Playing Turnberry
BY MURRAY BOTHWELL
PHOTOGRAPHY - OLLIE ALLISON/HARVEY JAMISON
5 MIN READ
Winding gently along the coast, through the many shades of green of South Ayrshire’s fertile farms and pocketed forests, the A77 never fails to present a picture-perfect view en route to Turnberry. From the north, and before you catch your first glimpse of the Hotels’ striking red roof, the ancient volcanic island of Ailsa Craig shoots out of the Firth of Clyde just 12 miles away to remind you that this area is special. Numerous castles sit majestically on cliffs, some ruined and some, like Culzean, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year who explore the grounds and its historically rich rooms.
Recent investment in Trump Turnberry’s links courses has added a polish to an already sparkling setting. Whether you choose to lose some time playing pitch and putt across the newly-sculptured lawns in front of the impressive Hotel, or set out to conquer the 7,203 yards par-72 King Robert the Bruce course you are never far away from one of the most iconic stretches of golfing estate that features spectacular views of Turnberry’s stunning coastline, castle ruins and, of course, the lighthouse. The Open’s Ailsa Course begins and ends in front of the Hotel and, in its enhanced design, enables golfers of all abilities to have the opportunity to create their own Duels in the Sun. Multiple tee boxes, now purposely set into the marram-clad dunes above the salt spray add excitement to those holes which hug the coast. The alterations to the course, whether lengthening, re-routing and re-shaping, still deliver many of the same fairway experiences that saw Tom Watson almost become the oldest winner of the Open Championship since Old Tom himself.
The Ailsa’s opening holes are tough. After being greeted at the white wooden Starter’s Hut a prevailing wind in your face at the first tee will immediately ask questions about whether you practiced enough at The Academy before walking round to here, past the huge clubhouse and the golfers finishing their rounds on the 18th green. Bright yellow flowering gorse, or whins as you’ll hear the caddies call it, separates the flatter, parallel fairways: the smell of coconut is ever present as you search for yet another ball. Switching back and forth with the wind, you’re soon down at the water’s edge to begin a run of holes where the wind will help you. They’re long holes though… long from the tips, and directionally challenging from the shorter tees. The memory of a young Tom Watson playing driver / driver to reach the 7th green is not lost on you as you climb its fairway.
The views you now have from the newly-styled par-3 9th tee will last a lifetime. The 248-yard tiger tee on its tiny promontory behind you is as fearsome a play as the shot you’re about to make. Even off the red tee you’re still sending your ball out across the crashing waves and the dark, igneous rocks that protect the course from the elements. The lighthouse, now the obligatory halfway house in your round, stands guard before you reach the extended 10th hole. This par-5 has a huge bunker which straddles the fairway before its raised green, tempting you to push harder and run the ball up to the flag. And yet, with that prevailing wind, you may just run too far and suffer the sudden drop to the rocks at the back of its infinity green.
Completing the redesigned loop at this farthest point of the course is the new 11th, a 214-yard par-3 at its longest which demands the best of your game. Once more you launch your ball across the jagged black rocks to reach the bunker-protected green, with the wind whistling across the tee and desperate to push your ball out to sea.
Then it gets tougher again… every hole now gets longer as the wind is either directly in your face or cutting across. The perfectly manicured tees and walkways provide some relief as you stare down those final few fairways, picking out the bunkers and burns to avoid, anxiously seeking the safety of that final hole where the 18th green still seems far away when you stand over ‘The Duel’ plaque in the fairway.
Relaxing post-round in the bay window of the Clubhouse, you now know how it feels to be that intrepid group of golfers you can see lining up on the opening hole of the Ailsa. You’ve relived those famous duels, you’ve conquered the tempting par-3s and you now have a timeless story to tell in a Clubhouse far, far away.