Royal Troon Golf Club

Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course in Scotland, located in Troon, South Ayrshire, southwest of Glasgow.

Royal Troon Golf Club
The Old Course clubhouse in 2009
Club information
Location in Scotland
Location in South Ayrshire, Scotland
Coordinates55.532°N 4.65°W / 55.532; -4.65
LocationTroon, South Ayrshire, Scotland
Established1878 (1878)
TypePrivate
Total holes45
Tournaments hostedThe Open Championship,
The Amateur Championship,
The Senior Open Championship
Women's British Open
Websiteroyaltroon.co.uk
Old Course
Designed byGeorge Strath and
Willie Fernie, 1888;
James Braid, 1923
Par71
Length7,175 yards (6,561 m)
Course rating75
Portland Course
Designed byWillie Fernie, 1895;
Alister MacKenzie, 1921
Par71
Length6,289 yards (5,751 m)
Course rating71
Craigend Course
Par27
Length1,191 yards (1,089 m)
The Firth of Clyde beach and Royal Troon
are separated by raised sand dunes

Founding and early years

The club, which now has a total of 45 holes, was founded in 1878, initially with five holes. It lies adjacent to the Firth of Clyde. George Strath was appointed in 1881 as the club's first golf professional,[1] and together with 1882 Open champion Willie Fernie (golfer), designed the original course, expanding it to 18 holes by 1888.[2] The two were assisted by Charlie Hunter, greenskeeper of the neighbouring Prestwick Golf Club, in Troon's formative years.[3]

When Strath left the Club's employ in 1887, Fernie became head professional, and served in that role until his death in 1924. He laid out the club's original Portland Course as well; this course was named in honour of the 6th Duke of Portland, an essential early Troon Golf Club patron and facilitator, who was one of the region's largest landowners.[3]

The Club's property lies between the Firth of Clyde on the west, a caravan park on the south (slightly further south lies Prestwick Golf Club), the railway line and main road on the east, and the town of Troon on the north. Glasgow Prestwick Airport is located slightly to the south and east of the club, and low-flying aircraft are nearest its southern section.

Redesigned for first Open Championship

Just prior to Royal Troon hosting its first Open Championship in 1923, the Old Course was redesigned, lengthened, and strengthened by James Braid, a five-time Open champion, one of the era's top architects, and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Other than having new back tees on several holes, the current Old Course is essentially very similar to Braid's finished work.[2]

Awarded 'Royal' designation

Troon was granted its "Royal" designation in 1978, during its centenary.[4] Its clubhouse is richly decorated with historical golf artifacts. James Montgomerie, father of Colin Montgomerie, served as Secretary in the 1980s.

Ten-time host of The Open Championship

Its Old Course is one of the host courses for The Open Championship, one of the major championships on the PGA Tour and European Tour. The Club most recently hosted in 2016 and will host the 2024 for a tenth time.

Past Open champions

Past Open champions at Royal Troon include Justin Leonard, Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf, Arnold Palmer, Bobby Locke, and Arthur Havers. Six consecutive Opens at Troon were won by Americans, from 1962 through 2004, ended by Henrik Stenson of Sweden in 2016.

Noteworthy characteristics

Seaside opening

The Old Course begins alongside the sea, running southwards in a line for the first six holes. This opening section offers full visibility and plenty of space, but does still require accuracy to avoid deep bunkers. Many good rounds have been fashioned through low scores here, often aided by prevailing downwind conditions.

Rise in complexity

Beginning with the seventh, the Old Course turns further inland, while simultaneously changing direction, on each of its next six holes, among hillier dunes and thicker vegetation, including gorse and whins, to severely punish offline shots. This sector, with two blind tee shots on the tenth and 11th, marks a sharp rise in difficulty from the opening holes.

Long finish

With the 13th hole, the player turns northwards for a long, very stern finish, running parallel to the opening stretch. This comprises three long par 4s, two tough par 3s, and a challenging par 5 (the 16th) with its fairway bisected at the halfway point by a ditch, which can only very rarely be carried from the tee. The player very often has to face a strong prevailing wind.

Famous holes

Royal Troon is home to both the longest and shortest holes in Open Championship golf. Regarded as one of the top holes in the world, the par-3 8th hole ("Postage Stamp") measures a scant 123 yards (112 m), but its diminutive green measures a mere 2,635 square feet (293 sq yd; 245 m2).[5][6][7] Two holes earlier, the par-5 6th ("Turnberry") extends to a lengthy 601 yards (550 m).

The 11th hole ("The Railway") is one of the most difficult holes in major championship golf.[8] Now a long par-4, a blind tee shot has a long carry over gorse with out of bounds all along the railway on the right. The lengthy approach shot is to a small green that falls away, with nearby out of bounds.[9][10]

Votes to admit women as members

On 1 July 2016, Royal Troon members voted overwhelmingly to admit women into the club as members, avoiding a potential controversy that could have overshadowed the 2016 Open Championship and the club being removed from the Open rota.[11]

The Portland and Craigend Courses

The Old Course is the championship layout at Royal Troon. Its second course, the Portland, also an 18-hole layout from 1895, but significantly shorter than the Old Course, was redesigned in 1921 by golf course architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Portland is also of very high standard. It is located slightly further inland and further north than the Old Course, with no holes bordering the Firth of Clyde; it has its own clubhouse.

The Craigend Course is a nine-hole par-3 course.

The Club is private; guests are allowed at certain times, under advance booking, with a handicap certificate establishing proficiency.

The Old Course has four tees – "Ladies", "Short", "Medal" and "Championship".

Layout

For 2016 Open Championship:

HoleNameYardsParHoleNameYardsPar
1Seal367410Sandhills4514
2Black Rock390411The Railway4824
3Gyaws377412The Fox4304
4Dunure555513Burmah4734
5Greenan209314Alton1783
6Turnberry601515Crosbie4994
7Tel-el-Kebir401416Well5545
8Postage Stamp123317Rabbit2203
9The Monk422418Craigend4584
Out3,44536In3,74535
Source:[12]Total7,19071

Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):[13]

Opens from 1962 through 1989 played the 11th hole as a par-5.

The Open Championship

The Open Championship has been held at Troon on nine occasions:

YearWinnerScoreWinner's
share (£)
R1R2R3R4Total
1923 Arthur Havers7373737629575
1950 Bobby Locke 2nd69727068279 (−1)300
1962 Arnold Palmer 2nd71696769276 (−12)1,400
1973 Tom Weiskopf68677170276 (−12)5,500
1982 Tom Watson 4th69717470284 (−4)32,000
1989 Mark Calcavecchia71686868275 (−13)PO80,000
1997 Justin Leonard69667265272 (−12)250,000
2004 Todd Hamilton71676769274 (−10)PO720,000
2016 Henrik Stenson68656863264 (−20)1,175,000
  • Note: For multiple winners of The Open Championship, superscript ordinal identifies which in their respective careers.
  • The Club will host The Open Championship again from 14–21 July 2024.[14]

Women's British Open

The Women's British Open has been held at Troon once:

YearWinnerScoreWinner's
share (US$)
R1R2R3R4Total
2020 Sophia Popov70726768277 (−7)675,000

Hosts further significant events

References

  1. "Royal Troon – Club Professional History". royaltroon.co.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  2. World Atlas of Golf, 2012 edition, Octopus Publishing Group Ltd., London, ISBN 978-0-600-62518-6, pp. 58–59
  3. "Club History – Early Years". royaltroon.co.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  4. "Now it's Royal Troon". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 5 June 1978. p. 16.
  5. Klein, Bradley S. (11 July 2016). "Royal Troon's tiny 'Postage Stamp' offers plenty of heartache to write home about". Golfweek. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. Martin, Sean (13 July 2016). "Troon's short but daunting task". PGA Tour.
  7. Sherman, Ed (15 July 2004). "No mailing it in here". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  8. Shackelford, Geoff (14 July 2016). "Troon's 11th could become the hardest hole (statistically) in a major, ever". Golf Digest. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  9. Bath, Richard (14 July 2016). "The Open 2016: Railway hole leaves leading players off the beaten track". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  10. "Train wreck: 'Railway' hole derails top golfers at Troon". USA Today. Associated Press. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  11. Inglis, Martin (1 July 2016). "Royal Troon says 'yes' to women members". bunkered.
  12. "The Course". The Open Championship. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  13. "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  14. See The Open website
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