Royal Troon Golf Club

The Portland is Royal Troon’s second eighteen-hole course, a par 71 of roughly 5,756 metres routed more inland than the Old Course. Shorter and less directly exposed to the shore, it remains a genuine championship links shaped first by Willie Fernie and then extensively reorganised by Alister MacKenzie in 1921.

The course emerged in the late nineteenth century as Troon sought additional playing capacity. Club professional and 1883 Open champion Willie Fernie created the first layout in 1895. Alister MacKenzie was commissioned in 1921 to produce the structure seen today. The work predates his most famous international designs and reveals his ideas of width, angles and green defence within an authentic Scottish setting. Portland occupies ground east and south of the Old Course. It is less directly on the shoreline, yet sandy soil, gorse and air from the Firth of Clyde preserve a links response. Railway, ditches and internal boundaries influence several holes. Wind may feel less violent than on the Open course, but tighter corridors magnify changes in direction and angle.

MacKenzie created an unusual rhythm, especially inward where four par fives, three par threes and only two par fours shape the sequence. Greens are defended by bunkers, dry slopes and diagonal entrances rather than simple length. Holes such as Danderin’ Inn, Siberia, The Road and Home show how a cautious tee line can leave a more complicated approach. At just under 6,300 yards the course appears approachable, but firm fairways and gorse make misses expensive. Several greens fall away at the edges, rewarding a correctly directed running shot rather than an uncommitted aerial approach. Ditches and pot bunkers can be partly hidden. Birdies are available, yet a card deteriorates quickly from the wrong side.

A visit follows Royal Troon’s structured arrangements, with visitor days, handicap rules and services to be checked before booking. Portland offers access to the club at a generally lower price and with less ceremony than the Old Course, while the historic clubhouse, changing rooms and dining preserve the sense of a major Scottish institution.

Play it to understand that Royal Troon extends well beyond the Postage Stamp. Portland has its own architecture, a direct MacKenzie contribution and a distinctive scoring rhythm. It is an excellent counterpart to the Old Course: less punishing in raw length but subtler in angles, ditches and green run-offs. 18 holes; par 71; about 5,756 metres; first laid out by Willie Fernie in 1895; redesigned by Alister MacKenzie in 1921; inland section of the Royal Troon property; inward nine with four par fives, three par threes and two par fours.

Royal Troon club championships, open competitions and major qualifying support — Annual and rotating calendar Present routing shaped by Alister MacKenzie in 1921; four par fives and three par threes on the inward nine