Old

Few courses in the world carry the weight of history that Troon's Old Course does. Laid out along the Ayrshire coast in 1878, it is one of Scotland's most celebrated links, and has hosted the Open Championship multiple times — most recently in 2024, when Xander Schauffele claimed the Claret Jug. The course stretches along a narrow strip of land between the town and the Firth of Clyde, with the Scottish hills of Arran and the iconic rock of Ailsa Craig visible across the water on a clear day. Royal Troon, as the club is formally known, received its royal designation in 1978.

The course is famous for its contrasts: the outward nine runs downwind, lulling players into false confidence before the brutal homeward half turns directly into the prevailing westerly. The 8th, known as the Postage Stamp, is one of the most famous short holes in golf — a tiny, heavily bunkered green that has humbled champions for generations.

Ayrshire is the heart of Scottish links golf, home to a remarkable concentration of great seaside courses within a short drive. Playing Troon's Old Course is less a round of golf than a reckoning with the game's deepest roots.