Royal Portrush Dunluce Links: The Open’s Dramatic Stage on the Antrim Coast
Dunluce Links is a championship course cut into the giant dunes above the North Antrim coast. Harry Colt’s architecture gives the course its classic framework, while Martin Ebert’s later changes created a stronger modern finish for The Open.
Royal Portrush is the only club outside Great Britain to have hosted The Open, and the Dunluce Links is the course that has carried that championship history. It sits among enormous sand hills above the North Coast, with views towards the Atlantic and the ruins of Dunluce Castle. The course combines a traditional links character with an exposed setting where wind and firm ground can change the value of a shot quickly.
A Colt links refined for the modern Open
The club was founded in 1888, and the Dunluce layout developed from earlier courses on the site. Harry S. Colt redesigned the modern course in 1929 ahead of the Irish Open, giving it the architectural framework recognised today. Before the 2019 Open, architect Martin Ebert of Mackenzie & Ebert introduced two new holes, the par-five seventh and par-four eighth, on land that had previously formed part of the Valley Course.
The work was more than a simple extension. The new holes changed the routing and strengthened the championship finish, while other greens and tees were also refined. The Dunluce remains a natural links: great dunes, sandy ground and coastal grasses are not obstacles to be removed but the elements that define how the course plays.
Blind dune lines, exposed approaches and a demanding finish
The elevated dunes can hide the landing area, so the player needs to choose a line based on the shape of the ground rather than a perfect view of the target. Wind from the Atlantic influences both club selection and trajectory, and firm turf rewards a controlled ball flight that can release towards the green. The new seventh climbs to an elevated tee and runs over the links ground, while the eighth asks for a demanding carry across a chasm.
The course’s challenge is not confined to the most dramatic holes. The fairways are shaped by the dunes, and the approach angles require the player to consider where the next shot will come from. A sensible tee shot can leave a much easier approach, while an ambitious line may be punished by a blind lie or an exposed target.
Three Opens and a dominant Scheffler victory in 2025
Royal Portrush first hosted The Open in 1951, then returned to the rota in 2019 and 2025. In 2019, Shane Lowry won in front of a home crowd, creating one of the most memorable sporting celebrations in Northern Ireland. The 2025 Championship brought the world’s leading players back to the Antrim coast and produced another emphatic result.
Scottie Scheffler won The 153rd Open in 2025 with a total of 267, seventeen under par, finishing four strokes clear of Harris English. The event gave the redesigned Dunluce a second modern Open test and confirmed its place among the Championship’s leading links venues.
