Royal Troon (Ayrshire)

Two weeks before the open championship took place at Royal Troon in Ayrshire, I was lucky enough to be invited down by another good friend of mine to play there. Established in 1878, Royal Troon has hosted 11 Open championships. What made this occasion even more special, was that the course was in championship-ready condition with all the grand stands up, which really made it feel like I was playing in the Open. 

When we arrived at the clubhouse, the first thing that we were greeted with when we entered was the claret jug, the most sought-after trophy in golf – reading some of the names on the trophy was really interesting, especially reading those who had won it at Troon. 

After a quick browse in the pro shop and a couple of practice putts, it was time to head to the first tee. Standing on that first tee with the grandstand behind me was really cool, all I could think about was how in a few weeks the winner of the open will be standing where I am just now. 

The first few holes at Royal Troon are pretty straight forward but by no means easy, numerous small but deep pot bunkers lined every fairway, along with open championship-style rough, which was up to my knees and only a few metres from the fairway, so it was essential to keep the ball in play by hitting good tee shots. Luckily my friend is also a caddy at Royal Troon in his spare time, so that helped out massively as some tee shots require a bit of knowledge as you cannot see certain fairways from the tee boxes.

The 8^th hole, named the “postage stamp” due to the green being remarkably small in size, was an interesting yet challenging hole, it only plays about 120 yards but requires a very accurate shot. This was easily my favourite hole of the day. Partly because of how iconic it is but also because I managed to walk off with a birdie. 

As the round progressed, I found myself constantly staring at the empty seats of the grandstands, as well as the 3 stories high “sponsors tent” and the absolutely huge merchandise store that you can see for the last 3 or 4 holes. 

When it was time to play the 18^th, all I could see was the two massive grandstands that lined the edges of the fairway, creating an amphitheatre for the last hole. As I holed my putt on the last, all I could think about was Henrik Stensson’s winning putt almost a decade prior. We finished the day off with some food in the club house which was almost as good as the golf course itself. 

Two weeks later I visited again, this time I wasn’t playing but rather a spectator. It was exciting to see all the best players in the world play the same course, especially watching them make 8’s and 9’s on the postage stamp – which made me feel better about myself.