Trump Turnberry Resort

Tout a été dit dans les autres commentaires…le Aisla course réussit l’exploit de nous immerger dans un environnement où la nature domine et éblouit, avec la main de l’homme qui y a construit un bijoux golfique. Le tout dans une harmonie totale.

Trump Turnberry Resort is basically golfer heaven. The Ailsa and KRTB are the obvious stars, but the whole place is seriously special. The Ailsa itself is simply one of the world’s great golf experiences. Full stop. Yes, the setting is ridiculous. Ailsa Craig sitting there like theatre scenery. The lighthouse. The sea. But the remarkable thing is that the golf is every bit as good as the scenery. The renovated stretch around the lighthouse, #7 through #10, is almost unfairly good. Holes that take your breath & often your golf ball too. But beyond the postcard stuff, this is seriously good golf. Big, strategic, heroic golf, yet wonderfully playable & huge fun. For all its reputation, I found it fair. Demanding, yes, but very fair. Choose the right tees & golfers of all standards can take it on and enjoy it. I adore Royal County Down & I’m pretty sure it will always be my favourite course, but I don’t think I could to take it on its glorious but sometimes brutal challenge every day. The Ailsa though I could happily play every day, maybe even twice on Sundays. There’s scale everywhere but there’s also so much subtlety in the greens & approaches. The more you play it, I suspect the more it would reveal. Some courses have great holes. Ailsa has stretches that will stay with you forever. And off the course……. it’s spectacular also. The practice set up is ludicrously good. The Trackman range alone could lose you an afternoon. Simulators, short game areas, the new 12 hole par 3 course coming soon, the Wee Course in front of the hotel… as I said above, heaven for golfers. The hotel itself is class. Two nights there & none of us wanted to leave. Brilliant meals, genuinely warm service and a true luxury experience. A big part of why it works is the people. It starts with Nick, the GM, who is clearly a golf man who happens to run a great hotel, not a hotelier who happens to have a golf course. Massive difference. Golf feels at the centre of everything, which is exactly why people come & why you start plotting a return before you’ve even checked out. Wow, what a place!!

**Review: The Ailsa Course, Trump Turnberry** After a wonderful evening and an excellent night at the Turnberry Hotel, our second day at this breathtaking resort was dedicated to the legendary Ailsa Course. Ranked 12th in the Top 100 Courses in the World, this is a course that fully lives up to its reputation and, in many ways, even exceeds expectations. The entire golf resort is simply magnificent. From the moment you arrive, everything feels grand, elegant, and perfectly organised. The training facilities are among the best you can imagine, with the latest technology and TrackMan systems available to prepare your game properly before the round. The clubhouse is impressive, with the famous Duel in the Sun restaurant offering a perfect setting to enjoy the atmosphere of this iconic venue. The exclusive pro shop is beautifully presented, and the staff throughout the resort are extremely professional, friendly, and helpful. And then there is the course itself. We were lucky to play on a sunny day — yes, in Scotland — which made the experience even more unforgettable. With the coastline, the lighthouse, the sea views, and the dramatic landscape, the Ailsa Course is simply breathtaking. The course design is magnificent, combining natural beauty with clever strategy. It is not only about hitting good shots, but also about thinking your way around the course, choosing the right lines, and respecting the challenges in front of you. Every hole has its own identity. The course never feels repetitive, and each tee box gives you a new view, a new question, and often a new wow moment. The bunkers are perfectly placed, the fairways are beautifully shaped, and the greens require full attention. Even when you are not playing your best golf, it is impossible not to enjoy the surroundings. Of course, the famous 9th hole, the iconic par 3 played towards the coastline with the lighthouse in the background, is one of those holes you never forget. It is more than just a golf hole; it is one of the great experiences in world golf. Standing on that tee, with the sea beside you and the lighthouse watching over the course, is a special moment that every golfer will remember. Personally, I also really enjoyed holes 5, 7, and 10. Hole 5 offers a beautiful combination of strategy and scenery. Hole 7 is visually very strong and demands a confident shot. The 10th is another excellent hole, where the design, the views, and the challenge all come together perfectly. These holes show how well the course balances beauty and difficulty. What makes the Ailsa so special is that it feels like a complete golf journey. There is history everywhere, but the course also feels modern, polished, and perfectly maintained. The conditioning was excellent, and the presentation of the course matched the reputation of the resort. The fairways, greens, bunkers, and surrounding areas all showed the attention to detail you expect from a world-class venue. A very special thank you must go to the wonderful staff, and especially to Mr. Nic Oldham, Mr. Ricky Hall, and the amazing Debbie MacMillan. Their warm welcome, professionalism, and personal attention helped turn this visit into something far beyond a normal golf trip. They truly helped create a "Memory for Life". The Ailsa Course is not only a test of golf, but also a celebration of golf. It has everything: history, scenery, challenge, service, tradition, and world-class facilities. From the arrival at the resort to the final putt, everything is part of the experience. Playing the Ailsa at Turnberry is one of those rounds that stays with you. It is a course that deserves its place among the very best in the world, and for me it was an absolute highlight of the trip. A true bucket-list course !

Après s'être échauffé sur le Wee Course, découvert les environs de Turnberry via le King Robert The Bruce, nous voici à l’attaque de l’Ailsa, parcours The Open Championship qui a vu couronner de grands noms et notamment Tom Watson lors du « duel sous le soleil » avec Jack Niklaus. Hébergé à l’hôtel du site, vue sur les parcours et l’ensemble des installations pendant le petit-déjeuner après avoir pris le dîner la veille dans les salons principaux avec le Manager Général des lieux. Nous avons pu échanger sur l’histoire et les projets du golf en général. L’hôtel 5 étoiles est juste fabuleux. L’ensemble du personnel est d’un professionnalisme a tout épreuve, en tenue traditionnelle, et tous aussi en joie de travailler dans ces lieux. Les chambres sont faites plusieurs fois par jours, spacieuses, très bien équipées, mêlant traditions et modernités. Et que dire de la vue ! Bon, place au golf ! Le Tee1 se trouve derrière l’arrivée du 18, où attend un starter à la parfaite connaissance des lieux. Comme pour le parcours KRTB, je trouve que les 5 premiers trous sont une mise en bouche, excentrés, avec un charme relatif et plutôt accessibles techniquement. Le par 3 du 6 nous transporte directement dans la beauté du parcours. Un simple 360 au départ permet d’apercevoir toutes les symboliques du parcours : Lighthouse, clubhouse, hôtel, l’île Ailsa… Les trous 7 et 8 de longs trous le long de la plage nous rapproche du phare pour nous amener tranquillement mais difficilement au fameux trou n°9. Un par 3 où il faut voler par-dessus les rochers et prendre un green à proximité du phare. Probablement un des plus beaux trous à jouer au monde. Passage obligatoire par le break point dans le phare. Un Gin Tonic pour se remettre les idées en place et c’est reparti au départ du trou 10. Un long par 5 jouxtant la plage. J’ai eu la bonne idée d’hooker mon 2ème coup et donc de jouer directement sur la plage pour attaquer le green. Puis un nouveau par 3 pour attendre le bout Nord du parcours. Retour dans les terres où on abandonne la mer au profit des fôrets d’ajonc ! Les trous se resserrent en direction du clubhouse mais sans une nouvelle difficulté. Sur le trou 16, un long par 4, l’attaque du green doit se vouloir longue sous peine de retomber dans le Wilson’s Burn (ce qui m’est évidemment arrivé). On fini sur un trou 18 à côté du clubhouse, face à l’hôtel pour finir un parcours où les images resteront gravées dans nos mémoires. Clairement une expérience unique à vivre au moins une fois dans une vie de golfeur…

Il percorso Ailsa di Turnberry è di un altro livello rispetto a qualunque campo abbiate mai Giocato. È probabilmente il campo più bello che abbia mai giocato, non solo per la qualità tecnica del tracciato, ma per la forza del contesto in cui si sviluppa. Tutto qui sembra costruito per trasformare il round in un’esperienza completa: il disegno delle buche, la presenza costante dell’oceano, il faro, il vento, la manutenzione impeccabile e quella sensazione di giocare in un luogo già entrato nella storia del golf. Dopo tre buche iniziali di avvicinamento, dalla 4 alla 11 si entra in una sequenza straordinaria, sempre a contatto con l’oceano, con viste mozzafiato e un senso continuo di esposizione al paesaggio. Il mare non è mai soltanto uno sfondo: condiziona la percezione, le distanze, le traiettorie e il modo stesso di stare sul campo. Ogni colpo sembra richiedere non solo precisione, ma anche capacità di leggere vento, rimbalzi e linee di gioco. La buca 9 è uno dei par 3 più famosi al mondo, con il faro che campeggia accanto al green e rende il colpo un momento quasi sospeso. È una di quelle buche in cui il valore tecnico e quello scenografico coincidono perfettamente. Il disegno è spettacolare senza risultare artificiale, sempre coerente con il terreno e con il paesaggio costiero. Giocato in condizioni davvero straordinarie, Ailsa è stato una giornata di golf memorabile: una di quelle esperienze che restano come riferimento personale, anche dopo molti altri campi giocati. Non è solo un grande percorso da Open Championship, ma un luogo in cui ogni dettaglio contribuisce a costruire un ricordo preciso e difficilmente replicabile. A rendere l’esperienza ancora più completa è stato l’incontro con il general manager, il superintendent e gli addetti ai lavori. Confrontarsi con chi vive quotidianamente Turnberry permette di cogliere meglio la dedizione necessaria per mantenere un luogo di questo livello. Memorabile, in questo senso, anche il caffè bevuto nella Champions Room: un dettaglio semplice, ma capace di dare ulteriore profondità alla giornata.