The 2024 Open boasts longest hole in history and iconic Postage Stamp – hole-by-hole guide to the ‘Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell’ of Royal Troon
The unique Royal Troon hosts golf’s best at The 2024 Open Championship as they must face ‘Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell’.
Troon is split into three distinct sections with one of the gentlest starts on The Open rota followed by one of the hardest finishes.
The venue this year will include the longest hole in Open history while fans will be eagerly awaiting action at the iconic Postage Stamp.
Henrik Stenson won the last time Troon held the Open in 2016 and since then, the R&A have added nearly 200 yards in length and a few more hazards to negotiate.
The warm, wet conditions in the lead-up to the tournament will also mean the rough will be as punishing as it could be.
As the players make their way around the course in the opening round, here’s a hole-by-hole guide to Royal Troon.
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1st (Seal), 366 yards, par four
A new tee was constructed closer to the beach ahead of the 2004 Open and fairway bunkers added on the right to attempt to toughen up a relatively easy start.
The longer hitters could reach the green in favourable conditions in a gentle handshake of an opening hole.
2nd (Black Rock), 389 yards, par four
Bunkers 40 yards short of the green will rule out a driver for many players, but taking an iron off the tee is no guarantee of safety.
Darren Clarke hit a three iron onto the beach in the final round in 1997 when just a shot off the lead.
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The name comes from the distinctive black rocks that jut out of the sea along the coastline at Troon.
3rd (Gyaws), 376 yards, par four
The name of this hole comes from the burn which crosses the fairway 285 yards from the tee and dictates what club has to be taken, especially if the course is running fast.
Laying up well short should still leave no more than a short iron in, another early birdie chance.
4th (Dunure), 599 yards, par five
Lengthened by 44 yards since 2016, the first of three par fives saw Gary Evans make an albatross in 2004.
The hole doglegs gently to the right and the initial concern is negotiating the fairway bunkers, one right and two left further on.
5th (Greenan), 220 yards, par three
Troon has a collection of brilliant par threes, starting here.
A testing hole with a collection of pot bunkers left of the green, more sand short and right of the putting surface and a drop-off to the beach on the right. Lengthened by 11 yards since 2016.
6th (Turnberry), 623 yards, par five
The addition of 22 yards will see the sixth surpass the 15th at Royal Liverpool as the longest hole in Open history.
A straight drive is required to avoid the fairway bunkers and an equally accurate approach needed to the long, narrow green.
Despite its imposing length, this will still yield plenty of birdies and eagles.
7th (Tel-el-Kebir), 403 yards, par four
Named after a battle fought in 1882, shortly after the original six holes on the course had been extended.
Bunkers guard the dogleg right and the tricky green narrows from front to back.
8th (Postage Stamp), 123 yards, par three
The most famous par three in world golf. After a gentle start to the round, the course now gets tough.
In 1950 German amateur Hermann Tissies took 15, while a 71-year-old Gene Sarazen made a hole-in-one in 1973.
The green is a tiny target despite being extended at the front while Coffin Bunker awaits a wayward shot.
9th (The Monk), 440 yards, par four
Another dogleg right gives the option of a risky drive to the narrow part of the fairway or laying up short of the bunkers to the left.
That will leave a tougher approach to the two-tier green which drops away the back.
10th (Sandhills), 450 yards, par four
A new back tee was added ahead of the 2016 Open, while the undulating fairway is protected by gorse on the right and a gully on the left.
The plateau green is set into the side of a hill with a sharp drop on the right.
11th (The Railway), 498 yards, par four
One of the toughest hole in all of championship golf awaits alongside the famous train tracks at Troon.
Gorse is everywhere around one of the tightest fairways on the course.
Jack Nicklaus has had a 10 here and Max Faulkner an 11, with most players happy to avoid disaster.
12th (The Fox), 451 yards, par four
Turning left before the long, fearsome run for home, this is no place to lose concentration.
There is a generous driving area, but the second can find plenty of trouble. Mark Calcavecchia's outrageous chip-in was perhaps the most important shot in his win in 1989.
13th (Burmah), 473 yards, par four
No bunkers to worry about but humps and hollows wait for anything wayward off the tee and finding the small, raised green can be a difficult task back into the wind.
14th (Alton), 200 yards, par three
Another long par three which has bunkers right and left that narrow the entrance to the green.
But it is a larger putting surface than it looks from the tee and unless the wind is howling, this will see its fair share of birdies.
15th (Crosbie), 502 yards, par four
The drive, extended a total of 45 yards since 1997, needs to be long and straight to avoid four fairway bunkers, two on either side of the fairway.
The generous green sits in a hollow.
16th (Well), 572 yards, par five
The big decision on the tee is what club to take due to the ditch 280 yards out.
Too safe a choice takes the green out of range, but into the wind it becomes a three-shot hole for the entire field. The green is a narrow target surrounded by five bunkers.
17th (Rabbit), 242 yards, par three
A wickedly tough penultimate hole that the players must navigate safely before heading to the last.
The ground slopes away on both sides and there is little margin for error, especially as some players could be forced to hit driver into the prevailing wind, following the addition of 22 yards.
This hole has one of the fastest greens in Scotland.
18th (Craigend), 458 yards, par four
The bunker on the right is over 300 yards out, but such was his adrenaline that Greg Norman reached it with ease in the 1989 play-off and his hopes ended there.
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The closing hole has the longest green on the course at 38 yards and the out of bounds of the clubhouse lies just beyond it.
A brilliant finishing hole and one fit to crown a champion on.