Royal Troon Golf Club is a links

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, located in

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O ope ...

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 Jun ...

, southwest of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

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 The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

. 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.'' World Atlas of Golf'', 2012 edition, Octopus Publishing Group Ltd., London, , pp. 58–59 The two were assisted by Charlie Hunter, greenskeeper of the neighbouring

Prestwick Golf Club Prestwick Golf Club is a golf course in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is approximately southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Prestwick is a classic links course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the h ...

, 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 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. The Club's property lies between the Firth of Clyde on the west, a caravan park on the south (slightly further south lies

), the railway line and main road on the east, and the town of Troon on the north.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport Glasgow Prestwick Airport () is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated northeast of the town of Prestwick in South Ayrshire and southwest of Glasgow. It is the less busy of the two airports serving the western part o ...

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 The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

. Other than having new back tees on several holes, the current Old Course is essentially very similar to Braid's finished work.

Awarded 'Royal' designation

Troon was granted its "Royal" designation in 1978, during its

centenary {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

. Its clubhouse, designed by Henry Edward Clifford and built in 1886,Henry Edward Clifford
- Dictionary of Scottish Architects 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 The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

, one of the major championships on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

and

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

. The Club most recently hosted in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

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 Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (20 November 1917 – 9 March 1987) was a South African professional golfer. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won The Open Championship four times and 15 PGA Tour events in total ...

, and

Arthur Havers Arthur Gladstone Havers (10 June 1898 – 27 December 1980)"Mr A.G. Havers. ''The Times'', 29 December 1980; p. 12; Issue 60812."Deaths – Havers. ''The Times'', 31 December 1980; p. 22; Issue 60814. was an English professional golfer. Havers wo ...

. Six consecutive Opens at Troon were won by Americans, from

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

through

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, ended by

Henrik Stenson Henrik Olof Stenson (; born 5 April 1976) is a Swedish professional golfer. He is the first male Swedish and first male Nordic major champion, having won the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon with a major championship record score of 26 ...

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 , but its diminutive green measures a mere . Two holes earlier, the par-5 6th ("Turnberry") extends to a lengthy . 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 ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are ...

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.

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.

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 Alister MacKenzie (30 August 1870 – 6 January 1934) was a golf course architect whose course designs span four continents. Originally trained as a surgeon, MacKenzie served as a civilian physician with the British Army during the Boer War ...

, a member of the

. 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

2020 Women's British Open The 2020 Women's British Open was played from 20 to 23 August in Scotland at Royal Troon Golf Club. It was the 44th Women's British Open, the 20th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour, and the first at Royal Troon Golf Club. The tournament w ...

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

: , par 71 *

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

: , par 71 *

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

: , par 72 *

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

: , par 72 * 1973: , par 72 *

: , par 72 * 1950: , par 70 Opens from 1962 through 1989 played the 11th hole as a par-5.

The Open Championship

has been held at Troon on nine occasions: * 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.

Women's British Open

The

Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour ...

has been held at Troon once:

Hosts further significant events

*Royal Troon has hosted the

Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 1 ...

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 Bruce Lloyd Vaughan (born September 10, 1956) is an American professional golfer. Vaughan was born in Kankakee, Illinois. He didn't start playing golf until he was 20 and working as a firefighter in Hutchinson, Kansas. Vaughan turned professiona ...

won. *The Club has hosted the

Scottish Amateur The Scottish Amateur is the national amateur match play golf championship of Scotland. It has been played since 1922 and is organised by the Scottish Golf Union. It is a "closed" event with entry currently restricted to those who were either bor ...

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

External links

*
The Open Championship
– official site {{Authority control Sports venues completed in 1878 1878 establishments in Scotland Sports venues in South Ayrshire Golf clubs and courses in South Ayrshire The Open Championship venues Organisations based in Scotland with royal patronage Organisations based in South Ayrshire