I was one of the last people to play Turnberry’s iconic Ailsa course before it closed – it’s about to undergo a massive £1.5 million revamp

OK, I’ll be honest, I was as nervous as I was excited as I drove down the M77 to play the legendary Ailsa Championship course in Turnberry.

I have never set foot on a tee at a place where the Open was being held championship Before, I couldn’t help but feel like a fraud.

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Following in the footsteps of my grandfather Adam and father Graeme, I have been obsessed since the age of ten with hitting the little white ball over 18 holes – often with great difficulty – in as few strokes as possible.

Playing on a course that only hosted the Open in 2009 felt a bit like a dream come true.

And this is how it should be proven.

As soon as you turn the corner and drive into the village of Turnberry you will be overwhelmed by it all.

Overlooking the golf course and the Firth of Clyde, the impressive hotel has hosted the world’s best golfers for just over a century.

From the moment you enter the luxurious clubhouse next When you enroll in the course, you can feel the importance of the place.

Newspaper clippings on the wall show all four Open tournaments played at Turnberry, with an image of Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus together during their famous Duel in the Sun in 1977 understandably standing out.

What made this round even more special was that I was lucky enough to play the course before it was changed – forever.

Trump Turnberry has already remodeled the course once since taking over in 2014. A redesign took place in 2016, creating a distinctive new ninth hole next to the iconic Turnberry Lighthouse.

This has been fundamentally transformed into a luxurious halfway house House – more on that later – while major changes were also made to the tenth and eleventh holes, which run directly along the river bank coast.

The Ailsa has just closed and £1.5 million worth of work is currently underway to alter the seventh and eighth holes.

Similar to the first round of changes, the major upgrade will see the installation of a new seventh green, located right on the edge of the cliff overlooking Turnberry Beach.

So-called infinity greens, which allow uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape, often become signature holes for golf courses.

Trump and his team believe this improvement, with the eighth playing from a straighter tee, will give Turnberry a better chance of working his way back into the Open squad.

Because this historic course would change forever, I had the privilege of nervously rolling my clubs to the starter’s hut and preparing to play the most important course I have ever played.

While the most famous pitched battle here was called the “Duel in the Sun,” the conditions I faced made me realize battle my very personal battle with the wind.

Links golf is known for testing a golfer’s ability to handle both the course and the conditions.

There is a local quote that was told to me just before teeing off that put a smile on my face.

“If you can’t see Ailsa Craig, it’s raining. If you can see it, it’s about to rain.”

As I stepped onto the first tee, I was greeted by a shower that quickly turned into a hailstorm. Welcome!

But my first drive stuck on the right side of the fairway and I had overcome the first hurdle – the dreaded opening shot.

And luckily the rain stopped when I reached the first green and didn’t come back all afternoon.

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That just gave me the wind to compete with. But as the view became more and more breathtaking on the way to the coast, this was quickly forgotten.

I will spare you the detailed description of my round, both for you and for me

The highlight was a par run from the fourth to the sixth, which I would consider one of my best runs of golf ever, given the strong wind blowing off the Firth.

I was eagerly looking forward to the seventh day of play as it was the hole that saw the most drastic change.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the most of the opportunity as I hit my drive up the left side of the fairway and fought my way through the rough along the shoreline to the green.

The new location of the green would have actually helped me, but I can definitely imagine how great the new spot will be once it’s implemented.

It was also difficult on the eighth because the wind got stronger the closer we got to the lighthouse.

Moving the tee shot inland will certainly help as it will make finding the narrow fairway a little easier.

The ninth, tenth and eleventh were the standout holes for me. Each has an oceanfront green and would be considered the highlight of many stand-alone golf courses.

It’s just magical to have three such breathtaking holes in a row.

My round seemed to revolve around threes because when the wind finally died down I managed to parry the 16th, 17th and 18th as the huge hotel came back into view.

Enjoy a welcome beer at the aptly named Duel in the Sun restaurant In the clubhouse overlooking the course, I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at my scorecard and remembered each hole one by one.

One of my fondest memories of my grandfather was playing golf with him at Bruntsfield Links in Edinburgh, where he was club captain.

I hoped he would have been proud of how I kept my cool and handled the conditions, keeping my previous temper in check throughout the round.

In fact, I can imagine it’s hard not to smile whatever the weather in Turnberry – the Ailsa truly is a slice of golfing paradise.

And I really hope I get the chance to try the new holes again once they reopen.

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