Bushmills
Carrick-a-Rede Bridge
accommodated. Clubs can be stored, restaurant bookings well left instead. It might be the chicken route but I didn’t
arranged and Blackrock House is ‘Golf Welcome’ accredited fancy playing out of that chasm in the fading light. I might
by Tourism NI. In a destination where there is a surprising not have made it back up by midnight.
dearth of quality accommodation, Blackrock House is
setting a new standard.
Calamity Corner used to be the 14th but today it is the
16th. There have been changes here at Royal Portrush,
The comfort of the lounge was a welcome rest after a long overseen and designed by Martin Ebert of Mackenzie &
day of golf and adventure. This coastline forms part of Ebert golf course architects. The old 17th and 18th have
the Causeway Coastal Route. Stretching for 154 miles, the been removed and two new holes – the 7th and 8th –
route clings to the sea between Belfast and Derry, skipping have replaced them. There is no doubt that the new holes
over cliffs, below mountains, through villages and always have improved the course and added some interesting
embracing a rugged beauty. According to Tourism Northern challenges for the Pros arriving this June, and Ebert even
Ireland, it should take four days to complete but I had allowed for the old 17th’s famous Big Nellie bunker to be
cheated by starting at the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, not replicated on the new 7th. It was a classy not to an iconic
far from Ballycastle. I then bypassed Finn McCool’s old feature.
stomping ground to play a round at Royal Portrush. I’d left
it late and the sun was setting as I reached one of Ireland’s
and golf’s most famous short holes: Calamity Corner. At
195 yards from the forward tees (236 from the back) it is
a hole sure to wreak havoc and despair on golfers of any
ability. I played it as a par four, choosing not to take on the
chasm that stretches from the tee to the green. I aimed
The changes are not confined to those two holes, however,
and the overall upgrades have elevated one of the world’s
best to an even higher level. The same is true of the club’s
second course, the Valley. The land used for the Dunluce’s
new 7th and 8th was originally home to two of the
Valley’s best holes but, again, Mackenzie & Ebert surpassed
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