R&A (Still) Opposed To Turnberry Open Rota Return
After President Trump tells the Prime Minister he'd like to see The Open return, the R&A's new chief says the resort lacks enough capacity to compete with other venues.
Donald Trump received a hand-delivered letter from King Charles inviting the president to Dumfries House “when you are next visiting Turnberry.”
Such a trip will not be for an Open Championship anytime soon.
During Thursday’s joint White House press conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Trump referenced his ownership of Turnberry and is said to have privately urged the Prime Minister to restore the four-time Open site to the Open rota for the first time since 2009. But that’s not the PM’s call.
The Telegraph’s James Corrigan and Tom Morgan checked in with the R&A to see if anything had changed regarding the Ailsa course and the current Open rota. Newly installed R&A Chief Mark Darbon went further than his predecessor, clarifying that Turnberry is not in the current mix due to its financial flaccidity:
“We need a venue that is appropriate from both a logistical and commercial perspective,” he said. “That’s critical for us, because through the Open, we generate most of our revenue and we use that to invest in the rest of the game all around the world. So the reality is that a modern-day Open requires a venue that can support us logistically and commercially.
“So we do have some questions that we need to work through on the logistical and commercial front. When we were there in 2009, we had just over 100,000 [123,0000 spectators] for the week. We are operating at comfortably more than double that at most of our venues today. So it’s not quite as simple as just saying ‘would we go back?’ There’s a chunk of work that’s required to investigate.”
Darbon went on to say that a decision about re-entering the rota will revolve around “factors that have served us well in the past.”
The R&A stance against Turnberry dates to Trump’s upstaging of the 2015 Ricoh Women’s Open after he bought the Ayrshire resort from Dubai-based Leisurecorp for $63 million. Pre-tournament reports pleaded with the then-presidential candidate not to overshadow play. But Trump landed in a helicopter on the hotel’s front lawn as first round play was underway. He then spoke to press at the lightly-attended championship and offered several newsworthy quotes.
Once Inbee Park completed the career Grand Slam that week, Turnberry closed for business. Trump’s team overhauled the historic hotel and hired architect Martin Ebert to redesign the course. Many of the design changes made in 2015-16 were based on R&A suggestions.
As I wrote for GolfDigest.com in 2016, the course improved significantly. Ebert took better advantage of seaside locales while beefing up the uninspired finishing hole. But with Trump slapping his name onto the storied facility and installing the corresponding signage, fountains, bridges, and even eliminating the classic lighthouse logo, he made clear a championship there would be a spectacle to quench his relentless thirst for attention.
“We will not be taking events there until we’re comfortable that the whole dialogue will be about golf,” former R&A Chief Martin Slumbers told The Telegraph Sport last November.
Under Slumbers the R&A again ruled Turnberry out several times, including after the January 6th insurrection. All the way Slumbers consistently emphasized the need to visit storied links where large crowds could be accommodated. The R&A Chief felt this would best finance LIV-era purse increases while covering escalating operating costs. The organization has made a determined effort under Slumbers to invest Open profits back into the sport.
The higher cost of attending an Open has not guaranteed a good seat and has led to mixed reviews about the fan experience. Regardless, the emphasis on welcoming as many people as possible requires a nearby railway station and multiple roads into a 21st-century Open site.
Turnberry has one major road in able to handle tournament traffic. Maybole station is the only nearby railway option and it’s a 15-minute bus ride without Open traffic. Similar logistics have likely kept Muirfield from hosting since the East Lothian club began admitting women as members. Turnberry last hosted The Open in 2009, while Muirfield held the most recent of 16 Open Championships in 2013.
In 2009, Turnberry had 123,000 spectators, less than half what Troon welcomed in 2024.