Royal Troon countdown: 9 days to go

10th hole, Sandhills – 451 yards, par 4 

Old photographs, a painting and a sketch of the huge bunker set into the face of the dunes in front of the tees were taken as the inspiration to restore the feature as far as possible given that a more formal pathway is now required up and over the dune. It is unlikely that the bunkers on either side of the pathway will come into play for any of The Open competitors although the championship tee has been taken back which adds to the carry.

Gorse has also been cleared in the carry and a dune slack, which provides a valuable wildlife habitat, formed instead.

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The hole name… (Sandhills)

Named after the Club Captain’s house situated over the railway line rather than the large sandhills facing the tee shot.

Hole changes

• A new championship tee built adding to the length of the hole
• Dune slack formed in the carry
• Old bunker features restored

Architect Martin Ebert explains..

“I was looking at old photography and the huge bunker that extends across this hole; it was Alister Mackenzie’s only input on an Open course.

“When he was working on the Portland there is a sketch by him of this bunker extending all way across and when the gorse was removed we realised there was an opportunity to recreate that sand crater feature.

“It’s not all the way across, but a significant proportion. To avoid bringing in material from miles around we created a dune slack (wetland, which the ecologists love thought of fluctuating water table for wildlife etc) in next to the 10th. This exciting tee shot starts a stern back nine.”

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