Turnberry (Ailsa Course)
Published: Last updated:
Turnberry, Ayrshire
DESIGNER: MacKenzie Ross, 1949
YARDAGE: 7,211
PAR: 70
GREEN FEES: Until October 31, hotel guests £150 (£90 after 3pm), visitors £190 (£90 after 3pm)
CONTACT: 01655 331000, www.turnberryresort.co.uk
COURSE COMMENT: No significant changes.
The Ailsa is a course of spectacular, legendary holes which made for a wonderful stage for last year’s Open. Together with Pebble Beach, it is probably the game’s most scenic Major venue, with stunning views out across the glistening Firth of Clyde to Ailsa Craig, the Mull of Kintyre and the Isle of Arran. The re-routing of 16 which allowed 17 to become a stiffer challenge was a resounding success and gives the Ailsa some of its teeth back.
The drive from the 9th with the lighthouse looking over your shoulder is legendary but this is just one shot in a run of holes along the shore – the 4th to the 11th – which are sensational. It climaxes with a stroll down the 18th fairway and a putt on the green which did for Tom Watson last July, all under the gaze of the famous red-roofed hotel.
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