Destination Golf Scotland 2019 * | Page 17

Royal Troon Portland The Portland has, not surprisingly, been in the shadows of the championship course since its earliest days. That’s saying something when it was laid out in the mid 1890s by Troon professional Willie Fernie, winner of the Open Championship in 1883, and then redesigned by Alister MacKenzie in the early 1920s. The course plays on the inland side of the road which separates it from the Championship course. That said, the two courses do get friendly at the farthest point, emphasising the similarities in terrain. The Portland is a shorter course but there are plenty of links elements to keep you entertained as you play through gorse and broom-flecked dunes and over rumpled fairways. The back nine contains just two par fours as the three par threes and four par fives throw all sorts of scoring opportunities at you. The course is laid out as two loops which return to the clubhouse (separate to the Championship course). www.royaltroon.com 15