I have wanted to play Royal County Down since first traveling to Ireland ages ago. Our friends at Tourism Ireland encouraged me for years, but it took our annual spring golf outing, unplanned by me, to secure our tee time. After spending the morning exploring Titanic Belfast and the dry dock where the ship was built, we jumped in our shuttle for the trip to Murlough Nature Reserve, where the course sits between the Mourne Mountains and the shores of Dundrum Bay, with the Irish Sea beyond.

Royal County Down is recognized as one of the best golf courses in the world, right up there with Pine Valley, Cypress Point and the Old Course at St. Andrews. Top business people and professionals from Belfast founded the course in 1889. (The Evolution of the Links at Royal County Down Golf Club by Richard A. Latham details the development of the course.)

George L. Baillie, a Scottish teacher who took it upon himself to make golf popular, became involved in the design of the first nine holes, which opened on March 23, 1889. Old Tom Morris traveled from St. Andrews to inspect the course and offer his blessing, resulting in the addition of three new holes and another six ready for play in July 1890. The most significant change came in 1925, when Harry Colt crafted the current fourth and ninth holes, two of the most photographed in the world. In 2004 a new
16th hole was created with the Mourne Mountains as a backdrop.

The course has hosted many championships such as the second Irish Open Amateur (1893), the Walker Cup (2007) and The Curtis Cup (1968), among others, and is a favorite of Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and, of course, Northern Ireland’s own Rory McIlroy. But on this day, those champions had to step aside for me, paired with caddie Andi; Gerry Gallagher (Texas), paired with caddie Ronan; Neil Curran (Florida), paired with caddie Conor; and John Kelley (Pennsylvania), paired with caddie Carlos. I lucked out with Andi, the most experienced caddie; after caddying at Royal County Down for years, he left for another industry job and returned. He was swift, and I pledged to keep up with him through the round. We were always at my ball forward of the remaining foursome.

First Tee: (Left to right) John Kelley, Francis X. Gallagher, Neil Curran and Gerry Gallagher © Francis X. Gallagher

HOLE 1
523 yards, par 5
Neil’s flight from Palm Beach to Philadelphia was delayed, and he missed his American Airlines flight to Dublin; he caught an Aer Lingus flight five hours behind us, but his clubs did not arrive until that evening, so he used a fine rental set for the first round. His securing par on the first hole proved it is not the clubs but the player … while the rest of us struggled in our approach to the green and carded double bogeys.

Hole 1 is truly beautiful, boasting dunes and high grass to the right and the bay beyond. The weather was magnificent as we teed off for our first round of five in Ireland, all landing near-perfect drives, to the caddies’ delight. The second shot (some dreamers try to go in two to the green) is to layup in a valley to the approach. Going in two requires the player to feather the ball to the deep green, approachable only through a 14-yard-wide entrance. Many feel this is one of the best opening holes in the world.

HOLE 3
475 yards, par 4
Not many write about Hole 3, as RCD has many more famous holes. The par 4 is gorgeous, with the bay in view as you tee up and the great dunes structure behind the green. This was the hole John Kelley mastered with a single putt. He got there with a bit of slashing and stumbling, but his fourth shot made it to the green so far from the cup his caddie had to use semaphore signals to read the path of his ball. With a single firm stroke, JK’s ball sailed toward the hole — one of the longest putts in memory — sinking a struggle into a bogey. The caddies all roared … not for a birdie or a par, but a bogey!

HOLE 7
135 yards, par 3
It is amazing how a short par 3 can wreak havoc with your score. On the card this hole looks straightforward, but trouble looms with a large bunker in front of the green and lots of rejection areas, including a hump on the right and the slant of the green to the left ready to send a perfect shot into the course’s deepest bunker. Gerry and John carded triple bogeys, but Neil and I tamed the beast. Neil played with accuracy, sticking the green and two-putting for par. I took a textbook no-no and landed in the front bunker, but through Andi’s guidance, I picked the ball out of the sand, and with his reading of the surface green, I, too, carded a par.

HOLE 13
423 yards, par 4
This is the most talked- and written-about hole on the back nine of RCD, and much of it has to do with the natural topography that made the design simple for the architects. Hole 13 presents many blind spots, and Andi positioned my second shot to the green; without him I would have been lost. He told me to land on the left side of the fairway for the best approach, but, of course, I did not listen and landed right. Consequently, I had a completely blind shot to the green, so Andi moved ahead and, with a club raised, indicated the best aim, which I would not have considered. After a clean strike, I landed and rolled on the green.

Unbeknownst to me, Gerry achieved similar positive results on the left side and landed on the green. Hole 13 has one of the most difficult putting surfaces at RCD, often resulting in 3-putts, but not today. The Gallaghers both two-putted for par!

Hole 16 © Francis X. Gallagher

HOLE 16
318 yards, par 4
Hole 16 is proclaimed the only “drivable” par 4 at RCD. I know a few golfers who might be capable, such as the late Dixon Hunter, who played the Old Course with me long ago, carding a 73 with rental clubs; or maybe Bob Hancock and John Ecklund in the group ahead of us if they could catch one perfectly; but not our group. We played safe and steady, and the team struggled: Neil’s fondness for the rental clubs wore off, while Gerry’s swings were distancing more earth than ball. But I kept it together (with Andi’s guidance) to card a par.

HOLE 18
548 yards, par 5
Royal County Down opens and closes with a par 5, making players stay on top of their game all the way to completion. The 18th is beautiful and demanding at the same time, with dozens of bunkers. The opening drive appeared simplistic, but my ball nearly went into the bright yellow gorse blooming on the right. Andi suggested I clobber my 3-wood, which I topped, losing a stroke and turning my par to a bogey while the other team members struggled to card a double bogey. When we reached the green, Andi and Conor scoped out the plan and pointed out the green sloped back to front. We cupped our balls and shook hands for a job well done. Neil tried to pay Conor with some ancient euros that had been taken out of circulation. We had to pony up to cover his caddie fee while we all laughed at the bar, enjoying a couple of rounds of Guinness … which you know tastes better in Ireland. As they say, “It doesn’t travel well!”