This post is going to carry a lot of photos, as it is all about the magnificent Royal County Down.
The Royal County Down Golf Club was founded in 1889 by a group of influential business and professional men from Belfast.
George L. Baillie, a Scottish schoolteacher who came to Belfast and quickly embarked on a personal crusade to establish golf courses, was mainly responsible for the original nine-hole layout.
That course was opened on 23rd March 1889, and almost immediately the newly-formed council of the club, in a mixture of enthusiasm and parsimony, commissioned Old Tom Morris to travel over from St. Andrews “for a sum not to exceed £4” to inspect what existed and advise on a second nine.
The outcome of this munificence was that Old Tom spent two days at Royal County Down in July 1889; three new holes were added immediately and a further six between the autumn of 1889 and the spring of 1890. The fact that the full course was ready for play in July 1890 is proof that golf course design in those days was most unlike the modern methodology and that, like most great links courses, Royal County Down was created from the wonderful natural dune-land which was already there, without the need to indulge in any major earth-moving.
The next important figure in the evolution of the links was George Combe, Captain in 1896 and Convenor of the Green from 1900 to 1913. During this period, apart from Combe’s own alterations, some very famous golfers of the time, including James Braid, J. H. Taylor, Harry Vardon and Ben Sayers, visited the course and made recommendations, many of which were adopted. This was arguably the most important phase in the evolution of the links. By its end, the present configuration of the course in two nine-hole loops, each beginning and ending at the clubhouse, had been established.
In 1925, Harry Colt was asked to advise on further improvements to the course, and the alterations which ensued were notable particularly for the creation of the present 4th (pictured above) and 9th holes, which were to become two of the most photographed holes in world golf.
This course is quite dear to my heart, even though it is the first time I have completed a round here. In 2010, on the first KHGC golf trip, we visited RCD. After my "horse fly" incident, I only completed two holes. Spending a bit of time in and around the pro shop, I formed a friendship with one of the assistant pros. His name was Rory, and he spent the following 5 years as a staff member at Kingston Heath.
The Mountains of Mourne provide a great backdrop to many of the holes. Here they are behind the par four 8th.
The stunning Par four 9th. A blind tee shot leads you to this point of the hole, and then you are met with the subsequent magnificent view.
The bunkers are rugged and natural, many "bearded" by heather and long grass. This is the par three 10th.
In 2007, the club hosted the Walker Cup, the amateur event played between USA and GB & I. The event had numerous world class participants. The American team boasted players including Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Kyle Stanley and Webb Simpson, whilst the GB & I team had Rory McIlroy and Danny Willett. In a tight contest, team USA won 12.5 to 11.5.
This is the view down the long par three 14th hole.
The heather in bloom on the left of the par four 15th.
The approach to the par four 16th.
The only strange part of the whole course, is the pond in the middle of the 17th fairway. I think that most who have played it would agree, that it does not match the rest.
Nearing the final green, with the clubhouse behind, and the Mountains of Mourne overlooking proceedings.
A terrific day weather wise. If we could order weather for a particular course, it would have been here, and we got it. Low winds, and clear skies. Brilliant.
Our winners today were Geoffrey Knight and Sue Nicholson. Congratulations.
No comments:
Post a Comment