Royal Troon (Portland) - Ayrshire & Arran - Scotland

The Portland course at Royal Troon is a fine links golf course although it obviously does not have adequate length to challenge the really good players as it is approximately 6350 yards or 6160 from the member tees.

I have typically played it as alternate shot after a round on the Old course or as a shamble, so to be fair I have yet to play my own ball on it.

The course is more than enough for mid to high indexes or women to enjoy while offering a few challenges.

The par threes are a lot of fun to play and offer the more interesting greens. I consider the tenth hole to be the class of the five par threes.

The seventh hole is one of the more beautiful holes on the golf course, although one of the shorter par fours.

The par fives all offer a chance at birdie or a high probability of a par. None of them are difficult without facing a strong wind.

The first and last holes are longer par 4's. They are not particularly well bunkered nor have difficult greens, but if the rest of the course could be like this, then it would be a better challenge. The golf course does lack the bunkers that one would find on a much better course, both along the fairway and surrounding the greens.

But I believe this course was very much designed for a certain audience and it that regards it definitely succeeds. It is not a golf course you would go out of your way to play as there are so many better golf courses nearby. However it is a golf course you should play if you are trying to fit in a round of golf before sunset or if you are playing with women or men who do not hit the ball more than 220 yards off the tee.

Possibly the most underrated course in Scotland. Terrific layout great conditions and a perfect compliment to the Old course. You will be making a mistake if you overlook this hidden gem.

The second links at Troon, the “Portland” created by Fernie in 1895 and formerly known as the Relief course, has its moments of excellence too but undeniably plays second fiddle by some margin.

The best of the golf is away from the area around the clubhouse where the 1st, 9th, 10th, 11th and 18th are located. Once we head into the heart of the links there is some good golf to be had.

The green complexes at 2, 6, 8, 13 and 16 make for compelling holes and the dog-leg third is a beauty too. Meanwhile, the set of five short holes is extremely impressive but these are countered with five rather non-descript three-shotters, five in the last ten holes, which make this 6,349-yard, par 72 layout a bit of a slog at times but still well worth a play.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

I can honestly say I have played every course in Ayrshire and Portland is in my Top 10. If it was a stand alone course it would certainly be rated higher !

Portland is a good track, although obviously overshadowed by its more illustrious neighbor. There are some terrific holes such as the dog-leg 3rd, the longish par 5 11th and the par 3 16th, with the 17th being a very tough hole with a ditch running along the left with gorse along the right. All in all Portland is a decent track with some great holes but notably some weak holes, like the 1st, 9th and 12th. The newly refurbished clubhouse across the road is great.

I am just about to commit golf review hara-kiri here by stating that I don’t rate the championship course at Royal Troon. Sure it has some nice holes (The Postage Stamp is fantastic) and it does have a real aura about it but I feel that there is an element of the Emperors new clothes about it. I am afraid that feeling pervades to it’s wee sister course, the Portland (I say sister because I think it was, and still is, set aside predominately for the lady members). I am not saying that it is a bad course, in fact, there are some nice holes on it and all the par 3’s are strong, I just find it a bit bland, and I don’t think it is worth it’s £120 day ticket fee. My stand out holes on the front 9 are the 3rd, a tough cookie where an accurate drive to the angle of the dog leg is required if you want to make the green, and the 4th, the first of the par 3’s with a tough to hold undulating green. The 11th, in my opinion is the best on the course, a genuine 3 shoter where your second shot has to favour the left side if you want to make birdie. I also enjoyed the 17th but beware of the ditch that runs up the left-hand side of the fairway. I am always loathed to write negative reviews (I suppose it is all about opinions) so I feel compelled to finish on a positive, the magnificent refurbished clubhouse which can only be described as magnificent. MPPJ

Portland will always be the “Relief” course for Royal Troon, but that’s not to say that it’s not worth playing, because it is, it’s just that it’s not quite the “Real” thing. The par 3s are excellent and the two shot holes are sometimes reachable going out and down-right impossible coming home when the prevailing wind is up. As part of the 36-hole Royal Troon package, Portland is a fair track but don’t expect a championship test or a course of the pedigree of its big brother.

I played here in February 2008, two years after my first round and enjoyed the experience just as much as first time around – though I played much better the first time!

Hole number 3 is a real tester as you cannot see the slight left dog leg that the fairway takes from the tee.

I inquired about the intriguing wee foot bridge over the railway between the 4th and 6th back in the clubhouse and this public right of way was once where the seaweed was taken from the shore to fertilise the farmland nearby!

The 11th is the first of back-to-back par fives on the inward half and is probably the best hole on the course.

I’d forgotten about the ditch running diagonally across the 15th hole (it has to be avoided again laterally at the 17th) and promptly drove straight into it – with one of my better drives too!

The Portland is open to visitors as a day ticket package with two rounds plus lunch or, for an extra hundred quid, as a warm up before playing the Old course. It’s a lot of money for many I know but worth playing to get your eye in before tackling the Open venue next door – oh, and the new, refurbished Royal Troon clubhouse across the road from the Portland is simply sensational!

Jim McCann