Turnberry is offering golfers a ‘last chance’ to experience the world-renowned Ailsa course before the layout closes for a highly anticipated £1million refurbishment this month.
Centred around the coastal seventh and eighth holes, work on the four-time Open Championship host venue will begin on October 21 and span just over six months.
Respected golf architect Martin Ebert – the mastermind behind the acclaimed Ailsa reimagining a decade ago as well as the design of the championship King Robert the Bruce course – has returned to Turnberry to help the Ailsa evolve once again. Ebert teased the planned changes, detailing the seventh hole’s new clifftop green and all-important new tee boxes on the eighth.
Ebert said: “On the new seventh hole, we wanted to move the green right on the coastal edge. There are not many links courses where you have greens right on the cliff edge, so that is very special in its own right.
Commenting on the eighth, he added: “It made a lot of sense to move the tees over to the right and produce a much better hole. The tee shot will be improved with the new alignment, making the hole visually stunning from your first shot to your last.”
As well as reshaping two key holes, the closure will also see improvements made across the back nine. New banking will be shaped behind the 12th and 15th greens, alongside changes to the 13th hole and tee box updates at holes 14 and 17.
For the first four-and-a-half months of renovations, the Ailsa will transition into a nine-hole loop – comprised of the first six holes, a shortened par-3 seventh and holes 17 and 18 – which can be played independently or as a composite alongside the popular nine-hole Arran.
The Ailsa has undergone numerous milestone refurbishments across a storied 123-year history, most recently Ebert’s much-lauded reimagining from 2014-2016. Ebert overhauled several key holes – including the ninth, set to the backdrop of the iconic Turnberry Lighthouse, which became a par-3 playing over rocky waters. Upon re-opening, the Ailsa shot to new heights in global rankings; the course was recently ranked no. 8 in Golf Digest’s “World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” alongside the King Robert the Bruce (no. 94). In 2017 and 2019, the Ailsa was ranked the number one course in the UK & Ireland by Golf Monthly magazine.
Nic Oldham, General Manager at Trump Turnberry, said: “The Ailsa is one of golf’s most iconic and acclaimed courses – but historically, Turnberry has never let that stop us from trying to upgrade and enhance where possible.
“Today’s Ailsa is much changed from the one that first hosted the Open Championship in 1977, and the time felt right to take another leap forward in collaboration with Martin Ebert as we strive and hope to stage the Open once more.
“We certainly encourage people to visit before October 21 and experience this incarnation of the Ailsa before we open a new and exciting chapter in one of golf’s great stories.”
The Ailsa is synonymous with Scottish golf, opening just four years before Turnberry’s famous hotel was built in 1906. Today, the course headlines what is arguably Scotland’s most complete golf resort alongside the King Robert the Bruce and nine-hole Arran courses, as well as the Turnberry Golf Academy and ‘Wee Links’ pitch-and-putt.
Away from the fairways, Turnberry guests can bask in the luxury of 204 opulent rooms and suites spread across the five-star hotel and surrounding grounds. The 800-acre estate is also home to the serene Spa at Turnberry, three stunning restaurants and a vast array of outdoor pursuits at the Turnberry Adventures activity centre.
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