Royal Troon, Part II: A regal Scot that's a great challenge

July 20, 2003 By David Brice Special to GolfWeb

In the 1950 Open it took German amateur Herman Tissies, 15 strokes to complete this beautiful but wicked hole -- a tee shot, a single putt and 13 bunker shots in what seemed to be more a strange game of table tennis than it was golf. By comparison, the legendary Gene Sarazen, at the age of 72, played Royal Troon during the 1973 Open and on consecutive days took a total of just 3 strokes to play the eighth twice and never took his putter out of the bag. This is a true death or glory hole.

The longest hole on the current British Open circuit is also here at Troon. The imposing 577-yard sixth hole is well guarded by strategically placed bunkers, that brought a young and virtually unknown American, Bobby Clampett, to a dismal end at the 1982 Open. After leading throughout the first three rounds, Clampett was still in front when he found one of the soul-destroying bunkers on the sixth.

The resulting triple bogey destroyed Clampett's confidence completely and he fell totally out of contention.

A view of Royal Troon's first green.

But Royal Troon is much more than two outstanding holes. The opening five are very typical links, running along the shoreline with sand dunes that offer little in the way of protection from the wind, which invariably prevails. Then it's full ahead for Troon's real strength, the middle holes.

The eleventh, a 481-yard par 4 was once described by Arnold Palmer as the most dangerous hole he had ever seen. The thirteenth and fifteenth are barely any easier.

There are those who say that the closing holes lack some of the character that predominates the rest of the course, but most will disagree. This is truly one of the toughest of links courses in existence; so any perceived "softness" becomes a matter of relativity. Nothing on the entire layout could ever be considered as anything less than testing. We will all see this when the best players in the world attack Royal Troon at the 2004 Open.

For those who wish to include Royal Troon in a Scottish golf trip, bear in mind there is a minimum age requirement of 18 years, which is strictly imposed. The maximum permissible handicap is 20 for men and currently 30 for women. It is very likely that the ladies maximum handicap will be lowered for 2004, as this is really a course for the lower handicapper.

Regardless of your handicap, Royal Troon will certainly provide an exciting British Open in 2004 as once again it challenges the best players in the world. No serious golfer should miss the opportunity to witness one of the toughest defend itself as perhaps only Royal Troon can.

For suggestions on how to incorporate Royal Troon into your trip, whether to play it for yourself or experience the thrill of seeing The British Open in person, click here.

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