Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 5
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 5
The fifth green on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club sits closest to the shore. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 1
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 1
The first hole on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club rises uphill. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 2
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 2
The revamped second green on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 3
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 3
The par-3 third hole on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - fifth tee
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - fifth tee
The view from the fifth tee on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - new 7th hole
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - new 7th hole
The new seventh hole on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 10
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 10
The old eighth hole on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club is the new 10th after the two new holes open this summer. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 13
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 13
The old par-3 11th hole becomes the new no. 13 on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 15
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 15
The old 13th hole, 'Skerries', becomes the 15th hole on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - new 8th hole
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - new 8th hole
Some curious walkers view the new eighth hole on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - 17th hole
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - 17th hole
An aiming post guides golfers down the 17th fairway (the old 15th) on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Royal Portrush Golf Club - hole 14
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Royal Portrush Golf Club - hole 14
The old 14th hole (and new no. 16) on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club is one of the most famous par 3s in the world. Courtesy of Royal Portrush G.C.
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Major changes: Upgraded Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush ready for The Open in 2019

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – The knock on the Dunluce Links at the Royal Portrush Golf Club has always been its two soft finishing holes on flatter ground near the clubhouse. Sure, the ‘Big Nellie’ bunker to the right of the 17th fairway was memorable, but once players passed it, the day felt done.

Securing The Open Championship in 2019 has ushered in a new era for the historic links. Two new holes, fashioned from the dunes formerly in play on the Valley Links , will debut later this summer to replace no. 17 and no. 18. Architect Martin Ebert created the new par-5 seventh hole and new par-4 eighth hole to challenge today’s modern bombers and entertain the membership after The Open leaves. As a bow to history, a new ‘Big Nellie’ was constructed in a similar position, right of the fairway, on no. 7.

After the new holes, the routing returns to its old flow, following the old seventh hole (the new ninth) to the old 16th hole, the new finishing hole. That puts ‘Calamity Corner’ – the famously intimidating 210-yard par 3 - at a perfect place in the round as the 16th hole, adding more drama and anxiety for those chasing a claret jug.

Other tweaks won’t be as noticeable. New back tees and the pushing back of the second green to lengthen the par 5 have increased the yardage from 7,187 yards to 7,337 yards. Five new bunkers have increased the total to 64, by far the lowest number of any links in the Open rota. Portrush’s challenges are found elsewhere in the wind and rough and creativity of Harry Colt’s masterful greens. Hosting the club’s first Open since 1951 can’t come soon enough for golf fans around the world wanting to see major championship golf return to Northern Ireland and the Emerald Isle.

So many highlights from a week in @northernireland - #ardglass #portrush #RCD #Castlerock #LoughErne #PortStewart

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Jason Scott Deegan has reviewed and photographed more than 1,100 courses and written about golf destinations in 25 countries for some of the industry's biggest publications. His work has been honored by the Golf Writer's Association of America and the Michigan Press Association. Follow him on Instagram at @jasondeegangolfpass and Twitter at @WorldGolfer.
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Major changes: Upgraded Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush ready for The Open in 2019