Turnberry's second course reaches its great moment on Bain's Hill, where the sea opens beneath the fairways and the ninth green sits above Kintyre's Cove. Martin Ebert substantially rebuilt the former Kintyre layout in 2017, changing the direction of the coastal holes to make the lighthouse, Ailsa Craig and the Firth of Clyde central to the round.
The King Robert the Bruce is not the celebrated Open Championship Ailsa, and its pleasures deserve a different description. It moves from gorse-framed, relatively sheltered golf toward four dramatic holes high above the shore, then returns to a sequence where bunkers, wetlands and contoured greens reward careful positioning. The player who enjoys a choice between an adventurous line and a measured alternative will find that contrast especially satisfying.
Why You Should Play Trump Turnberry King Robert the Bruce
King Robert the Bruce has an unusual strength for a resort's second course: its most spectacular stretch is also its most strategically interesting. The eighth climbs onto exposed ground; the ninth finishes at a cliff-edge green with a route across the hollow and a safer alternative to the right; the tenth crosses a valley to a defended green; the eleventh plays from high ground toward the lighthouse. Each hole invites a different decision, despite sharing one remarkable panorama.
That variety makes Ebert's course attractive to golfers who value a changing landscape, enjoy calculated risk and are happy to play an approach along the ground when the contour favors it. Some holes are more sheltered, and not every tee shot has an uninterrupted view of the ocean. For players whose sole ambition is the Open Championship landmarks of the Ailsa, the two courses are not substitutes. Golfers who like quieter inland positioning followed by a few genuinely exhilarating seaside shots will appreciate precisely the contrast.
The Black tees extend to 7,203 yards, but shorter tee options let visitors adjust the demand. What matters most is selecting a useful side of the fairway, particularly on the holes where bunkers and green contours make a bold drive less valuable than it first appears.
Willie Fernie, Kintyre and Martin Ebert's Transformation
The story of Turnberry's second course predates its present name. Its early history is associated with Willie Fernie and a series of layouts interrupted and reshaped by the property's wartime airfield use. Donald Steel and Ebert were involved in the Kintyre Course configuration introduced in 2001, before Ebert returned to transform it.
The rebuilt King Robert the Bruce opened in 2017. Rather than simply refurbishing bunkers, Ebert changed the orientation of the elevated coastal sequence, introducing new holes and removing trees to open views toward Ailsa Craig, Arran and the Turnberry lighthouse. The ecological wetland between the fifth and thirteenth also reshaped play lower on the property. What emerged was a different round, not just a renamed Kintyre.
The name recalls Robert the Bruce and the nearby castle ruins traditionally linked to his birth. That historical association gives the landscape additional resonance, but the golf itself should be understood as a distinctly modern design.
Windy Brae and a Green Above the Sea
The par-five eighth, Windy Brae, sits in an exposed position where the prevailing southwesterly wind can add a great deal to the approach. A drive toward the right avoids the fairway bunker left. That is only the beginning: the second shot demands a choice between advancing aggressively and leaving a more controlled approach into an undulating green.
The par-four ninth, Kintyre's Cove, is the course's outstanding hole. The green perches above the rocky shoreline and can be attacked over the hollow by a golfer whose drive has reached the correct position. The fairway carries on farther right, offering a less aggressive way to reach the target. That route is not a consolation prize. It is what makes the hole a genuine contest of preferences and ability rather than a compulsory dare above the sea.
The green itself needs an accurate approach; simply carrying the hollow is not enough. Looking out across the Mull of Kintyre, the temptation is to remember the view and forget the shot. A stronger player may enjoy taking on the direct line, while a cautious golfer can still play the hole intelligently and enjoy every part of the setting.
Across Bain's Hill and Back to the Lower Ground
The tenth, a par three, asks for a carry across a valley to a shaped green protected by bunkers. From the elevated eleventh, Doon n' Roon, a par five, the Turnberry lighthouse becomes the focus beyond the tee. The first shot sets up a positional second and an approach to a raised green. Neither hole is simply a backdrop to the coast: wind and green contours make exact distance and angle important.
The inward stretch returns to more contained terrain. At the thirteenth, The Misk, the wetland lies on the left and added fairway bunkers tighten the other side. A controlled drive can be worth more than a long one. The closing Bruce's Hame is another par five, demanding a succession of accurate shots between bunkers before the reshaped green near the clubhouse.
It is useful to notice these less-photographed holes. Their quieter forms show why the 2017 renovation works as a complete eighteen rather than only as a scenic sequence on the cliffs.
How King Robert the Bruce Differs From the Ailsa
The Turnberry Ailsa has hosted four men's Open Championships, including the famous 1977 Duel in the Sun between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. Those events were played on the Ailsa, not on King Robert the Bruce. The courses share resort facilities and coastal views, but have distinct architecture, histories and tee times.
Top 100 Golf Courses ranked King Robert the Bruce No. 71 in Scotland in 2026. Such a placing offers context, not a verdict on how much an individual golfer will enjoy the round. Ailsa offers a concentration of Open history and recognizable championship holes. King Robert the Bruce brings its own modern risk-reward questions, especially above Kintyre's Cove, alongside more restrained inland golf.
A golfer with time for both will learn more from playing two separate rounds than from treating Ebert's course merely as a practice round for the Ailsa.
2027 Green Fees, The Card and Golf Services
The indicative 2027 single-round visitor green fees are £95 January–March, £160 in April, £200 in May, £275 June–September, and £145 in October. These are planning prices rather than guaranteed rates for every available tee time. The Ailsa has a separate tariff, while visitor tee-time categories and services differ from the Ailsa.
The Black men's tees measure 7,203 yards (6,586 metres), par 72. White men's tees are 6,594 yards (6,030 metres) and Yellow men's tees 6,299 yards (5,760 metres), both par 72. Red women's tees measure 5,767 yards (5,273 metres), par 74. Men's and women's tee-specific pars can differ even when marker colors are shared, so use the appropriate scorecard.
Caddies are optional for ordinary walking play and are available from £85 per round, with gratuity extra and advance reservation recommended. King Robert the Bruce permits self-drive buggies, subject to seasonal availability and resort regulations. The Ailsa instead limits buggy use to golfers with a valid medical certificate and requires a caddie driver. The distinction matters when planning for different mobility needs.
A Stay at Turnberry and the Wider Ayrshire Coast
The Trump Turnberry Hotel & Resort is the natural place to stay for visitors playing both resort courses. The coastline's quieter setting rewards a night after golf rather than an immediate transfer. For a livelier evening among traditional pubs and independent restaurants, Troon and Prestwick offer a different kind of golf-town experience.
A longer Ayrshire trip can add Royal Troon Old Course, Prestwick and Western Gailes. Together they give the visitor classic Open history, unconventional blind architecture and narrow traditional links between railway and sea. King Robert the Bruce adds the modern, high-ground contrast. Ayrshire's wider region also offers Culzean Castle and Burns country beyond the fairways.
The Decision That Defines the Course
The view from Kintyre's Cove is extraordinary. The more telling question is whether the drive has earned an approach across the hollow or made the safer right-hand route the smarter choice. That balance between spectacle and strategy is what gives King Robert the Bruce an identity of its own.