7 holes at Royal Troon to decide the Open Championship

Although its legend is often linked to one of the short 3-tier tricky, Royal Troon has a secret sauce that is not often savored enough: its collection of fun and challenging “twin shooters”. Architecture Editor Ran Morrissett explains.

If you're a golfer — and let's assume, as a GOLF.com reader, you are — you probably know a lot about the Old Course Postage Stamp at Scotland's Royal Troon. The 123-yard 8th hole is one of the 3 most striking and intimidating pars, ranking on par with the 17th at Sawgrass, the 12th at Augusta National and the 7th at Pebble Beach. The only way the Postage Stamp, with its sad shelf green and five bogeys around it, could have any emotional or competitive effect is if it brings its drama to the last few holes of the round, not the front nine.

But historic Royal Troon isn't capturing its 10th Open Championship on the strength of just one hole, or the much-discussed fact that the Old Course now includes both the shortest hole (Postage Stamp) and the longest hole (par- 5 6th, extended to 623 yards in this championship) in the Open rota. No, what lends Royal Troon its credibility and appeal is something less heralded: its impressive array of par-4 holes and unique drives that borrow from the classic out-and-back course designed by architect Willie Fernie in 1887.

The last time the world's best golfers gathered here, in 2016, Troon inspired one of the greatest two-man battles in the sport's long history when Henrik Stenson didn't destroy 46-year-old Phil Mickelson. Bomb 50 feet across the green of the par-4 15th. Can a par 4 add more than usual at Troon? They do it. Let's see how they fare in the course.

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

None of them exceed 400 yards, making for, in theory, a gentle handshake for the start. But the holes are loosely tied, and making them dirty is a real possibility. The pressure not to do that is intense, as this is a very easy three-hole course. Start slow and no one wants your chance to repeat.

The next section 4 comes on the 7th and is universal, even if its light is slightly dimmed by the proximity of the Postage Stamp. It's certainly one of the best links golf holes, yet it doesn't get the attention it deserves.

He goes inland, far from the Firth of Clyde, the 7th it may lead you to think that a downturn is coming. Far from it. The hole, a dogleg, winds through some of the course's most beautiful dunes. In fact, Tel-El-Kebir (named after the 1882 war in Sudan which, according to tradition, was front of mind when Fernie created the pit) may be even better today than it was a century ago.

At just over 400 yards, the hole can entice big hitters to hit power and, with an onshore breeze behind them, drive the green. But miss straight and you could end up on 15 meter high dunes; or, cut it too high and your hopes will perish on the odd 30 yards long and to the right of the green.

How fast is the hunter to be hunted in hole No. 7? Real fast. For that reason, within four days, you may see everything from the middle of the iron to the driver used on the tee. That's a sign of the greatness of the Troon's design: Golfers aren't robotically pulling the driver from every tee. Based on the day's playing conditions, constant thinking and rethinking is required, which helps explain why Troon members never tire of playing the course.

I Holes 9 and 10 there are two strong snipers entering the large mounds in this area. Both hit shots that approached the green high and bounced the balls carelessly. The roly-poly 9th fairway culminates in a green near the southern edge of Troon, and the 10th begins its journey back north to the clubhouse area. Named Sandhills, the 10th, which plays up and over a large mound to a hidden fairway, involves a nervy tee shot. To make things difficult, the prevailing spirit often enters you in the middle of the nine. Grace at the start extended by the first three holes of the course? A distant memory.

Emile for the eleventh time, holds a certain discomfort. History has shown that this 498-yarder is not only the most difficult par 4 at Royal Troon but also one of the most difficult in world golf. Its fairway runs along a railroad track – thus the hole's indelible name, the Railway – which comes within just six paces of the green. Ideally, the tee shot down the right offers the best angle for the long fairway of its open green. If you turn left and away from the tracks, the second shot becomes more difficult, as a pit bunker guards the front left of the green. It's a formidable hole made even more so by the knowledge that even the mighty Jack Nicklaus once posted a 10 there.

Troon's dogleg-right 12th turns towards the Firth and offers a break from the march to the north, ending on a beautifully framed green at the foot of a hill. Members sometimes refer to the lesson as a three-act play. The first six holes take you into the round as you walk along the coast. The next six, ending on the 12th and occupying the southern end of the area, are placed on very large mounds. That leaves the final act: Troon's famously devastating six-hole finish.

It starts with the bunkerless, 473-yard 13th. Indeed, although holes 10 through 13 cover 1,870-plus yards, they only feature a total of three fairways, which speaks to the dynamic golf landscape they are in. After all, artificial hazards (bunkers) are needed to improve things only when Mother Nature is not doing the work. There are no such worries here. Hole 13's rumpled ground is anything but short. Indeed, given the unpredictability of the first tee bounce and finish, the hole can be a nightmare for even the world's best—a test the Champion Golfer of the Year must pass again and again to claim the Claret Jug on Sunday. .

Of the remaining five holes, two are par 4s and both are very good. For the fifteenth time, now a formidable 502 yards, is a natural links hole full of character, with rumpy-bumpy turf from start to finish. A pair of teetering houses on the right let the bunkers stagger far to the left. If you happen to get any of them, consider losing half a stroke on the field. It is not surprising that direct drivers such as Palmer (1962), Weiskopf (1973), Watson (1982), Calcavecchia (1989), Leonard (1997) and Stenson (2016) have succeeded here. The sandy soil of the site has allowed the 15th green to be laid out in the open, and golfers can expect a friendly blast from the green from any direction. However, only the top part of the flagstick can be seen from the fairway, so, like the 13th, it's another hole that feels amazing. True links golf.

Troon's The last two shooter is the home hole – and it doesn't want anything. Two bunkers more than 300 yards from the tee pinch the driving range and, depending on the wind, will leave golfers anxiously assessing the reward for flirting with them. Greg Norman had to sit out one 1989 Open, and his fate was sealed. The hole teases and teases another scary feature, usually found only in the United Kingdom: the out-of-bounds area that sits behind the rack. Troon may not boast the iconic Turnberry lighthouse some 25 miles to the south, or the history of Prestwick just a few miles away. But it has something more important: a series of large and timeless holes of all shapes and sizes. In particular, the brutal nature of the back-nine par 4s makes it a test worthy of its royal name.