Video: Fly-over of proposed Turnberry changes
FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE CHANGES CLICK HERE
A summary of the proposed changes to the golf course:
- A tougher par 4 1st hole lengthened with new championship tees and a new green and with a wider landing area to encourage more attacking play.
- An extension of the par 3 4th hole with a new green.
- An extension of the 5th hole at the tee and the green to produce a par 5 for general play but a par 4 for The Open.
- A new shortened par 3 6th hole, played from a series of tees, the most dramatic of which will sit on the dune bank by the beach, to a new green with danger all around.
- A new par 3 9th hole from the existing tees across the bay to a new green at Turnberry Point to create one of the most exhilarating par 3s in world golf.
- A new lengthened par 5 10th hole playing around Castle Port Bay with new championship tees providing a number of options with the driver, the boldest being a 280 yard carry over the bay. A new green will be pushed back to the site of the existing 11th tee providing a new elevated position with the ocean as its immediate backdrop.
- A new par 3 11th hole will play across rocky coastal inlets to a new green with a beautiful setting offering complete intimacy with the coast.
- A new lengthened par 5 14th hole with a new and elevated green on the site of the old 9th fairway offering 180 degree views of the sea.
- A new stone bridge over the ‘Wee Burn’ at the par 4 16th hole
- A shorter par 4 17th hole with a new green short of the current green providing more room for a championship grandstand to the rear of the green.
- A lengthened and straightened par 4 18th hole offering a new elevated championship tee position on the dunes giving golfers a full view of the hotel for their final hole and for spectators and viewers a perfectly framed scene of players silhouetted on the horizon with the Turnberry seascape behind.
FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE CHANGES CLICK HERE
Additionally, a £10m upgrade of the clubhouse and new Duel in the Sun restaurant is currently underway and is planned to open in June 2015, in advance of the RICOH Womens’ British Open, which will be the last major tournament to be hosted by the course in its current form.
The newly re-designed Ailsa course will be available for play for the first time in June 2016.
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James Savage
Former equipment editor of NCG. Inconsistent ball-striker and tea-maker.