PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — It took one swing for Rory McIlroy’s Open Championship to go sideways on Thursday—and start a heated debate about a very golf-wonky subject.
McIlroy’s highly anticipated start at Royal Portrush was marred when the Northern Irishman pulled his tee shot on the first hole of the Dunluce Course, an uphill, 421-yard par 4. The ball struck a spectator (reportedly breaking her cellphone) then fell just left of the out-of-bounds stakes that run along the left side of the hole. A stunned McIlroy hit another off the tee, hacked his way up the hole and eventually finished with a quadruple-bogey 8. Welcome to Portrush!
If you thought McIlroy was angry about the circumstances, you should have started reading social media shortly after it was confirmed the ball had landed out of bounds. We’re a family website, so we’ll give you the PG version of the primarily question at hand: What in heaven’s name are out of bounds stakes doing all down the left side of the hole anyway, considering the left side of the hole sits right beside the course’s 18th hole?
Among golf-course architecture types, this is referred to as “internal” out of bounds, and its existence is a wee bit controversial. The same issue occurs on the left side of the 18th hole, a triangular plot of land between the two holes being a no-fly zone for golf balls.
Meanwhile, as if having the OB stakes on the left side of the first hole at Portrush wasn’t upsetting enough to some, they also have OB down the right side of the first hole as well, creating quite the narrow runway for those starting their round.
The first hole (Hughies) at Royal Portrush, with OB left and right.
Suffice it to say, the internal OB between the first and 18th holes was the subject of some conversation early in the week at Portrush. On Wednesday, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers was asked specifically why it’s there.
“The reason for that is if you go back in history the club did not own that land,” Slumbers said. “And so it was somebody else’s land in years gone by. And as the course has developed they’ve always kept that historically as out of bounds. And we felt that was highly appropriate to do so this year as we’ve rebuilt the course. We try to stay true to how the course is played.”
So for everyone at home, the short answer to why it’s there is tradition. We’ll let you debate the merits of that answer on your own.
Check out Golf Digest Schools for the best in video golf instruction