It looks like most of the gorse is on holes 10-11-12 and very much in play in a cross-wind.
Having become a little too familiar with gorse by playing along side of it over the past 20 years, I am not a fan. It seems that many who are willing to criticize fairways in Florida lined with water hazards see little, if any, problem with gorse-lined fairways. To me, the latter is far worse. At least relief from a red-staked hazard is a drop at the point of entry. A ball lost in the gorse is stroke & distance, same as out of bounds.
Does anyone know if Troon has made an effort to clear out or reduce the amount of gorse on the course over the years?
David, I definitely hear you, pro golf analysis is definitely not my strong suit, but the way that hazards function in assessing different levels of penalty is something I'm keenly interested in.
On 10, playing at pro distances, playing way left should take them out of play, and the fairway is wide at 245 from the back tees.
11 also allows much more room if they lay up to about 230, instead of taking on the pinch point between the gorse and the train.
12 definitely seems the most difficult, and pinches right at 280, but there is less bail out short of there.
I dunno, maybe I'm wrong, but this seems like exactly the time when the pros ought to be willing to settle for bogey-bogey-bogey when the winds up to keep their scores in check. That's not how the swing-for-the-fences era typically rewards players, which is why I think we've seen so much damage along in that corridor.