Old #17-Royal Portrush Golf Club

​Our hole of the day is sadly one which no longer exists.   The old 17th hole at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland (along with the 18th) have just been replaced with two new holes to be played on the front nine in preparation for the 2019 Open Championship.
 
The old 17th hole at Portrush was a mid-length par 5 that had one of the most defining features in golf…. the Big Bertha bunker.  The hole design, by Harry Colt, was masterfully done.  The tee set you up pointing right at Bertha.  There was mounding that encroached on the left side which hid half of the fairway.  The tee shot required a draw (or fade in my case) off Bertha to find the short cut.  If you found Bertha, you were basically pitching out of the 20-ft. deep hazard.
 
Up by the green, there were three cross bunkers which your needed to navigate before you reach the putting surface. 
 
It’s a shame this hole will not be seen by the world in a few years.  The new 7th hole on Portrush has a bunker in honor of Bertha.    While they have tried to replicate Bertha, there is no way the new bunker is a duplicate of the original Harry Colt designed on old #17.

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