Royal Troon

Previous Opens at Royal Troon

Royal Troon, established in 1878, first staged the British Open in 1923 when Britain's Arthur Havers edged out American Walter Hagen by a shot for his only title.

Since then, the Ayrshire links course has hosted the oldest of the year's four major golf championships a further six times.

Troon was awarded the 'Royal' prefix to commemorate its centenary in 1978. It last held the Open in 1997, when American Justin Leonard won by three strokes from Sweden's Jesper Parnevik and Briton Darren Clarke.

Since then, the championship course has been lengthened by 96 yards with 10 new bunkers added. The par-71 layout now measures 7,175 yards.

New tees have been established at the first, sixth, 11th and 15th holes. The line of the tee shot at the sixth is unchanged but the hole has been stretched by 24 yards to 601, maintaining its status as the longest on the British Open championship rota.

Here is a hole-by-hole look at the Royal Troon layout for the July 15-18 British Open:

No. 1 (Seal) par four, 370 yards - The tee has been moved closer to the beach on this shortish par four, creating a more difficult angle into the fairway. Two fairway bunkers have been added on the right. Nevertheless, a good birdie opportunity.

No. 2 (Black Rock) par four, 391 yards - Few players will attempt to reach this hole in one with three cross-bunkers lying 40 yards short of a relatively flat green and a further three spread across the fairway some 260 yards out.

No. 3 (Gyaws) par four, 379 yards - A tough par four with the Gyaws Burn cutting across the fairway 290 yards out, and the contours of the fairway feeding positional tee shots towards bunkers on the left. The green falls away towards the back.

No. 4 (Dunure) par five, 560 yards - Two fairway bunkers have been added on the left, placing greater premium on accuracy off the tee. Most players, though, will aim to pick up at least a shot on a hole that yielded 16 eagles at the 1989 British Open.

No. 5 (Greenan) par three, 210 yards - Care must be taken not to underclub here, with a large green well-guarded by deep bunkers at the front, or to miss to the right, where the ground falls away sharply towards the sea.

No. 6 (Turnberry) par five, 601 yards - Longest hole on the British Open rota, this par five has been lengthened by 24 yards with the addition of a new tee since the 1997 championship. Best line off the tee is to the right as the fairway slopes towards bunkers on the left. A long, narrow green has one left bunker.

No. 7 (Tel-El-Kebir) par four, 405 yards - A challenging left-to-right dogleg with bunkers guarding both sides of the fairway in the driving area. The green, well-protected by bunkers, narrows towards the back.

No. 8 (Postage Stamp) par three, 123 yards - The shortest hole on the British Open rota, with five bunkers circling the green, is also one of the most famous. Gene Sarazen, aged 71, aced this hole with a five-iron during the 1973 championship.

No. 9 (The Monk) par four, 423 yards - The toughest of the outward holes requires a precise approach into a small, contoured green. Left fairway bunkers 290 yards out need to be cleared off the tee, unless a lay-up shot is preferred.

No. 10 (Sandhills) par four, 438 yards - There are no bunkers on the opening hole of the homeward stretch played into the prevailing north-west wind. However a tight fairway, bisected by a sandhill, and a green that slopes severely to the right provide a stiff challenge.

No. 11 (The Railway) par four, 490 yards - A daunting par four where Jack Nicklaus ran up a 10 on his way to an opening 80 at the 1962 Open. Care is needed off a new tee, which adds 27 yards to this hole, with gorse on both sides of the fairway and out-of-bounds lurking to the right.

No. 12 (The Fox) par four, 431 yards - The main dangers on this slight left-to-right dogleg are a narrow fairway and the tricky contours on and around a lightbulb-shaped green. The prevailing wind blows from right to left on this hole.

No. 13 (Burmah) par four, 472 yards - The start of Troon's formidable closing stretch, this left-to-right dogleg is the second hole on the course without bunkers. Two long and accurate shots are needed to reach an elevated green.

No. 14 (Alton) par three, 178 yards - The safe option here is to err on overclubbing with three bunkers guarding the front of a green that widens considerably towards the back.

No. 15 (Crosbie) par four, 483 yards - A new tee, moved back and left, has lengthened this par four by 26 yards since the 1997 Open. South Africa's Bobby Locke holed a monster putt here on the small, low-lying green on his way to victory in 1950.

No. 16 (Well) par five, 542 yards - A new bunker has been added to the left, beyond a ditch that cuts across the fairway. The green is well-bunkered on both sides. Tiger Woods eagled this hole on his way to a third-round 64 at the 1997 Open.

No. 17 (Rabbit) par three, 222 yards - The green drops away on both sides and is difficult to hold with the prevailing wind from the left. Australia's Wayne Grady lost the 1989 title in a three-way playoff after his par putt here finished an inch short.

No. 18 (Craigend) par four, 457 yards - A tough finishing hole where precision is needed off the tee with three fairway bunkers to the left and one to the right. The green is heavily protected at the front and sides, with the out-of-bounds path in front of the clubhouse close to the back of the green.

Previous Opens at Royal Troon

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