For sale! ‘House on the course’ at Royal Troon hits the market

“This is the only house on a golf course in the world. There’s houses around the course but this is the only one that’s on it.”

Cath Gregory knows she is the luckiest golf fan at The Open.

She is peering over her front garden wall watching Ewen Ferguson finish the second hole of his practice round at Royal Troon. Tiger Woods and co. have already passed through on this balmy Monday morning.

When Cath wants to see what’s happening on the 16th green or the 17th tee instead, she only has to meander to the other side of her garden.

“I check the draw sheet, watch the television and then I go out and have a look,” she tells bunkered. 

This is the privilege that comes with owning one of the two most famed private residences on the Open rota.

Based in Edinburgh, Cath and her husband Paul moved into one of the two properties at Blackrock House 17 years ago as their summer retreat.

“We bought this house to be near our family,” she says. “And we play golf so it seemed like a good idea!”

No kidding.

When Number 16 Crosbie Road – a four bedroom, four-bathroom renovated home – came up for sale in 2007, Scottish newspaper columnist Tam Cowan speculated that a prospective buyer would need £3 million in the bank.

“One million for the house and two million to get the windows repaired every couple of days,” he quipped.

Paul and Cath have spent their money well. When Paul is not playing Royal Troon itself, the pair frequent Dundonald and some of the other links gems that this gorgeous stretch of Ayrshire coastline has to offer.

It’s not just the golf that makes this the dream getaway, either.

“The sea, the views, the proximity to the beach, getting a ferry out to the Isle of Arran…”

Its almost too good to be true. Which is why it came as such a surprise that Cath and Paul will soon be welcoming new neighbours at their Troon haven.

That’s right. The second property at Blackrock House is now on the market – and it could be yours.

The estate agent Strutt & Parker tell us that they were only alerted about this news last Monday. The big “FOR SALE” signs were hastily nailed down before Open week arrived and interest has already soared.

It was so quick, in fact, that they haven’t even had time to formulate a price yet – but you don’t need Dion Dublin to tell you it won’t come cheap. This, it must be stressed, is once-in-a-lifetime deal to live inside a major venue.

Cath says her neighbours “Mr and Mrs Kelly had been here a long time before us”, living next door for the last four Troon Opens dating back to Mark Calcavecchia’s win in 1989.

There are no plans to follow suit and cash in, however. Cath is preparing to welcome a full house of golden ticket holders for one of her favourite weeks of the year.

“We have lots of visitors coming,” she says with palpable excitement. “My son in law and my grandson are coming and we have lots of friends coming later in the week.” 

Golf’s greatest championship has just landed on her doorstep. She won’t need to do much entertaining.

UPDATE!

Strutt and Parker have now given some important details on the property at Blackrock House.

The guide price? £1,500,000.

“The sale of Blackrock House is one of those rare times where you can safely say there isn’t anything else like this available in the world,” Associate Annabel Blackett said. “Built before the Royal Troon Golf Club even existed, the home’s driveway meanders through the course and takes you into almost another world – a world which must surely feel like a dream for any golf fans!”

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.