The Royal Troon Golf Club will be the venue for the Open Championship next July. The countdown is on and a record-breaking British is expected on the west coast of Scotland, north of Prestwick. This Tuesday, two and a half months before the fourth Major of the year, a meeting with journalists was held where some very interesting details were revealed. There will be more spectators than ever in Troon and the course will record the longest and shortest hole in the history of the championship. The first is the big news…
The shortest is the most famous hole on this course, its iconic hole, one of the most famous par 3s in the world. It is the Postage Stamp, the mythical postage stamp. From the front tee and to a short flag it is 99 yards. It is hole 8. There is no news here, beyond the installation of an imposing L-shaped stand that will accommodate 1,500 people.
The big news this year is two holes before the postage stamp. At hole 6. A par 5. From the back tee it will be 623 yards long, making it the longest hole in the history of the Open Championship. The longest and shortest played in an interval of less than 45 minutes. It will be curious.
The course has been lengthened for this edition by a total of 195 yards compared to the last time it was played here in 2016, where Henrik Stenson won the first major in Swedish golf history after a fabulous battle against Phil Mickelson. In total, from the back, a total of 7,385 yards will be played.
The distance of hole 6 will not be the only record broken at Royal Troon. The Royal and Ancient announced today that there are no more tickets available for general admission. An attendance of 250,000 spectators is expected throughout the week, which will represent an increase of 77,000 compared to 2016 and the second largest attendance in the history of the Open after the 2022 edition at St Andrews, where 299,000 fans were registered.
Royal Troon is not traditionally the best venue to watch golf, move around and stay at the Open. The Royal and Ancient are aware of this and assure that special work has been done to try to ensure a good experience for all attendees. It is a course where it has always been better to watch golf from the stands than following at ground level. A stand with a capacity for 3,500 people will be installed at hole 18.
Finally, as an anecdote, the Royal and Ancient has stated that Greg Norman has not yet asked for tickets to attend the tournament. “There are no more general admission tickets, but some can still be purchased on resale and in different hospitality areas (more expensive tickets with access to tents with different services),” said Mike Woodcock, Open’s communication director. Remember that Norman, a two-time Open champion, did show up at the Masters and was seen among the public with a regular ticket. We’ll see if he also takes advantage of the Open to go and, as he said, support the LIV Golf players.
