Trump Turnberry — Ailsa Course

Links Coastal Championship Resort Bucket List Historic

Trump Turnberry — Ailsa Course Golf Course

Turnberry, United Kingdom

Course Details

Holes

Par 70

Rating / Slope

73.9 / 140

Course Rating

Green Fee

GBP 250–400

Course Type

Links

Resort

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About Trump Turnberry — Ailsa Course Golf Course

Turnberry's Ailsa Course is one of the most visually spectacular links courses in the British Isles, routing along a headland above the Firth of Clyde with Ailsa Craig — a volcanic dome rising 340 metres from the sea — as a constant companion on the horizon. The course occupies the site of two World War airfields that effectively destroyed the original links, and the restoration by Mackenzie Ross after the Second World War is one of golf's great engineering achievements: from almost nothing, Ross created an 18-hole layout of championship quality that within a few years was hosting the Open Championship. Tom Watson's 'Duel in the Sun' against Jack Nicklaus in the 1977 Open Championship is widely considered the greatest 72-hole duel in major championship history, with Watson making two consecutive birdies on the 71st and 72nd to edge Nicklaus by a single stroke. Greg Norman won the 1986 Open here, and a fourth Open — Thomas Bjorn's near-miss and Mark Calcavecchia's 1989 win — added to the venue's championship lore. The resort is now operated by Trump Hotels, with a significant renovation by Martin Ebert completed in 2016.

Why Play Trump Turnberry — Ailsa Course

Ailsa Craig volcanic island on the horizon — the most distinctive backdrop in British links golf
Site of the 1977 'Duel in the Sun' — Watson vs Nicklaus, widely voted the greatest Open duel ever
Four Open Championships: 1977, 1986, 1994, 2009 — and strong candidacy for future inclusion
Mackenzie Ross 1951 restoration from wartime airfield rubble to championship links
The 9th (Bruce's Castle) at Turnberry: clifftop tee shot above the Firth of Clyde — one of golf's great par-3s