Turnberry The Ailsa

The Turnberry Ailsa Course was written into the history of golf across the world when it hosted the famous 'Duel in the Sun' between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus as the two players went head to head at the Open in 1977. Watson, of course, triumphed then and Greg Norman and Nick Price join him as Turnberry's Open Champions with another golfer waiting to join that incredible roster in 2009. As well as being legendary the Ailsa course at Turnberry is also a joy to play and is regularly voted one of the top three British courses and one of the top 100 across the globe. The course takes its name from Ailsa Craig the rocky outcrop that lies 11 miles off the coast and is so evocative of golf at Turnberry.

A classic links course each golfer will have their own favourite hole but the Westin Turnberry Ailsa Course's ninth hole is, perhaps, the iconic hole with its isolated tee situated on a rocky promontory and a drive required across the bay all wrapped up in the nation's history as the hole provides glimpses of Robert the Bruce's castle. A world famous golf course Turnberry Ailsa course has to be played to be truly appreciated.

As Open Championship courses go, the Turnberry Ailsa is not the longest, but it is certainly one of the fairest. As with any links course, the difficulty is determined by where and how strong he wind is and being on the West Coast of Scotland this is a major factor at Turnberry. Most of the tees are elevated so your drive is exposed to the wind, whereas a lot of the fairways are down in the dunes and a little more sheltered. Apart from the rough there are fewer fairway bunkers then we had expected, but plenty around the greens. There is not a bad hole on the course and the famous stretch from 8-10 around the lighthouse, the wonderful halfway house and the shoreline is worth the green fee alone. The closing holes are also worth a special mention as you head home towards the magnificent Turnberry Hotel on the hill overlooking the 18th green and the Golf Clubhouse. We played the course in May and the greens had yet to reach peak condition, so we would recommend playing June to September. Take a caddy too if it is your first time as they proved to be knowledgeable and full of the usual caddies' tales. The hospitality at Turnberry before and after the round was 1st class and in our view this is a 'must play' for every golfer.