Short on the card but never simple, the 9th demands absolute precision. The green sits on a shallow plateau with steep run-offs on every side, so distance control is everything. Into a breeze off Belfast Lough, many players come up short; downwind, anything slightly firm can hop over the back and trickle down the bank. Commit to your number and your trajectory.
Centre-of-green is the smart shot, especially to a front pin where a false front can drag timid strikes back off the surface. Misses funnel away into tight lies and fiddly chips where stopping the ball is difficult. The safer miss is generally a touch short and on line; long or wide brings the most awkward recoveries.
Once aboard, the work isn’t done. Subtle crowns and fall-offs make putts from above the hole deceptively fast. Keep putts under the hole where possible and focus on clean, committed strokes—tentative putting is punished on this surface.