Royal Troon Course Guide

Royal Troon Course Guide - 2024

The Open returns to Royal Troon in 2024, with the famous Ayrshire links staging the Championship for the 10th time.

A venue where anything can happen, Troon offers very different tests on each nine thanks to its traditional out-and-back layout.

The front nine typically plays downwind and provides plenty of birdie opportunities, but a much more challenging test awaits on the way back to the clubhouse.

Learn more about Troon's varying examinations in our hole-by-hole guide to the venue for The 152nd Open.

Tee Times | Course Guide | Win with Steyn City

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HOLE-BY-HOLE GUIDE

Par 71 | 7 385 YARDS

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Hole 1

Seal | Par 4 | 366 YARDS

If you can find the generous fairway on the first, then Seal is a relatively straightforward opening hole, one that often plays straight downwind. It sounds simple, but if players let their nerves get the better of them on their opening tee shot and fail to find the fairway, this hole will show its teeth. Bunkers on the left side of the fairway gobble up wayward aggressive tee shots while poorly positioned shots down the left or right will lead to a tough approach shot, given the greenside bunkers on the front left and right of the green.

Hole 2

Black Rock | Par 4 | 389 YARDS

More frequent and well-positioned bunkers make this tee shot slightly tougher than the first. The traps can prevent a player from reaching the green in two, due to their severe faces. Accurate players, however, will again be rewarded and can attack pin positions all over this green. The first seven holes at Royal Troon usually play downwind and off the right, offering up scoring opportunities, and Black Rock is no exception.

Hole 3

Gyaws | Par 4 | 376 YARDS

Players will need to avoid the burn meandering through the middle of the fairway on the third. Provided they do so and hit down the right, they will be rewarded with a great birdie chance. Gyaws has the least protected green so far in terms of bunkers, but run-off areas will funnel loose shots into them with merry frequency. If players are under par through the first three holes, they will be happy with their start.

Hole 4

Dunure | Par 5 | 599 YARDS

The first par-5 on the card, Dunure provides possibly the best birdie chance on the course. Longer hitters will be able to carry the gaping bunker on the right of the fairway and will be left with a mid-iron approach into a fairly generous green. A few bunkers are dotted around the putting surface, but players would be unlucky to find their shots unplayable. A five on this hole would be a disappointment to many.

Hole 5

Greenan | Par 3 | 220 YARDS

If the fourth stands out as a birdie opportunity, things certainly get tougher at the par-3 fifth. Again, players who have a tendency to go left will struggle the most, with a collection of pot bunkers waiting. A well-positioned bunker also represents a danger to the front right of the green, and players will struggle to access tucked-away pins with the wind typically behind them.

Hole 6

Turnberry | Par 5 | 623 Yards

The sixth hole shares its name with another famous Championship venue in Turnberry, which can be seen from Troon. Having been lengthened by 22 yards for The 152nd Open, it will play as the longest hole in the Championship's history. Although it is a beastly hole whenever it is played into the wind, it usually plays straight downwind and offers a great birdie chance. The drive on the sixth is fairly straightforward, but the difficulty lies in the second shot. Provided players get their drive away safely, they are left with a very long approach into a narrow green, a sudden change from the opening five holes. Wayward approaches will result in treacherous shots around this green, with the putting surface itself presenting severe undulations.

Hole 7

Tel-el-Kebir | Par 4 | 403 YARDS

The seventh is visually stunning from a slightly raised tee, and the first hole at Royal Troon to be played directly away from the sea. Tel-El-Kebir is not an overly long hole, and most players will be able to take a long iron or fairway wood from the tee, but the challenge on this hole is accuracy. An array of fairway bunkers intimidate players from the tee, while the green is among the longest and narrowest on the course. Despite its many perils, if you play this hole accurately you will be rewarded with a fair birdie chance.

Hole 8

Postage Stamp | Par 3 | 123 YARDS

The most famous hole at Troon and one of the most iconic in the world of golf. Although short in length, it can strike fear into the heart of even the best golfers. That fear comes from a number of factors, including the usual headwind, the small size of the putting surface - which accounts for the hole's name - and the deep bunkers that protect it. There have been many famous moments on this hole, and many infamous ones too. If they were offered four pars on the Postage Stamp at the start of the week, most players would take it. The hole measures just 123 yards and could even play to a yardage of 99 on one day of the Championship, weather permitting.

Hole 9

The Monk | Par 4 | 440 YARDS

The Monk is a tricky hole to close out the front nine, and will typically signal the end of the downwind holes at Royal Troon. Although fairly generous off the tee, the ninth is not short in length and the green is tricky with run-off areas on both sides. Players who manage to avoid the perfectly placed pair of bunkers to the left of the fairway from their tee shot will usually have a blind second shot into the green, which is sometimes difficult to hold downwind. Make par here and prepare yourself for a stretch of incredibly tough holes, starting from the 10th.

Hole 10

Sandhills | Par 4 | 450 YARDS

The opening challenge of Royal Troon's famous back nine, it is not hard to see how Sandhills got its name. Players off the back tees will be faced with a daunting carry over large sandhills, with trouble awaiting any shot struck poorly. Depending on the tee position for the day, players may face a simpler tee shot, but that does not make the second any easier. Played well uphill to a narrow raised surface that will swat away any shot even a yard right, this green is desperately difficult to hit even with a wedge.

Hole 11

The Railway | Par 4 | 498 YARDS

While Sandhills is difficult, The Railway takes the honour of being the hardest hole at Royal Troon and one of the toughest in golf. Once again, a significant carry is required from the back tees to a fairway angled away to the right. The ideal line involves a carry over gorse bushes and the bravery to not be put off by the out-of-bounds railway line running tight along the right-hand side. While the opening shot can vary in difficulty depending on tee position, the second remains devilish in all circumstances, with the railway line always in play, gorse bushes down the left-hand side and a lone greenside bunker awaiting any shots that 'bail out'.

Hole 12

The Fox | Par 4 | 451 YARDS

While the 12th hole is slightly easier than the previous two, it can hardly be considered a reprieve. With intimidating gorse bushes in play off the tee on a hole usually played into a crosswind, the tight dog-leg fairway can at times seem almost impossible to hit. Once the tee shot is away, the approach is more fiddly than brutish, Although the green itself provides the main challenge on this hole, players will do well to find the surface in the first place instead of the two gaping bunkers either side of it. Take a four here, and you will be fairly happy.

Hole 13

Burmah | Par 4 | 473 YARDS

Continuing the trend of tough holes on the back nine, Burmah is another tricky test. Find the tight fairway off the tee, though, and the hole becomes much simpler, partially due to its lack of bunkering. Finding the green is still no easy feat, as the target is small and raised. At this point, Royal Troon is truly showing its teeth, and there is yet more difficulty to come.

Hole 14

Alton | Par 3 | 200 YARDS

A difficult par-3 following on from a number of brutal par-4s. This hole usually plays back into the headwind, slightly out of the left, and, although not a long hole, can wreak havoc on scorecards. Club selection is especially important on the 14th, with bunkers lurking short and the green widening out long. Despite the yardage, par is not to be sniffed at here, and Alton can certainly hit back if you do not strike your tee shot perfectly.

Hole 15

Crosbie | Par 4 | 502 YARDS

Another hole, another daunting challenge on the back nine at Royal Troon. This time, Crosbie offers up another difficult tee shot, albeit one that is at least straighter than on some of the previous holes. That does not make it any easier, with hazards in full view, be it the scattering of fairway bunkers or the heavy rough down the left. You will often be faced with a blind second shot to a green a fair distance away, with bunkers protecting the left-hand side.

Hole 16

Well | Par 5 | 572 YARDS

The first genuine respite of the back nine arrives at the 16th with Well. The first par-5 since the 6th, this hole provides some much-needed relief to players battling to save par, and provides a very good birdie chance, despite usually playing against the wind. Yet even the 16th provides no free handouts, as a perfectly placed burn that cuts through the centre of the fairway can often take driver out of the hands of all but the longest hitters. This leaves a very long second shot, which can render the green out of reach.

Hole 17

Rabbit | Par 3 | 242 Yards

After the long 16th, players reach the final par-3 on the course. With the pressure mounting for all the leading players in The 152nd Open, it will be critical that they can retain their composure and hit a penetrating shot into the heart of this green. Failure to do so, with what will often be a wood back into the wind, will likely result in a visit to the sand as three cross bunkers and a devilish greenside pot bunker leave some of the toughest up-and-downs on the course.

Hole 18

Craigend | Par 4 | 458 Yards

The final chapter of a wonderful 18 and testing back nine, Craigend has all the hallmarks of a great finishing hole. Three bunkers at 25-yard intervals ensure that anything leaked left off the tee will be lucky to avoid penalty. A further bunker down the right at driver length will persuade many to lay up, especially with The Open on the line. From the centre of the fairway, a mid-to-long iron will await, with a well-bunkered green short and right.