7 holes at Royal Troon that will decide the Open Championship

Although its legend is often associated with one of the game’s most beguiling short par 3s, Royal Troon has a secret ingredient that is rarely enjoyed enough: its collection of tasty and flavorful “two-shotters,” Architecture Editor Ran Morrissett explains.

If you’re a golfer — and we’re assuming you are, as a reader of GOLF.com — you probably know a lot about the Postage Stamp on the Old Course at Royal Troon, Scotland. The 123-yard 8th hole is one of the game’s most legendary and intimidating short par 3s, in the same exalted class as the 17th at Sawgrass, the 12th at Augusta National and the 7th at Pebble Beach. The Postage Stamp, with its tricky green and five surrounding bunkers, could only be more nerve-wracking or competitive if its drama unfolds on the final holes of a round rather than the front nine.

But historic Royal Troon isn’t hosting its 10th Open Championship because of a single hole, or the much-discussed fact that the Old Course now boasts both the shortest hole (the Postage Stamp) and longest hole (the par-5 6th, lengthened to 568 yards for this championship) in the Open circuit. No, what gives Royal Troon its reliable toughness and excitement is something less well-known: its remarkable collection of par-4 holes and the unique pace they impart to the classic out-and-back course first designed by architect Willie Fernie in 1887.

When the world’s best golfers last gathered here in 2016, Troon was the scene of one of the greatest battles in the sport’s long history, when Henrik Stenson narrowly beat the fiery 46-year-old Phil Mickelson, finishing him off with a 50-foot drive over the green on the par-4 15th hole. Are the par-4s at Troon worth more than usual? Yes, they do. Let’s look at how they play out on the course.

Holes 1 to 3 – each a par 4 – run south, with the Firth of Clyde directly on the right.

None of them are longer than 400 yards, which in theory makes for a soft, handshake start. But the holes are littered with bunkers and it’s entirely possible to mess them up. The pressure is on not to do so, as this is the easiest three-hole section of the course. If you start slow, no one will trust you to rebound.

The next par 4 is the 7th hole and it is absolutely world class, although somewhat marred by its proximity to the Postage Stamp. It is certainly one of the best links holes in golf but doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

Further inland, away from the Firth of Clyde, the 7th might lead you to believe disappointment is in store. Far from it. The hole, a dogleg, swings right into some of the course’s most beautiful dunes. In fact, Tel-El-Kebir (named after an 1882 battle in Sudan that was culturally prominent when Fernie created the hole) might be even better today than it was a century ago.

At just over 350 yards long, the hole might tempt strong hitters to hit a power fade and reach the green with a coastal breeze at their backs. But miss it just and you might end up in 15-foot dunes; or cut it just a bit too far and your hopes will be dashed in a steep bunker 27 yards in front and to the right of the green.

How quickly can the hunter become the hunted on hole number 7? Very quickly. That’s why, over the course of four days, you can see everything from mid-iron to driver on the tee. That’s a sign of the greatness of Troon’s design: golfers don’t pull out the driver like robots on every tee. Constant thinking and rethinking is required depending on the playing conditions of the day, which explains why Troon members never tire of playing the course.

The 9th and 10th holes are two sturdy two-hitters that lead into the largest dunes on the property. Both offer approach shots to elevated greens that shrug off indifferently struck balls. The 9th fairway, with its spherical rounds, ends on a green at the southern end of Troon, and the 10th begins the journey back north to the clubhouse. The 10th hole, named Sandhills, which leads over a large dune to a hidden fairway, requires a particularly nervous tee shot. To make matters worse, the prevailing wind on the nine holes often blows from behind. The friendliness that the first three holes of the course initially exuded? That’s a distant memory.

Standing on the 11th teea certain unease sets in. History has shown that this 498-yard hole is not only the most difficult par 4 at Royal Troon, but one of the most difficult in world golf. Its fairway runs parallel to a railway line – hence the hole’s indelible name, ‘Railway’ – which is just six paces from the green. Ideally, a tee shot to the right offers the best angle for the long approach shot to the open green. If you tee off to the left and away from the tracks, the second shot becomes more complicated as a bunker protects the left front of the green. It’s a scary hole, made even scarier when you know that even the mighty Jack Nicklaus once scored a 10 here.

Troon’s right-hand 12th hole turns towards the Firth and offers a respite from the march north. It finishes on a green beautifully set at the foot of a dune. Members sometimes refer to the course as a play in three acts. The first six holes introduce you to the round along the coast. The next six, ending at hole 12 and occupying the southern end of the property, are set in the largest dunes. That leaves the final act: Troon’s infamous six-hole finish.

It starts with the bunker-free, 425-meter-long 13th hole. Although holes 10 to 13 measure over 1,870 yards in length, they have only three bunkers in total, which speaks to the dynamic golf terrain in which they are set. After all, man-made hazards (also called bunkers) are only needed to spice up play when Mother Nature fails to do her job. There are no such worries here. The churned-up ground of hole 13 is just ideal. The unpredictability of the initial impact and tee shot run-out means the hole can be a nightmare for even the best players in the world – a test that the Champion Golfer of the Year must pass repeatedly to win the Claret Jug on a Sunday.

Of the course’s remaining five holes, two are par 4s and both are excellent. The 15thnow a remarkable 460 yards long, is a natural links hole full of character with bumpy turf from start to finish. A pair of offset bunkers on the right give way to offset bunkers further left. Should you find one of these, expect to lose half a shot to the field. No wonder drivers like Palmer (1962), Weiskopf (1973), Watson (1982), Calcavecchia (1989), Leonard (1997) and Stenson (2016) have been successful here. The sandy soil of the site allowed the 15th green to be placed in a bowl and golfers can expect friendly bounces onto the green from both sides. Even so, only the top half of the flag is likely to be visible from the fairway, so, much like the 13th, this is another wonderful feeling hole. True links golf.

Troon’s The last two-shotter is the home hole — and nothing is lacking. Two bunkers more than 300 yards from the tee limit the driving zone and leave golfers nervously weighing up whether or not to play them, depending on the wind. Greg Norman was forced to hit sideways out of bounds from a bunker at the 1989 Open, and his fate was sealed. The hole tantalizes and tantalizes with another unsettling feature usually only found in the United Kingdom: an out-of-bounds area that lies just behind the putting surface. Troon may not be able to boast the iconic Turnberry Lighthouse, about 25 miles to the south, or the history of Prestwick, just a few miles away. But it has what matters most: a series of magnificent and timeless holes of all shapes and sizes. In particular, the brutal nature of its par 4s on the back nine makes it a test worthy of its royal name.