Video: Royal Portrush's Ninth and Tenth Holes

The ninth at Royal Portrush will be a brute with any wind at all, as a right-to-left tee shot is needed with firm ground to offset the ground tilt and small bunkers awaiting drives not turned over. But turn it over too much and the trouble left appears to be of the pitch-out variety.

Playing through a beautiful dunescape, the 432-yard par-4 finishes with an uphill second shot to a deep, bunkerless green with a fall-off to the right, sideboard left. With two bunkers well short of the green, judging distance may be tricky here.

After a distinctive right-to-left bend to the previous par-4’s, the 10th turns things around and asks for a left-to-right shot shape to shorten its 456 yards. Maybe.

Playing through the Himalaya-like dunescape for which the 10th is named, the optimum view of this long, slender green set amidst dunes comes from the left side of the fairway, otherwise the sightline into the green is likely to be obstructed.