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There are more than 3,000 golf clubs in the British Isles, the geographic term used to incorporate England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Of these, a mere 37 clubs carry the proud title, "Royal", as a prefix to their name.

Royal Troon's ominous bunkers are just the beginning of the defense arsenal

Granted by a member of the Royal Family, the majority of Britain's Royal clubs received the honor during the late 19th and early 20th century, when golf was enjoying a newly discovered popularity and the Royal Family were active participants in the game.

During the 54 year reign of Queen Elizabeth II, only a single club has been added to the roster of Royal golf clubs and Troon Golf Club on Scotland's Ayrshire coast was the last to be so anointed, on the occasion of its centenary in 1978. Thirty years on and with no other clubs apparently waiting in the wings to join the party, Royal Troon may well be the very last of the Royals, a distinction that only adds to the appeal of one of Scotland's most distinguished clubs.

Royal Troon's beginnings were far more humble when in 1878, a small group of local golfers, meeting over a drink at the Portland Arms Hotel in Troon, decided to form their own golf club. With a grand total of 20 members and the promise of the use of a piece of wasteland from the local laird, The Duke of Portland, Troon Golf Club was born.

The original course, laid out by the Keeper of the Greens at nearby Prestwick Golf Club, consisted of a modest five holes with a converted railway carriage that would serve as an equally modest clubhouse.

Royal Troon has produced 6 US champions from the 8 Opens it has hosted

Within a year of opening, the course had expanded to six holes and by 1888; Troon Golf Club was boasting a full eighteen holes.

With design help along the way from 1883 British Open champion, Willie Fernie, then noted architect, James Braid followed by Dr. Alistair MacKenzie of Augusta fame and more recently by the great Frank Pennink, Troon has received the care and attention of some of the most talented golf architects the game has ever known. What started out as a piece of scrubland, unfit for any agricultural use, has gradually been groomed, massaged and coerced into becoming one of Scotland's finest links.

Troon hosted its very first British Open in 1923 when Englishman, Arthur Havers took the championship. South African, Bobby Locke was the winner of Troon's second Open in 1950 and since then Troon has shown a strong preference for Americans. Arnold Palmer, Tom Weiskopf, Tom Watson, Mark Calcavecchia, Justin Leonard and most recently in 2004, Todd Hamilton, have all found British Open glory here.

Royal Troon's famous Postage Stamp Hole

Royal Troon's next date with The Open has yet to be announced, but be assured, it's more likely to be sooner than later. In the meantime it has just been announced that Royal Troon will host the 2008 Senior British Open next July -- Tom Watson defending champion.

A traditional out and back links layout, the opening few holes show a relatively kinder side of the layout's sometimes cruel character. These short par-4's run picturesquely along the shoreline of the Firth of Clyde, offering an opportunity to soak up the scenery -- Ailsa Craig in the distant south and to the west, the majestic mountains of the Isle of Arran.

Enjoy the views while you may as there is serious work ahead -- Royal Troon is a stiff challenge from beginning to end, but the toughest holes of all are in the mid-section.

The most famous (or perhaps infamous) hole of all is the deceivingly short, 123-yard eighth, the scene of many a disaster over the years. It holds a birdie opportunity for any who are able to hold the miniscule green, or a sure calamity for the majority who will be doomed to find one or even more of the five, deep surrounding bunkers.

Justin Leonard was victorious at Royal Troon's 1997 Open

At the 1950 open, it took German amateur, Herman Tissies, 15 strokes to complete this beautiful but heartless hole -- a tee shot, a single putt and 13 bunker shots in what had more resemblance to a bizarre game of ping-pong than it did golf. By comparison, the legendary Gene Sarazen, playing Royal Troon at the age of 72, during the 1973 Open and on consecutive days, took a grand total of just three strokes to play the Postage Stamp twice -- and never took his putter from the bag! This is a true, death or glory hole.

While Troon's eighth is the shortest hole on The British Open circuit, so the sixth is one of The Open's longest, measuring 599 yards and it demands pinpoint accuracy every inch of the way. Strategically placed fairway bunkers can prove fatal as a young Bobby Clampett discovered during the 1982 Open.

After leading the field during the entirety of the first three rounds, he found one of the sixth's fearsome fairway bunkers. The resulting triple bogey destroyed Clampett's confidence and he fell totally out of contention.

Arnold Palmer once described Royal Troon's eleventh, a 488 yard, par-4, as the most dangerous hole he has ever encountered and for the uninitiated, Troon's thirteenth and fifteenth are hardly any easier. It has been said that the closing holes lack the character that seems to predominate the rest of the course, but most disagree.

This is a seriously tough layout, so any perceived softness becomes relative -- nothing on the entire course could ever be considered anything less than thoroughly testing.

Royal Troon is simply one of the best and not a course to be left off of any itinerary visiting Scotland's golf-rich, southwest. Visitor times may not be the easiest to come by but with a little help from a professional golf travel company, like Golf International, you can do it -- and you might end up with one of the most memorable experiences of the entire trip.

For a few suggestions on how to include famous Royal Troon on your Scottish golf trip, click here.

© 2007 David Brice / Golf International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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