Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course located in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The club was founded in 1878, initially with five holes. Its Old Course is now one of the host courses for The Open Championship, one of the major championships on the PGA Tour and European Tour. The Club has hosted the Open eight times.
The 2004 Open Championship was held at Royal Troon, and was won by Todd Hamilton in a 4-hole playoff against Ernie Els. Past Open champions at Troon include Justin Leonard, Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf, Arnold Palmer, Bobby Locke and Arthur Havers.
Royal Troon is home to both the longest and shortest holes in Open Championship golf. The par-3 8th hole ("Postage Stamp") measures a short 123 yards (112 m) and is regarded as one of the top holes in the world, while the par-5 6th ("Turnberry") is 601 yards (550 m) long.
The Old Course is the championship layout at Troon. The Club has a second course, the Portland, designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie, which is also of very high standard. The Club is private; guests are allowed at certain times, under advance booking, with a handicap certificate establishing proficiency.
The Old Course has four tees – "Ladies", "Short", "Medal" and "Championship". The lengths given are for the Championship course.
| Hole | Name | Par | Length (yd) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seal | 4 | 361 |
| 2 | Black Rock | 4 | 391 |
| 3 | Gyaws | 4 | 379 |
| 4 | Dunure | 5 | 558 |
| 5 | Greenan | 3 | 210 |
| 6 | Turnberry | 5 | 599 |
| 7 | Tel-el-Kebir | 4 | 403 |
| 8 | Postage Stamp | 3 | 123 |
| 9 | The Monk | 4 | 423 |
| 10 | Sandhills | 4 | 438 |
| 11 | The Railway | 4 | 488 |
| 12 | The Fox | 4 | 431 |
| 13 | Burmah | 4 | 470 |
| 14 | Alton | 3 | 178 |
| 15 | Crosbie | 4 | 481 |
| 16 | Well | 5 | 542 |
| 17 | Rabbit | 3 | 222 |
| 18 | Craigend | 4 | 453 |
| Total | 71 | 7150 |
The Open Championship has been held at Troon on eight occasions:
| Year | Winner | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | ||
| 1923 | Arthur Havers 1st | 73 | 73 | 73 | 76 | 295 |
| 1950 | Bobby Locke 2nd | 69 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 279 (-9) |
| 1962 | Arnold Palmer 2nd | 71 | 69 | 67 | 69 | 276 (-12) |
| 1973 | Tom Weiskopf 1st | 68 | 67 | 71 | 70 | 276 (-12) |
| 1982 | Tom Watson 4th | 69 | 71 | 74 | 70 | 284 (-4) |
| 1989 | Mark Calcavecchia 1st | 71 | 68 | 68 | 68 | 275 (-13)PO |
| 1997 | Justin Leonard 1st | 69 | 66 | 72 | 65 | 272 (-12) |
| 2004 | Todd Hamilton 1st | 71 | 67 | 67 | 69 | 274 (-10)PO |
|
||||||||