Turnberry (Ailsa), Scotland, Hole 18
Par:
Par 4
Length:
Blue (Champ Tees): 422 metres / 461 yards
White (Tournament): 346 metres / 378 yards
Yellow (Trophy): 338 metres / 370 yards
Red (Ladies): 328 metres / 359 yards
Handicap:
Hcp 12
Designer:
Philip Mackenzie Ross
Description:
My intention was to solely focus on Turnberry’s Ailsa holes 9, 10, 15 and 16. However, holes 18 (this blog entry) and 17 (next blog entry) are such great holes from my point of view and I enjoyed playing them so much so that I decided to add them to my blog as well. Hole 18 is a very solid par 4 to finish, playing as a dog leg right to left. Three bunkers on the left hand side are to be avoided so the tee shot needs to be aimed at the gorse hoping for the wind to turn it round the corner. The second shot from the fairway seems goes to a slightly elevated green, with a fall off on the left At the first Open Championship in 1977 at Turnberry, the hole 18 was the final scene of the famous "Duel in the Sun", when Tom Watson claimed a classic victory, one stroke ahead of Jack Nicklaus. They were tied through the 16th hole of the final round. Nicklaus missed a short birdie putt on the 17th hole to tie Watson, who had reached in two and birdied. On the 18th hole, Nicklaus recovered from the rough to sink a lengthy birdie putt, which forced Watson to sink his short birdie putt to win, which he did. Ailsa’s finishing hole was renamed “Duel in the Sun” in honor of the 1977 Open Championship. For the 2009 Open Championship a new back tee was added that lengthens the hole by 29 yards and a third bunker has been added to the left of the drive zone. The appearance of the hole has been enhanced with two new approach bunkers.
Map:
Picture:
(all data as of February 2010)
