Royal Troon update

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I played Royal Troon last Thursday (the winter course, with its unique tee positions).  Generally there is little change other than making the fairway bunkers on the flatter holes early and late in the round rather steeper faced.  Neither of my playing partners (both club members) could get out of them in a forward direction and always had to admit defeat and come out sideways or backwards.

1st.  New tee back and right of medal tee adding 14 yards and calling for an angled shot to the fairway or a slight fade.  Two new bunkers on the right of the fairway tighten the drive and a new green-front bunker should deter many from trying to drive this green.

2nd. An extra bunker has been added to the front left of the green (or possibly the original bunker made into two smaller ones).

3rd. No change

4th.  Two bunkers added on left of fairway at 291 and 321 yards from championship tee.

5th.  No change.

6th.  New back tee makes this now measure 599 yards (though my companions tell me it will measure just over 600 yards for the Championship).

7th.  Two further fairway bunkers added on left at 309 and 327 yards from championship tee.

8th.  No change.

9th.  No change, but I fancy the gap between the fairway bunkers on the left at 275 and 285 yards and the right hand edge of the fairway is even narrower than it used to be - no more than 10 yards!

10th.  No change, though the championship tee may be slightly further back - not sure.

11th.  No change, though now played as a 488-yard par 4.

12th.  No change.

13th.  No real change, just slightly longer.

14th.  No change.

15th.  New tee far to left of 14th green (old tee was to its right) calls for a drawn tee shot between the fairway bunkers (222, 251 and 265 yards from this tee).  Length now 481 yards (par 4).  Winter tee is on this side, though MUCH shorter, and it is an exciting tee shot.

16th.  No change.  With the wind behind (unusual) i was just able to clear the burn with my drive, leaving a 5-wood to the green and thoughts of an eagle.  They were premature - 3 putts followed!

17th.  I think the championship tee may be a tad further back than it used to be.

18th.  I fancy this tee is slightly further back, too.  These fairway bunkers seem to be straighter faced than they used to be and, with four of them in the range 262 to 326 yards from the back tee, they may well have some effect on the outcome of events.

The course was already in beautiful condition (the greens a little woolly but true) and on several (but not all) fairways we were required to lift the ball to the semi-rough to avoid taking divots.  The winter course measures 6201 yards keeping par at 71 and probably played about 5 shots easier than the 6641-yard medal course.  SSS for the winter course is 71 and 73 for the medal course.

[ForkaB]

Thanks, Mark

Great report.

I am a bit saddened that they have put in that front bunker on #1.  To me what turned #1 Troon from a pedestrian hole to a very interesting one was the drivability of the green, particularly under Open conditions and for elite players.  I hope they haven't turned it into a 6 iron-wedge hole.......

Otherwise, I get the feeling that the course is going to stand up magnificently in July.  Hope so.

[Brian_Gracely]

It appears that all the changes have been updated in the hole-by-hole disgrams on the website, http://www.royaltroon.co.uk

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Richard,

The new green-front bunker at the 1st does leave a small opening on the direct line from the new tee (ie coming in to the green from 5 o'clock, as it were) so it is an option, though a high-risk option.  The course plan suggests that it is straight on 6 o'clock leaving no gap, but there is a slight window.  However the 6-iron tee shot still seems the likely sensible shot - until the wind comes from south-east, that is.

Mark.

[Brian_Gracely]

Mark,

Having only played the course once, I thought the majority of changes were in line with the rest of the course and seemed reasonable and looked in place with the rest of the course.  The one change that I thought was rather poor was the new tee on #15.  It completely alters the shape of the hole...straight instead of a slight dogleg right, and you no longer have much view of the hole from the tee.  The original tee appears to allow you to see the hole much better and puts the fear of the bunkers in your head.  

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Brian,

The bunkers no longer posed a threat to the tigers from the right-hand tee, but from the left-hand tee (it isn't actually straight, but a slight right-to-left dog-leg) they are very much in play.  Troon maintains tees on both sides of several fairways and I suspect the idea for the new 15th came from the members' winter tee.  I think the 2nd played from the winter tee is probably harder for an average player like me from the left than from the right.  As for the winter 8th....  If you think the Postage Stamp unforgiving try the other green!

Mark.