Royal County Down is one of the most beautiful courses in the world, a picturesque haven nestled at the foot of the Mourne Mountains along the Irish Sea.
But it's also an extremely tough course — tough enough to host the British Open every year — though that might mean more mental breakdowns among tour pros than we'd like.
Still, the Championship Links in Newcastle, Northern Ireland, will host the best players on the DP World Tour for this week's Amgen Irish Open. Royal County Down It's the first time since 2015. That year, Denmark's Soren Kjelsen beat Bernd Wiesberger and Eddie Pepperell in a playoff to win, with all three players finishing 72 holes in 2-under par.
Shane Lowry, who won the Irish Open at County Louth Golf Club as an amateur in 2009, is expecting the scores to be much higher this week.
“I'd forgotten how hard it was. It's going to be an incredible test,” Lawrie said Wednesday.
“It could be one of the best winning scores ever recorded on the European Tour this week. Do I make par and wait here? It's a possibility. It's going to be tough.”
In fact, shooting par 71 four days in a row on the championship links at Royal County Down would put a smile on any professional golfer's face. Par is a good score, even in calm weather. But you never know when rain will pour down from the mountains to ruin your fun day. It can happen in an instant, and the wind can change direction in an instant too. Of course, that makes Royal County Down even more difficult.
“I think I just try to aim for the front edge of every green and aim for par on every hole and I think I'll be fine,” Lawrie added.
“I think this course is going to be about mis-shots and mis-shots in the right places. I tee off in about 24 hours, so I've got 24 hours to work out where I'm going to mis-shot on each hole and try to get around the course well. I think this week it's not going to be about good shots, it's going to be about bad shots and making sure they're not too bad and don't get me into too much trouble.”
Royal County Down is full of nasty problems – gorse, deep rough and formidable bunkers – and the enormous sand dunes that characterise the course are a big no-go, with dozens of blind shots creating some very unsettling conditions for players, even the pros.
“Listen, this is just a tough golf course,” Lawrie added.
“It's a tough test. It's going to take some good golf, patience and a lot of par putts. I need a lot of good things going for me to do well this week.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
