Bigger crowds expected for 2025 Open at Royal Portrush; subtle course changes also in train
Shane Lowry celebrates his six-shot win in The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019. Picture: The R&A/Getty Images
Royal Portrush attracted record crowds when it hosted The Open in 2019 but it looks set to attract even more fans when it stages the 153rd Open in 2025.
The 2019 Open was a sellout for the first time in the history of golf’s oldest major when a record-breaking crowd of 237,750 set an attendance record for a Championship staged outside St Andrews.
It was the second largest crowd ever to attend an Open and Royal Portrush’s Championship Committee Chairman, Mr Ian Kerr, believes the R&A is looking to surpass those numbers in 2025.
“I think our numbers were 237,000 or 238,000 in 2019 and I know they (The R&A) are targeting a higher figure for 2025 of around 280,000,” Mr Kerr said at an informal briefing for members of the Irish Golf Writers’ Association (IGWA) which the club hosted earlier this week.
“There comes a point where you've got to marry the commercial with the visitor experience. So it'll be interesting to see how all that pans out.”
He added: “One thing that you will see will be different in 2025 will be the hospitality areas will be slightly larger.
“Part of the work that's being done in conjunction with redesigning our Valley Course, is to level and widen our members' driving range. And this will be used as a more centre-focused tented village area focusing on our 17th and 18th.
Fantastic day @royalportrush in great company with @winkerwatson1 and 2012 @RandA amateur champion @alandunbargolf - Alan beat our better ball score with a quite brilliant round of 64. Just a stunning golf course. Can’t wait for next @TheOpen there in 2025. pic.twitter.com/b6tWwawyND
— Denis Kirwan (@deniskirwan) October 9, 2023
“So there's a lot of preparation that's been done that will increase those hospitality areas that will cater for a larger crowd.
Portmarnock’s bid for The Open has been encouraged by the R&A as the event bankrolls all its activities. An Open Championship staging in a European capital such as Dublin would be a huge money spinner.
If you haven’t applied for the ticket ballot or Royal Portrush through the One Club, now is the time.
“I think we're going to get huge support for it,” Mr Kerr added. “When you look at the number of great golf events that are getting massive support — the Ryder Cup was phenomenal, the Solheim Cup was phenomenal —Ireland played a huge part in both of those events.”
Royal Portrush is aiming to become the first carbon neutral Major and gradually replacing all equipment with models powered by green energy.
As for the Dunluce Links, several changes have already been made or are in train for 2025:
There is a new front left pin position at the first hole, which will encourage more players to hit the driver so they can attack that pin position with a short iron. This was done by raising the front left of the green by four inches. The new pin position increases the pinnable areas of the green by around 15% to 60%.
Mounding left of the second fairway/right of the 12th green. This will provide separation and discourage players playing the 12th from bailing out left to avoid the stream to the right.
A new championship tee adds 25 yards to the iconic fourth hole, making that a 500-yard par-four. The club also spent £600,000 acquiring a house right of the fourth fairway to protect its boundary. The site is therefore unavailable to the developers of a new hotel being built next door further down the hole. This means the hotel does not have the option to extend back towards the tee. As the club is liable for an injury caused by balls exiting the course right and with no room to redirect one of the course’s most iconic holes to the left, the club now owns an extra 15-20 metre wide corridor along the right side of the fourth, pre-empting any problems from stray golf balls. Martin Ebert did a statistical study and the scatter graph revealed that over 2,000 balls go into that site every year.
The par-five seventh green was relaid last winter so it is much more in keeping with the sweeping swales of a Harry Colt green. What was a green with four quadrants is now a two-tiered affair. The back left was lifted to the same height as the front right. The seventh fairway was also levelled in places to eliminate collection areas. The championship tee has also been moved further right, bringing the Big Nelly bunker more into play.
A mound in front of the second bunker on the eighth has been removed.
There is a new championship tee on the 14th, five yards further right, because it was too close to the traffic of people coming down from the 13th.
The championship tee at the 15th will be flipped over to the left, creating a stronger dogleg.
New mounding left of the 16th green, right of the 17th tee.
Three tees have been enlarged to combat divot wear and provide more space for Trackman.
