Why there is a house in the middle of Royal Troon – incredible story behind one of golf’s most unique courses
Everyone wants the best seat in the house right? Well, Royal Troon has the literal definition of it.
Right in the centre of the venue for The Open Championship this week sits a house and it makes this course one of the most unique in the world.
The property is named 'Blackrock House' and those living there get the best views of golf’s superstars as they play the second, third, 16th, 17th and 18th holes.
It really is an unbelievable sight, and at The Open, fans will no doubt have questions as they watch Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and co this week.
So, talkSPORT.com has taken a deeper look at Royal Troon’s unique feature…
Why is there a house in the middle of Royal Troon?
Incredibly, the house has been in that exact spot ever since the Royal Troon Golf Club was established in 1878.
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When it was built, there were originally just six holes but those were played around the Blackrock Cottages.
On old plans drawn for the golf club, the building was clearly marked out, with the holes revolving around it in the centre.
Blackrock House was then built in the same place in the 1920s, with some sort of property being on that exact spot since before the first golf shot was played at Royal Troon well over a century ago.
There is no official information on what the house was originally used for, but it is presumed that it was related to Troon’s fishing industry.
But surely having a house in the middle of a professional golf course isn’t practical, so why haven’t they removed it?
Well, owner of half of the house, Paul Gregory, has previously said back in 2016 that Troon hadn’t tried to buy the property yet.
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So they must be embracing the history and because the course was originally built around the property, they may feel like it always has to remain that way.
It has also made the course so unique that the club could see it as their claim to being one of the best in the world of golf.
Blackrock House is put to good use during events at Troon too, so it’s not just something impressive to look at.
Gregory sometimes rents out the property while also having guests over and there’s no doubt that he’ll have had plenty of requests for The Open this week.
The house also hosts hospitality and corporate tents, meaning it gets fully immersed in the action when events come around.
You can follow all of the action at Royal Troon on talkSPORT 2
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We will have live commentary from Marcus Buckland, Sue Thearle, Ron Jones, Matt Adams and Rupert Bell.
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