The Irish Open's three key holes at the K Club’s Palmer North
Rory McIlroy plays a shot on the fairway during a Pro-AM round at The K Club ahead of the 2025 Amgen Irish Open. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire.
The first of four impressive par-fives on this year’s Amgen Irish Open layout at the K Club’s Palmer North and the hole name indicates where it lay in the course designer’s affections.
With a double dog-leg, the longer hitters will nevertheless be confident of hitting the green in two shots but not for nothing is this a risk-reward hole, with a huge bunker along the right side of the fairway and further sand traps protecting a narrow entrance to the green.
The opening challenge of a fantastic closing stretch on Palmer North, this was the stage for one of the greatest shots in Irish Open history, when Rory McIlroy launched a three wood towards the island green and with a 250-yard carry set up a two-putt for birdie en route to his 2016 victory here.
That remains the yardstick for excellent play here but avoiding a watery end at 16 remains key on this risk-reward par five tempted to take on the pitfalls in search of the large putting surface.
This closing hole provided 2016 champion McIlroy with another memorable moment in his final-round duel with Russell Knox as the Irishman’s shot-making from the fairway once again proved pivotal, his five-wood from 252 yards setting up eagle to win the tournament by three strokes.
Another potential two-shotter but as the name of the hole suggests, it is not without its dangers, not least on a tricky, front-to-back sloping green which puts an added premium on accurate approach shots.
