The Postage Stamp: A morning at Royal Troon’s iconic signature hole

It’s 8.17am on Thursday morning at the Open and Jack McDonald has reached the Postage Stamp.

The lad from a few miles up the road leads the way up the steps to the most iconic hole at Royal Troon, with his two veteran playing partners – former Troon champions Justin Leonard and Todd Hamilton – following on.

By this point, the grandstand, which is a good 30 minute walk from the first tee, is around three-quarters full. After spending the morning in it, I’m confident in saying it’s the best grandstand you’re going to find at Royal Troon. Possibly even the Open rota.

As McDonald christens the turf on the back left of the tee box, sending his ball to the middle of the green, the following group are heading up the seventh fairway. Behind them, you can see the third group of the day approaching the sixth green.

If you place yourself in the right spot, you can also see the ninth and tenth holes. If you want to camp out on the loop, there are not many better places to do it.

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Back to the Postage Stamp, and Leonard is the first player of the week to find the bunker to the right of the green. Today, it’s pin high on the hole playing 118 yards, and he’s the first of many to succumb to it.

It should, as one spectator comments, be an easy hole. After all, these aren’t just pro golfers, they’re the best golfers in the world. The hole isn’t even 120 yards long and it’s all in front of you. Just hit the green, make your three, and move on.

Tiger Woods, in his pre-tournament press conference, couldn’t have put it any better.

“It’s a very simple hole,” he said. “Just hit the ball on the green.

“That’s it. Green good, miss green bad. It doesn’t get any more simple than that.”

Of course, we know it’s not that easy. Far from it. Vincent Norrman is the first to really prove that. The young Swede deliberates with his caddie on club choice. Eventually, he settles on one of his wedges, but it’s the wrong one. His ball finds the green but only momentarily as the spin sucks it back into the bunker guarding the front. His ball rests at the back lip of the trap and he can’t advance it out.

so if people didn’t know, theres a person that follows each group raking bunkers at the Open, but on 8 (postage stamp) there is a specific guy who does it. I feel bad for the fella, his arms are about to fall off. sorry from the pros out here plus me 😂 #brutal

— Min Woo Lee (@Minwoo27Lee) July 18, 2024

In the end, Norrman holes an impressive putt for a bogey four. It’s something the crowd appreciates. Sure, making a two is great, but we’ve all had to scramble for ugly bogeys before. Relatable golf will make you popular in these parts.

Something else an Open crowd appreciates is shot-making. As the wind gets up on this cold morning, so does the need to control your ball flight. What makes the Postage Stamp hard this particular morning is the wind, and knowing what it’s going to do to your ball. With the grandstand surrounding the tee, it’s impossible for players to feel the wind hurting them. But, when their ball gets above the seats, it’s inescapable.

If anything, some locals took joy in watching PGA Tour stalwarts hit high, floaty wedges which started off looking lovely, before getting chewed up by the Ayrshire gales.

Wind is hard off the left at the Postage Stamp today. Right bunker a very popular spot. Tricky.

— Lewis Fraser (@lewisfras98) July 18, 2024

What they took more joy in seeing, however, was pros who did it the right way. Tony Finau was the perfect example of this. The big American might be better known for his power off the tee, but his shot into the Postage Stamp was more impressive.

“Chippy. Chip-E!” was the cry, as the 34-year-old’s cultured hands guided a low and driving ball to the heart of the green. I’m not sure his Titleist got more than 40 feet off the ground, it was a thing of beauty. He deservedly made his two.

Then came the rain. From directly behind the tee on the 8th, you can tell it was coming, but not by looking at the sky. Instead, just glance along the grandstand that extends almost as far as the green, and you’ll see umbrellas going up in something of a miserable Mexican wave.

A brief tangent on umbrellas, if you’ll allow me. I have no issue with taking them to the golf course, obviously. But, they should be banned in grandstands. Seriously. If someone in the row in front of you has an umbrella up, you can’t see a thing. Instead, you need to stand up which means everyone needs to stand up and it defeats the whole purpose. Umbrellas left at the grandstand entrance or you shouldn’t be allowed in.

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Back off my soapbox, and big names are making their way around Royal Troon’s front nine. The grandstand behind the Postage Stamp is starting to buzz with excitement and by 9.55am, Justin Thomas has made it to the par-3.

JT hits his shot the correct way. It’s a penetrating flight that starts on the right edge of the Coffin Bunker, before the wind pushes it to the centre of the green. Once his ball hits the surface, it takes the slope, and for a moment, it looks like it might go in. Unfortunately for him, it stops just short, but the strategy gives him the easiest of birdies.

That’s the right way to do it, but so many of his peers got it oh-so wrong.

You see, the temptation when you have a wedge in your hands is to take dead aim at the pin, which was sitting only a few paces off the right edge. But on this hole, with the wind blowing hard off the left, that just isn’t wise.

If you try and take this flag on, it can make you look downright silly. Bryson DeChambeau was one of many made to look foolish. The Scientist, who arrived at the Postage Stamp already having a bad day, hit a wedge that careered off the green into a brutal spot. His shot was, from the get-go, clearly heading for trouble. But even good looking shots can be punished here.

Just ask Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman was the 59th golfer to tee off at the Postage Stamp on Thursday morning. I lost count of how many shots I saw just like his.

After plenty of deliberation with Harry Diamond, McIlroy made his choice of wedge. It was a well struck shot and from the moment he hit it, to the untrained eye, it looked great. Straight at the pin all the way.

It was all going well until the Postage Stamp…https://t.co/MMygVfiXrv

— Ben Parsons (@_benparsons) July 18, 2024

As it neared the green, however, Royal Troon’s cold wind took hold. McIlroy’s ball pitched between the hole and the edge of the green and, for a moment, he thought it might hold on. But, everyone who had spent their morning there knew it was heading for the bunker.

McIlroy watched his ball find a sandy grave before turning to the crowd and rolling his eyes. He would go onto make a five that, according to him, was the catalyst for the rest of his struggles.

“Aye, it’s fine margins,” says one member of the crowd. He’s right, too. It is the finest of margins and at the Postage Stamp, you had better be on the right side of them.

Lewis Fraser As bunkered’s Performance Editor, Lewis oversees the content that’s designed to make you a better player. From the latest gear to tuition, nutrition, strategy and more, he’s the man. A graduate of the University of Stirling, Lewis joined bunkered in 2021. Formerly a caddie at Castle Stuart Golf Links, he is a member of Bathgate Golf Club where he plays off four.

Performance Editor