Royal Troon Portland
The Portland has, not surprisingly, been in the
shadows of the championship course since its
earliest days. That’s saying something when
it was laid out in the mid 1890s by Troon
professional Willie Fernie, winner of the Open Championship in
1883, and then redesigned by Alister MacKenzie in the early 1920s.
The course plays on the inland side of the road which separates
it from the Championship course. That said, the two courses do
get friendly at the farthest point, emphasising the similarities in
terrain. The Portland is a shorter course but there are plenty of
links elements to keep you entertained as you play through gorse
and broom-flecked dunes and over rumpled fairways. The back
nine contains just two par fours as the three par threes and four
par fives throw all sorts of scoring opportunities at you.
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