Our traveling four horsemen hit the second great pillar of championship golf in Northern Ireland: Royal Portrush, site of the 2019 Open and next year’s Open. As they did last week with Royal County Down, they offer some quick first impressions on a stunner of a day at one of the great courses in the world. More detailed thoughts to come on an episode in the Eggsplorations podcast feed, via social media, and on the website.

Andy Johnson: For the most part, the links courses that I have encountered in my life have had rather simplistic greens. This is by no means a criticism. Terrific land and ideal turf conditions allow a course to get away with more subtle greens while still being a strong test. Portrush is a rare course that has the trifecta, featuring sublime terrain, bouncy fescue turf, and mesmerizing greens that boast unique shapes and loads of internal contours. This dynamic, where players must battle plenty of natural elements (wild land, firm turf, and plenty of wind) in addition to navigating complex greens creates one of the most demanding links courses in the world. Possibly the MOST demanding. I can’t wait for The Open in 2025.

Cameron Hurdus: There were a lot of aspects to absorb on my first trip around Royal Portrush, but one thing that stuck out was just how choppy the land is. The dune ridge that sits to the right of the new 7th hole is gigantic, but the middle of the property is wonderful as well, with a sea of rugged, perfectly sized humps and bumps scattered across the landscape. A great example is on the 10th hole, aptly called ‘Himalayas’, where the outside of the fairway is littered with jagged peaks and valleys. They’re extremely attractive linksland features, but they also add an additional element of penalty to drives that miss wide. Not only do players need to contend with the deep rough that guards the outside of holes, but also the extremely awkward stance that goes along with a missed fairway.

Matt Rouches: Royal Portrush’s Dunluce Links is chock-full of stunning golf holes draped over a landscape of epic proportions. But the closing stretch of 14 through 18 felt like a true climax for the course, offering us killer hole after killer hole. There are several fall-offs and a steeply pitched green on 14, none of which are to be joked with. The humpback 15th has some of the most amazing fairway contours anywhere, and the green sits down in a natural pocket. Punishing and majestic, the famous 16th (‘Calamity Corner’) elicits that unique feeling of eagerness to play it on repeat in order to conquer the beast. The short par-4 17th is blind, hogbacked, and crests a hill before plunging down to a low point that’s home to the 13th and 17th greens. And finally the championship quality 18th, with OB looming on the left side and a penal double set of bunkers guarding the direct line to the green. Massive dunes and world-class golf holes on the Dunluce make it one of the very best golf links in the world. The tremendous finishing stretch will leave you thinking about the place for years.

Brendan Porath: Dramatic elevation changes at a links course certainly make a bold first impression, and many more impressions after that. When we think of the best links, it often involves a great variety of land movement, with more subtle humps, bumps, and undulation on an overall flatter piece of ground. Portush climbs and dives and is quite dramatic, so pardon the “Augusta is way hillier in person than you see on TV” cliche. Portrush starts right away with a big climb up 1, continues on up 2, stuns with the journey downhill to the coast at 5, includes a drop-shot par-3 at 13, and just vacillates up-and-down like this in a significant way throughout the routing. The massive dunesland certainly aids this, but the elevation changes from tee boxes to green sites are truly a unique feature that makes it special. The setting, the significant contour of links greens, the fabulous routing, its history, and so much here smacks you too, but the elevation changes were my big first takeaway.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter as part of a special series of Eggsplorations dispatches, sponsored by Tourism Ireland. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.