Golf's final major of the year is upon us, as the best players in the world return to Northern Ireland's Royal Portrush for the 153rd playing of the Open Championship.
The last time the Open came to Portrush, back in 2019, Shane Lowry took home the Claret Jug with a winning score of 15-under. Some might take a glance at that number and think that the field will have an easy time this weekend. But make no mistake: This course presents as stiff a test as any in links golf, and nowhere is that better embodied than at No. 16.
Of course, it's far from the only place you can find trouble at Portrush. This is one of the only links courses on Earth that sees fit to start players out with not a handshake but a smack upside the head. But the 16th hole is the only one whose nickname precedes it: Calamity Corner.
That's a pretty bold moniker, to state the obvious. So, just what has the hole done to deserve its reputation? Let's dive in.
What is Calamity Corner at Royal Portrush?
Calamity Corner refers to the par-3 16th hole at the championship course (also known as Dunluce) at Royal Portrush. If you'd like to know just why it got such a colorful nickname, well, see for yourself:
"You know it's there waiting for you towards the end of the round, and it asks the most demanding question of the day."@mattrouches' favorite hole at Royal Portrush takes us to one of the greatest par 3s in the world, Calamity Corner. pic.twitter.com/8UUe6HN7ml
— Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) July 12, 2025
A 236-yard par 3 would be tricky enough under normal circumstances. But No. 16 is anything but normal: It's positioned near the highest point of the Portrush grounds, meaning that wind is almost always a factor. And the way designer Harry S. Colt constructed things leaves golfers with precious few safe havens.
The one thing you cannot do, under any circumstances, is miss to the right. If you do, there's a 50-foot ravine waiting to swallow your ball alive, leaving a blind pitch back up the hill onto a fast green that takes no prisoners. But even if you do decide to play it safe and bail out to the left, the up-and-down that awaits you is by no means a sure thing.
Or, as Northern Irishman and 2012 Open champ Darren Clarke put it: “There’s no place like it. It’s brutal and beautiful – often at the same time.”
Why is the hole called Calamity Corner?
For starters, the 16th hole is, in fact, tucked near the top corner of the Dunluce course, situated on a narrow strip of land that scarcely leaves you enough room to walk from tee to green. And as for where the "calamity" part came from, well, we'll let U.S. Open champ J.J. Spaun take it from here.
“It's pretty intimidating, like, visually,” Spaun said. “Wind dependent can really make it a tough hole. I think just making four pars on that hole, you're going to be gaining strokes on the field. That's why they call it, what, Calamity Corner? There's going to be some calamity there.”
What can we say? We're suckers for some good, old-fashioned alliteration. And "calamity" is an accurate description for what has traditionally been among the hardest par-3s in championship golf anywhere in the world.
How long is the 16th hole?
Ahead of the 2019 Open at Portrush, a new back tee was built that added some 30 yards to Calamity Corner, bringing its total length to 236 — the same number it will play at this time around. That's far from the longest par-3 in championship golf — heck, much of this same field just had to contend with the 300-yard par-3 eighth at Oakmont just this year — but it's more than enough to give golfers fits.
A 236-yard par 3 forces players into some tough choices off the tee to begin with. Add in the unpredictable wind conditions you get at that elevation, plus the vanishingly small margin for error between safety and, well, calamity, and you have the makings of one brutally difficult hole. And sure enough, it gave the best in the world fits the last time the Open came to Portrush.
How many players hit the 16th green in regulation in 2019?
Six years ago, a mere 41% of the field managed to reach the green in regulation at No. 16. Calamity Corner saw just 24 birdies all week, the fewest of any hole, and it played as the third-toughest hole on the course in terms of strokes to par. Just ask Rory McIlroy, who managed to make the green in regulation during his opening round only to four-putt his way to a double-bogey. He would go on to miss the cut in the Open's most recent return to his home country.
The 'Yawning Chasm': What happens if you miss the green at Calamity Corner?
Miss left, and you at least give yourself a chance: that way lies Bobby Locke's Hollow, a collection area to the left of the green that still offers plenty of peril but some paths to safety. Miss right, however, and good luck.
The first thing you notice when you first lay eyes on Calamity Corner is likely the "yawning chasm," which is ... well, pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Immediately to the right of the green, there's a 50-foot plunge down a ravine, with some typically nasty rough to boot. Wind up there, with a blind shot back up the hill, and it's nearly impossible to get up and down cleanly: According to research by ShotScope, missing right resulted in a bogey or worse 65 percent of the time back in 2019.