Play Troon on the Eve of The Open

Golfers will be able to play Royal Troon on the eve of the 145th Open Championship

The new initiative begins at Troon where golfers can play short nine hole handicap-qualifying competitions.

The R&A is giving golfers the opportunity to play nine holes at Royal Troon on Saturday 9th July on the eve of the 145th Open Championship.

It's all part of an initiative by the R&A to give its support for nine hole competitive golf.

They new championship is designed to show golfers that the game can still be played competitively for handicap purposes over a short nine hole format.

The inaugural event for amateurs will be played on the Saturday before the Open, giving the players the opportunity to play nine holes at the historic Ayrshire links on the eve of The 145th Open.

In 2017, the event will be expanded to cover golf clubs in Great Britain and Ireland with players being given the opportunity to qualify at nine hole events held by The R&A’s affiliated national associations in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

BBC surrenders live Open Championship TV rights.

Padraig Harrington, two-time Champion Golfer of the Year and R&A Working for Golf Ambassador, welcomed the initiative. “People who want to play golf are increasingly struggling to find the time to play and so positioning nine hole golf as a legitimate alternative makes a lot of sense,” he said.

“I’m really pleased to see The R&A taking the lead in this area.

Padraig Harrington with the Open Championship Claret Jug

Padraig Harrington with the Claret Jug

“For regular amateur golfers to be able to play The Open venue in championship condition immediately before the best players in the world is a fantastic initiative and I’m sure this new competitive format will encourage more people to get out on the golf course and play nine hole golf.”

Royal Troon male-only membership under review.

The R&A’s extensive survey on pace of play and the subsequent Time for Golf conference in St Andrews last November highlighted the challenges many people face in finding time to play 18 holes, with 60% of the golfers surveyed expressing the view that they would enjoy golf more if it took less time.

The survey also revealed that among 25-44 year-olds who are unhappy with the pace of play, 21% would like to see the playing time reduced by as much as one-and-a-half hours, while 19% said they would welcome the opportunity to play nine holes more often as an alternative format.

Royal Troon (Old) ranks 29th in our UK and Ireland: Top 100 Golf Courses.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “One of the messages that came through clearly from the survey and the Time for Golf conference is that people would play more golf if they could do so in significantly less time.

"Nine hole golf is not new but we feel it is often overlooked as a perfectly valid way to play the sport either with your family and friends or competitively.

“We are delighted to introduce a nine hole championship and will be promoting this format as a way of playing golf in less time which can have wider appeal among people who lead increasingly busy lives today.

"We are very much looking forward to working with the national associations to promote nine hole golf and we hope to see more events being played throughout Great Britain and Ireland to cater for this important audience.”

Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!


Elliott is currently playing:


Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV