Royal Troon Golf Club

History

Establishment

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, and together with 1882 Open champion Willie Fernie, designed the original course, expanding it to 18 holes by 1888. The two were assisted by Charlie Hunter, greenskeeper of the neighbouring Prestwick Golf Club, in Troon's formative years.

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 Relief course, on the site of what would become Troon's New course, designed by Alister MacKenzie; Shortly after opening the New course was renamed 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.

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.

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 has hosted 11 Open Championships -- 1923, 1950, 1962, 1973, 1982, 1989, 1997, 2004, 2016, 2020 (only a women's edition in 2020; no championships for men were offered by The R&A), and 2024.

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, six completely re-sited greens, much narrower fairways, (when not changed entirely for the re-positioned greens), and vastly different bunkering, the current Old Course is essentially very similar to Braid's finished work.

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.

German golfer Sophia Popov's status as Champion Golfer of the Year in the 2020 Open Championship, where there was only a tournament for women that year, was regarded as one of the greatest upsets in major championship golf.

Royal designation

Troon was granted its "Royal" designation in 1978, during its centenary. Its clubhouse, designed by Henry Edward Clifford and built in 1886, is richly decorated with historical golf artifacts. James Montgomerie, father of Colin Montgomerie, served as Secretary in the 1980s.

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 has hosted 11 Open Championships, ten for men (most recently in 2024), and the 2020 Open for women (no men's equivalent that year).

Recent history

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 led to the club being removed from the Open rota.

Noteworthy characteristics

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. 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 ulex (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin), 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. 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.

Royal Troon is home to the shortest hole in Open Championship golf. Described by Golf Monthly as one of the most famous holes in the world, the par-3 8th hole ("Postage Stamp") measures a scant 123 yd, but its diminutive green measures a mere 2635 sqft. Two holes earlier, the par-5 6th ("Turnberry") extends to a lengthy 601 yd and until the championship at Royal Liverpool in 2023 was the longest hole in Open history.

The 11th hole ("The Railway") is one of the most difficult holes in major championship golf. 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.

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 The 2024 Open Championship:

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

• 2024 : 7385 yd, par 71
• 2020 : 6632 yd, par 71 (women's)
• 2016 : 7190 yd, par 71
• 2004 : 7175 yd, par 71
• 1997 : 7079 yd, par 71
• 1989 : 7097 yd, par 72
• 1982 : 7067 yd, par 72
• 1973 : 7064 yd, par 72
• 1962 : 7045 yd, par 72
• 1950 : 6583 yd, par 70 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 ten occasions:

• Note: For multiple winners of The Open Championship, superscript ordinal identifies which in their respective careers.

Women's Open

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

Hosts further significant events

• Royal Troon has hosted the Amateur Championship on five occasions: 1956, 1968, 1978, 2003, and 2012.
• The club has hosted the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship on four occasions: 1904, 1925, 1952, and 1984.
• The club has hosted the Senior Open Championship in 2008, and American Bruce Vaughan won.
• The club has hosted the Scottish Amateur on six occasions: 1923, 1956, 1963, 1969, 1977 and 2009.
• The club has hosted the Scottish Ladies' Amateur on five occasions: 1907, 1949, 1957, 1963, and 1982.

References

References

1. "Royal Troon Old Course".
2. "The Open at Royal Troon".
3. "History of Women's golf at Royal Troon".
4. Inglis, Martin. (1 July 2016). "Royal Troon says 'yes' to women members".
5. "Royal Troon – Club Professional History".
6. '' World Atlas of Golf'', 2012 edition, Octopus Publishing Group Ltd., London, {{ISBN. 978-0-600-62518-6, pp. 58–59
7. "Club History – Early Years".
8. "Tour Confidential: Did golf just crown the most improbable major winner ever?". EB Golf Media LLC.
9. (5 June 1978). "Now it's Royal Troon". Glasgow Herald.
10. [http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=200235 Henry Edward Clifford] - [[Dictionary of Scottish Architects]]
11. Klein, Bradley S.. (11 July 2016). "Royal Troon's tiny 'Postage Stamp' offers plenty of heartache to write home about".
12. Martin, Sean. (13 July 2016). "Troon's short but daunting task". PGA Tour.
13. Sherman, Ed. (15 July 2004). "No mailing it in here". Chicago Tribune.
14. Tremlett, Sam. "World's Most Famous Golf Holes".
15. Treacy, Dan. (20 July 2023). "Inside the 620-yard par-5 at Open Championship: Why No. 15 at Royal Liverpool is longest hole in Open history". Sporting News.
16. Shackelford, Geoff. (14 July 2016). "Troon's 11th could become the hardest hole (statistically) in a major, ever".
17. Bath, Richard. (14 July 2016). "The Open 2016: Railway hole leaves leading players off the beaten track". Telegraph.
18. (14 July 2016). "Train wreck: 'Railway' hole derails top golfers at Troon". USA Today.
19. (2024). "Royal Troon: Hole by Hole Guide". R&A Championships Limited.
20. (2011). "Media guide". The Open Championship.