Royal Troon Golf Club (Old)

Overview: The Royal Troon Golf Club (Old) profile records 7385 yards and par 71 for this links routing. The opening holes move across relatively open ground before the course turns through dunes and begins the demanding run back toward the clubhouse. Pot bunkers, gorse, firm fairways and the prevailing wind make the correct line more valuable than a simple long drive. The course's most famous holes are memorable because they are strategically clear: the tiny Postage Stamp asks for exact distance, while the long closing stretch tests whether a player can keep a plan under pressure. The Firth of Clyde and Ailsa Craig sit beyond the playing corridors, but the ground itself remains the main defence.

History: Golf was being played at Troon by the late nineteenth century, and the Old Course was shaped through the work of George Strath and Willie Fernie before James Braid carried out a major renovation in 1922. Braid strengthened the bunkering and playing lines before Royal Troon hosted The Open for the first time in 1923. It has since staged numerous Opens, including the 2016 championship and the 2024 return. The Portland course is a separate layout at the club; this profile covers the Old Course only. Its long tournament history has not removed the local character of the links, where changes in wind can make the same hole play as a different problem.

Did You Know? The eighth hole is the Postage Stamp, one of golf's most famous short par threes. Its green is small, its bunkers are deep and the surrounding wind can make a short club selection seem far less comfortable than the yardage suggests.