[Paul_Turner]

I don't think there have been many pics of this course posted on GCA.  Most are of the Dunluce, but The Valley has plenty of excellent holes and an elegant simplicity in its make up.
Nothing too fancy but I reckon the course stands comparison with all but the very top Irish links.

Not many bunkers, about 20 for the whole course.

I don't have decent pics of the 1st and 2nd.  The 1st is straightforward and ripples along a natural valley, 
the 2nd is tougher and is a neat dogleg over a dune.





So starting with 3rd: The prevailing wind pushes the ball right and it's a tricky chip back up the bank from there.



4th a medium par 5 from the back, down into War Hollow (the famous Calamity hole towers above on the right).
Best angle from the right but avoid the hummocks.

On of the best holes, the short par 4 5th.  it's driveable for many but you have to hit the slot.





Different angles from the layup.
I'll post more later.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

Great pics Paul...thanks for posting them.  I loved my round on the Valley course when I was there a few years ago.  There aren't many places in the world where it would be considered a "secondary course".

[Bill_McBride]

We played there last September, two couples after the Walker Cup at Newcastle.  I was disappointed we had to play there on the day because the Dunluce was booked full, but it was not disapointing at all to play there, great little course.

That was one of those days where I thought I had solved my golf game as I parred the first five holes.

Then came that nasty par 3 #7 and I got back on my game in short order! 

[Bill Gayne]

It looks like a drought! I just returned from Kerry and Clare last week and it was a completely different picture with plentiful rain.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I played the Valley Course just because I still wanted to play golf after Dunluce.  It was great fun.  It is not a difficult course but it sure gets your interest, especially the shots into the greens.  While Dunluce puts a premium on driving Valley puts a premium on the second shot.  If you are in Portrush, play it.

[Ed Tilley]

The Valley Course must be the ultimate 'hidden gem'. On a trip this March, we played Portstewart, the Valley, Dunluce, and Royal County Down. All our party agreed that The Valley course was better than Portstewart and didn't suffer a great deal in comparison to its big brother the Dunluce. It really is a charming course which deserves to be highly praised in its own right. Sadly, the course seems to be completely overlooked due to its 'second course' status.

[Paul_Turner]

One of the best holes, the 6th a 240 yd par 3.  You can use that mound to chase the ball on, but the trap is pretty severe if you pull the shot slightly.   Good use of a single pot bunker:











5 and 6th from the top of the big dune

Eventhough it's a long par 4, the 7th looks kind of straight forward, the fairway is wide, but the hole has a bottle neck effect and it's worth placing the tee shot. It starts a great run of bunkerless holes, 7-10.





Just an atmospheric shot, from 7th green.

[Andrew Mitchell]

Great pictures Paul thanks for posting them.

The Valley course certainly looks a hidden gem as it receives little or no mention when Portrush is discussed in the golfing media.

Incidentally when did you take the pictures?  Given the weather over the last couple of summers I assume this must be 2006 or before.

[Paul_Turner]

Andrew

It was this year, in early June.

[Paul_Turner]

Here's the 8th.  over some of the roughest terrain on The Valley.  It's a medium-long par 4 bunkerless and again a pretty green site.  It was getting a bit dark!  The tee shot is blind these two and the hole turns slightly to the right, these two shots are from the landing area and slightly further on.





The 9th, a short par4,  is again without traps and it's a corker, but the pics are way overexposed:




10th is the best hole on the course.  A real tumbling par 5 with a dramatic tee shot from a high dune over rough country ( somehow I missed this photo!).  Anyway these are from further up and you can see the blind approach to the green nestled in the dunes.  Perhaps Colt's best par 5?  You might recognize this hole from the first few pages of The Confidential Guide.





Looking back down the 10th, get a better idea of the 9th.

[Tim Pitner]

Thanks for posting, Paul.  These photos have convinced me to add the Valley to our itinerary.  It looks fantastic and perhaps a bit of a respite from the challenging Dunluce. 

[Paul_Turner]

A few more.

The 11th is pretty but a bit of a breather:



12th is a nice par 5 to an angled green:


Landing area for a shorter player

Side on view of green


Ther 13th is somewhat like the 7th; narrowing down.  It uses a mound quite well to obscure the approach:

[Paul_Turner]

Finsih off.

14th is one of the lesser holes...just stay out of the small dunes. The green does ripple a bit.




The finish is back into better country.

Very short par 3 15th.  The green is quite long but you can't tell from the tee:



The S shaped 16th:







17 a super short par 4.  Quite a tricky target:







18 is a peach of a long par 3,across a chasm (shame about the houses, oh well)

[Bill_McBride]

Thanks for the tour, Paul.  There are a lot of really good holes there, great finish.  I loved the green at #17.  The conditions look really good during your visit.

[Jay Flemma]

Beutiful terrain for golf...and man is that ever biscuit brown!  Great look.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Thanks Paul great pics, closest I've gotten to it yet.  Was the Dunluce Course in the same condition? I only ask because...

 I had a week of Ulster Golf in late April and the Valley was the last of 10 links courses we planned to visit.  Unfortunately my back gave up on the 16th of Castlerock the day before.   So having paid our deposit for a day at Portrush the pro said he couldn't refund us but we could play Dunluce for what we'd paid.  I got round by using a pitching action and a rescue club for a maximum distance of 160 yards per shot.   When we got to Calamity the wind and driving rain were increasing in power and right in our face; so after he had two attempts at the green (5W,3W), my playing partner and I retreated to the shelter behind the tee as he wanted to try it with his driver once we could see the green again.  Three members cought up with us and we called them through. Whilst the youngest teed it up one of the old guys talked to us.  He pointed down at the Valley Course and asked if we were going to play it. I explained that unfortunately we were going to miss it due to my back.  He replied that it was a pity because he said he played all over GB&I and it was his firm belief that in the next 20 years the Valley would be recognised as one of the very few great links courses left.  He said the Dunluce and all the other courses that received overseas visitor play were being overwatered and over fertilised because they were receiving too much play.   He said that the Valley was the only links  course that played just as they all had when he was young.  “If you hit a ball off those fairways in summer, then you’re a golfer”.

We thanked him, wished him well and then asked why only the youngest in the party had hit a ball at Calmity and they replied “Because we’re f****** tired of fetching balls from the valley.  It took Davis Love 5 shots to hold the green and there was little wind that day”


Eventually my partner hit his driver.  Due to my back I was excused from helping him find his balls but he reported all 3 were found within 10’ of each other.

PS How was the rough on the Dunluce.  The starter repeated several tiems that from now on they planned to manage it.

[Ian_L]

I love that hollow in front of the 9th green.  It makes a short par 4 a lot more difficult!

[Aidan Bradley]

Tony,

Here is a photo of The Valley Course from Calamity shot on a better day than you experienced. I didn't hit the green either.

Aidan.

[JMorgan]

Thanks for sharing, Paul. 

How far out is the bunker on #16?

[Sean_A]

After recently reviewing the green fees of Portrush/Portstewart/Castlerock, and these pics, I have decided that next year we will spend two days on the Valley course.  Thanks for posting Paul!

Ciao

[SPDB]

Thanks for the pics Paul.

I loved the Valley. Between Dunluce and the Valley, I think the Valley
occupies the better land, which I think is a testament to Colt that the
Dunluce emerged superior.

It also raises an interesting question for you Paul:

Was Colt originally commissioned to route 2 courses?

If so, was he given carte blanche on such routings?

Are there any writings regarding his work at Portrush? Clearly the dune ridge
that begins at Valley #5 and runs all the way up and down to the Dunluce 16th
creates a logical line of demarcation, but I'd be very curious to how each of these
courses was conceived and whether Colt clearly intended the Dunluce to be superior,
and if so, why he selected that area to house the superior course.

I've also heard stories that Colt did not spend much time on the Valley and, perhaps,
that he only completed a routing and perhaps some rudimentary hole sketchings. Any
truth to that?

[Kalen Braley]

Great pics Paul....some very nice looking holes

Did they fire the guy who usually turns on the sprinklers?      

[Bill_McBride]

Kalen, he probably got a raise.  The fast and firm conditions at the Valley might be as good as it gets, extremely fast without being dusty.  Remember the cloud of dust that accompanied the landing of every shot at Hoylake in the 2006 Open?  There was none of that at the Valley in 2007 but every square foot of turf was tight yet springy, and really fun to play shots off.

[Larry_Keltto]

When I visited Portrush, the locals told me that Darren Clarke plays the Valley because the size of the greens are great for sharpening his iron game.

[Chip Gaskins]

I am sure it wouldn't fit in the routing very well, but if the Dunlance course substituted its 17 and 18 for the Valley course 17 and 18 we would be talking about Dunlance being top 5 in the world.

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