Come the middle of July, the eyes of the world will be upon Royal Portrush. As host of the 148th Open Championship over two-hundred thousand fans will descend upon Northern Island as Tiger Woods and local hero, Rory McIlroy travel to Portrush in hopes of winning the Claret Jug and becoming the Champion Golfer of the Year.
Some might say, “What’s the big deal, it’s just another Open Championship, what’s so special about The Open being at Royal Portrush?”
Over the 147-year history of The Open Championship, it has only taken place outside of Scotland and England once. It has been nearly 70 years since Northern Ireland and Royal Portrush hosted the 1951 Championship.
The 148th Open at Royal Portrush will be the biggest sporting event in the history of Northern Ireland. Not only has Royal Portrush been waiting to host the open again but so has the entire country. After all, Northern Ireland is made for golf! The country has 95 courses spread across just more than 5000 square miles, highlighted by two of the best in the world (Royal County Down #1 & Royal Portrush #7).
So, now you might ask, “How did The Open end up back at Royal Portrush?”
The answer is simple, a major commitment! The commitment was a trifecta; Royal Portrush, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A), and Northern Ireland all came together to make the return possible.
Let’s start with Royal Portrush, during early discussions the R&A was upfront, they let Royal Portrush know if they wanted the open to return, they would need to make significant changes to have any chance at hosting another Open Championship. At first, there was resistance, I mean you’re talking about Royal Portrush one of the best golf courses in the world. Designed by the great Harry Colt, considered a god amongst golf course architects. The membership wasn’t keen on making changes to Harry’s original design. At least that was the case until the R&A started doing some research and found that the course had already been altered back in the early 1900s when Portrush moved the clubhouse to its current position. As part of that move, the course routing had to of been changed, primarily the opening holes.
Armed with the knowledge that the course had already changed once, the membership at Portrush quickly warmed up to the idea of changing the course again.
The Changes
Martin Ebert was the man commissioned by the R&A and Royal Portrush to update the course and get it ready to host the 148th Open. The most significant changes he implemented revolved around the critical decision to remove the 17th and 18th holes and replace them with two built from land on Portrush’s second course (The Valley Course). In removing 17 & 18, the entire course routing was updated to suit the new course layout. The newly built holes are now the 7th, and 8th and the old par-4 16th is now the closing hole. The best thing about these changes is the fact that Ebert was able to retain Colt’s original greens, which are considered to be some of the best putting surfaces in the world.
As a result of the changes, the length of the course was increased by just under 200 yards to 7317 yards, and the number of bunkers has been increased by three to 62, still leaving Royal Portrush with the fewest bunkers of any of the courses which have hosted The Open.
The Modernization
Beyond making Royal Portrush more challenging for the world’s best golfers, the infrastructure had to be completely updated. There wasn’t much infrastructure in terms of what is required to host an event of this magnitude.
Player movement was a big problem; to solve it a tunnel system was installed. The tunnel system allows players to quickly move from green to tee under the feet of thousands of fans. To provide a broadcast signal capable of hosting a worldwide television audience miles of fiber optic cable had to be run underneath and throughout the course. While more than two-hundred thousand fans will witness The Open in person, millions more will be watching in high definition thanks to the new fiber-optic infrastructure.
The Commitment
As you can imagine all this took a major commitment. Time, money, and sacrifice all played roles in The Open returning to Royal Portrush. Over the past several years, the members at Portrush have sacrificed as significant changes took place on both their courses. Both Northern Ireland and the R&A have invested millions in making these improvements possible and preparing Portrush to host the 148th Open.
The Result
First off, the 148th Open is the first in history to sell out tickets! After spending the 1st week of May in Northern Ireland, I can testify to the work of Martin Ebert. He has successfully taken one of the world’s best golf courses and made it not only better but drastically better! Before the redesign, the biggest knock on Portrush was the finishing two holes. They were rather weak and didn’t fit in after you had spent the day touring the dunes of Portrush. Following the changes, Portrush features a heart-pounding finish starting at 16with Calamity the iconic par-3, onto 17th as Big Nellie provides a chasing golfer with the chance to make up a shot, followed by a closing par-4 that requires much more than a wedge to reach in regulation as fans await in the grandstands.
More than just a great golf course, it’s clear to see there is an electricity in the air in Northern Ireland. The entire country has come together as one with the sole purpose of bringing The Open home to Portrush. With the championship only weeks away, it clear to see how proud the country is to host this tournament. As I traveled throughout Northern Ireland visiting golf courses, tourist attractions, and pubs you could see a gleam in local eyes as they hope for a Sunday showdown between Tiger and Rory, ending with Rory making a putt on the 72nd hole to edge Tiger out and claim his 2nd Claret Jug!
To learn more about The Open Championship, please visit their official website.
Rob Spellman, is an avid golfer and publisher of Golf Aficionado Magazine, he is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America and the Golf Travel Writers of America.