finished second, and he ended up in the same spot as me in the last round,” said Faulkner. “When he went to try and play it out, he hit the wire, and he took six. I won by two shots – so that trick shot won me The Open.”

‘YOU NEED TO DRIVE THE BALL WELL AT PORTRUSH. WITH THE FALSE FRONTS AND THE CHANGE OF ELEVATION ON A LOT OF THE HOLES, YOU CAN’T RUN THE BALL INTO THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE GREENS. YOU’VE GOT TO FLY IT ON AND STOP IT ON THE GREENS, WHICH YOU CAN’T DO FROM THE ROUGH’