Turnberry

Turnberry is a golf resort on a headland by the Firth of Clyde in South Ayrshire. It sits 50 miles south of Glasgow, where the A719 meets the A77. The land was once infertile and overlooked by the Marquess of Ailsa, who saw its value for golf. A railway line built in 1899 made the site accessible, and Willie Fernie designed the first 13 holes in 1901. James Miller’s 1906 hotel stands beside the old station, built for visitors arriving by train. The resort has hosted major tournaments, including the 1977 Open where Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus. It closed during both world wars, first as an airbase and hospital, then as an RAF training site. After 1945, Mackenzie Ross rebuilt the courses, removing wartime runways and restoring the links. The Ailsa Course has staged The Open four times and many other championships. The property passed through several owners before the Trump Organization bought it in 2014. Visitors find three links courses, a golf academy, and a five-star hotel set against views of Ailsa Craig and the Isle of Arran. The Ailsa Course winds along cliffs with the sea on one side and the hotel on the other. The ninth hole overlooks a memorial to First World War airmen. The station platform remains, though the line closed in 1942. The grounds still show signs of its military past, now softened by grass and sand.