“A great hole, lots of drama and that's what we want."
Those were the words of Pádraig Harrington as he strode his way towards the 18th green during the Pro-Am at the Genesis Scottish Open.
The closing hole at the Renaissance Club has certainly proven that in recent years, with 2023 producing a finish that nobody who witnessed it will ever forget.
Local hero Robert MacIntyre carved his tee-shot left only to produce a remarkable recovery from the rough and set up a birdie that handed him the clubhouse lead.
Behind him, Rory McIlroy was on the same score and when he also hit a tee-shot into the rough on the last, the odds were stacked towards a play-off, or even a home win inside 72 holes.
But the Northern Irishman, as he has so many times, came up with a moment of magic of his own, finding the putting surface and making his birdie to break home hearts.
And while we may be currently telling a tale of two birdies, a red number on the 18th is actually a relatively rare occurrence, with just 42 recorded in 2024 compared to 102 bogeys or worse.
And that is one of the reasons that Harrington, who has been a player design consultant at the Tom-Doak-designed Renaissance Club since 2021, has yet to touch the closing hole.
"We haven't changed this hole,” he said. “We looked at it, we just know it plays tough enough.
“If anything is going to change, we are looking at maybe a few more bunkers in the rough on the right just to stop the bail out.
“In a year like this, where there's been plenty of growth you don't need bunkers, the rough is there."
Harrington describes the 18th as a “classic links hole” and there are few better qualified people to give out that distinction than a two-time winner of The Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
"It's an interesting hole because we've seen it play very easy,” he added. “One year early on, we had the tee up and it was three-wood and nine iron, but I think last year it was the most difficult, or the second most difficult on the Tour, but the most difficult hole on Tour that didn't have water.
"So it really is a classic links hole, it really depends on what the wind is doing. Today is a bright sunny day but it has a little bit of wind coming in, it's not that windy today - about 12-15mph - but it's quite an exposed hole, so you're getting the full force, full brunt, of that wind. There's a lot of contrasts on the hole.
Harrington’s own record on the 18th in competitive rounds between when Scotland’s national open moved to Renaissance in 2019 and last season leaves him four over, with a birdie, 13 pars, three bogeys and a double from 18 attempts.
That the hole can take four shots from one of the greatest links players of them all is testament to its difficulty – and there is no one better placed to know how it should be played.
"You've got a very narrow tee-shot when it’s into the wind because you have two bunkers on the right that are like 274 yards to carry, a big carry, I know it doesn't seem like that, but it's a big carry into the wind,” Harrington says.
"Then equally on the left-hand side, you have two bunkers that if the ball is running it will go in to, so you are kind of picking your poison. If you hit it up the left and get a good strike, you could run into the bunkers, and if you hit it up the right and haven't really hit enough of it, you aren't carrying the bunkers.
"I don't see anyone laying up on them because you have a three-wood second shot. It really is a classic tee-shot which is good on an 18th hole. You’ve just got to stand there and hit a good shot.
"Depending on the wind conditions: into the wind, you could hit anything from a three-wood to four iron been hit in here, to a slightly elevated green, which is always a difficulty on a links golf course.
"It doesn't bounce on to this green so you have to fly it into there and if you miss the green, you have to chip up to the green. So it's a classic second shot, middle of the green you are happy.
"Interestingly enough, it's one of those holes where if you do hit the green, you have a good birdie chance.
“If you miss the green, the bunkers are deep, right and left is no fun. Ideally, if you are in trouble, you'd play to the front of the green - you would play short. It's a straightforward chip, it's when you are pin high and you miss the green you are in trouble.
"There's a decent amount of slope from back to front, it's an awkward chip if you are chipping across the green so you're picking your poison.
"If you hit a good tee shot you aren't hitting to the front of the green. If you are in the rough, you should play shortish to give yourself more room if you miss with your second shot.
"This is respite on the hole, when you get up there the green is protected. Grandstands all around, the clubhouse to the left, so it's actually quite serene walking up there, especially on a cold, wet, windy day and it's tough. You get up to the green and it's all quiet and it's warm.”
It is unlikely to be quiet on Sunday when the final groups approach those grandstands, with one among them set to be crowned Genesis Scottish Open and a Rolex Series champion.
Will the 18th once again produce high drama?
