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British Open courses are memorable in large part for what
they aren't—American. Like the other six golf courses that
host the Open on a rotating basis, Royal Troon is nothing
if not spare, a vivid counterpoint to the lush, man-made
creations carved out
of the countryside in the
U.S.
The architects of American courses go to great lengths to
manufacture beauty and challenge; the seven links courses that host
the Open, each laid out in the 19th century, gain their
drama from their relatively unadorned surroundings. The
presence of a golf course often seems a happy
accident.
Troon, founded in 1878 as a five-hole course, was plopped
down on the Scottish coast, with the Atlantic Ocean on the
left and the Firth of Clyde on the right. This proximity to
water gives Troon its prevailing characteristic: The
wind—at the players'
backs going out, in their faces coming in—can wreak havoc
with par. Indeed, because the weather can be so
treacherous, the
Scots believe that a Troon winner is an especially deserving
Open
winner.
Since 1860 the world's best golfers have gathered annually
in Britain, the sport's ancestral home, in pursuit of an
Open title. If a British Open course doesn't offer much
man-made scenic wonder, it does provide a memorable setting
for wonderful
golf.
This online photo gallery offers a unique view of 11
storied moments of British Open
history.
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