Ailsa course at Trump Turnberry reopens following major renovations
The Ailsa course at the Trump Turnberry resort has reopened, following an eight-month renovation project overseen by golf course architect Martin Ebert of Mackenzie & Ebert.
All eighteen holes on the course – which has hosted the Open Championship four times – have been changed, with the most notable work on the coastal stretch from the fourth hole to the 11th.
Holes four, six, nine and 11 now all play as par threes, and each has been changed substantially to make the most of the coastal setting.
The dramatic 10th hole has been extended to a par five, with the green now occupying the site of the old 11th tees, on the sea edge.
Ebert said: “The Ailsa course has always enjoyed a superb landscape but now the seaside holes use the coastal setting as real playing and visual features. The fourth hole starts an incredible eight-hole coastal sequence set against the dramatic backdrop of the Ayrshire coast with Ailsa Craig and Arran adding to the beauty of the scene. Such a stunning stretch of seaside holes must be unmatched in the golfing world.”
The eighteenth hole has also changed significantly. Previously a dog-leg, the hole now plays straight from new championship tees on the dune ridge above the beach.
The work is part of a £200 million investment programme by the Trump Organisation, which also includes a complete refurbishment of the 103-room hotel and the transformation of the lighthouse into a halfway house, as well as an exclusive two-bedroom suite.
Executive Vice President Eric Trump said: “We are incredibly proud of the exciting changes we have made to The Ailsa Championship course and are thrilled to be opening the course today. Golfers can expect to be both challenged and amazed at its beauty and the incredible scenery.”
The July 2016 edition of Golf Course Architecture will include a full report on the changes to the Ailsa course. Click here to subscribe.
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The ninth is now a par three playing across the bay, with the green sited next to the iconic lighthouse (Photo: David Cannon)
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A new green extends the 10th hole, now a par five, to the sea edge (Photo: David Cannon)
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The par-three 11th is entirely new, now playing across rocky inlets to a new green site on the coast (Photo: David Cannon)
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