Destination Golf Scotland 2019 * | Page 28

Trump Turnberry (King Robert the Bruce) Trump Turnberry (Ailsa) Few courses can boast such a setting, such space and such luxury. The recent makeover of the Ailsa course (by Martin Ebert) and the hotel has vaulted Turnberry back to golf’s top table. Everything here is on a big scale and that sense follows you from one hole to the next. It bristles with confidence and swaggers from one hole to the next. The back-and-forth nature of the opening holes might sound tame on paper, but you’ll quickly appreciate how good they are as they slip down to the sea. Big bearded bunkers ripple along fairways while their greenside brethren favour the deep pothole variety, nestling under greens. From the 5th the course opens up and one excellent hole follows another as you head out and back to the famous lighthouse. The new par threes (9 and 11) are outstanding. Everything here is on a big scale and that sense follows you from one hole to the next. 26 Trump Turnberry (King Robert the Bruce) The King Robert the Bruce may be regarded as the smaller sibling of the mighty Ailsa alongside, but it is an impressive links in its own right. Donald Steel redesigned the course in 2001, and he was able to use additional land – Bain’s Hill – to add new holes. These create drama and beauty in equal measure. Located at the farthest reaches of the links on the coastline this is where the short par four 8th drives from an elevated tee towards the sea and a green hidden in a gully near the rocks. Change, however, is coming as Mackenzie & Ebert are renovating the course and the holes around Bain’s Hill will be reversed to make maximum use of the views to the sea. Additional changes are being introduced elsewhere. Located at the farthest reaches of the links on the coastline this is where the short par four 8th drives from an elevated tee towards the sea and a green hidden in a gully near the rocks.