Three killer holes to watch out for at the Irish Open

We pick the three holes that could be decisive in the Irish Open

KILLER HOLE: Players play the seventh hole during a practice round ahead of the Amgen Irish Open. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

4th – Par 3, 229 yards

A short hole to terrify the amateur golf, with 200 yards to carry off the tee over gorse but this par-three offers pros like Rory McIlroy a delicious menu of options.

“You miss the green there and you can putt it from those run-offs, you can bump-and-run it, you can chip it. The golf course provides with you so many different options.”

7th – Par 3, 144 yards

This was the demon hole at the 2015 Irish Open, a much shorter par-three than the fourth but just as tricky, with run-offs to make the heart pound.

“It's 140 yards, and especially today with the wind blowing off the right, you're standing on a tee wondering how you're going to hit the green,” McIlroy said on Wednesday.

15th – Par 4, 468 yards

At the furthest point from the first tee, this uphill hole is perhaps the pick of the par-fours, with a pinched entrance to the green at 285 yards, Shane Lowry said: “You kind of have to lay back a little bit. 

"And that's playing kind of into the wind. It's playing brutally tough. The green is almost like the 10th green at Troon.”