Hole n ° 8 of the Royal Troon, nicknamed "the postage stamp" - © Franck Crudo

A departure nestled on a dune and a green just 110 meters below, barely wider than a postage stamp, surrounded by five formidable bunkers. Welcome to hole n ° 8 of the Royal Troon, one of the most famous par 3 in golf history with the 12 at Augusta in the heart of Amen Corner, the hole in the island of 17 at TPC Sawgrass (which hosts each year the Players Championship) or the 7th at Peeble Beach. Originally called “Ailsa”, from the name of the rocky islet that can be seen from the green, William Park baptized it “postage stamp” in 1909 in Golf Illustrated, a nickname that has since remained in posterity. In 2014, a BBC poll asked 20 of the best players in the world what their favorite hole was among all the British Open courses: the postage stamp comes first, ahead of 17 at St Andrews.

The Royal Troon's 8 is an oblong green, much longer than it is wide (only 8 meters), which at this distance should not thrill even the toughest of golf-trotters. And yet… The side wind, which is often omnipresent in the area, and bunkers which seem to catch balls like flies, can at any time chip away at the score card and become the scene of a Greek tragedy. Affectionately nicknamed “the coffin,” a bunker just two meters wide often even forces players to tap back to escape the trap. *

During the British Open 1950, it was on the postage stamp that Herman Tissie took it 15 times to squeeze the ball into this damn hole, a record still to be beaten. In 1997, just crowned with his recent victory at the Augusta Masters, the young Tiger Woods was in turn shipwrecked there on Sunday with a triple bogey. But the 8 of the Royal Troon is also an opportunity to tell some great stories: in 1973, the legendary Gene Sarazen, then aged 71, made a hole in one in front of cameras around the world **. The next day, the winner of "The Open" forty-one years earlier filed a bunker exit for birdie at the same spot.

Perhaps Colin Montgomerie, who played countless practice games at the Royal Troon, speaks the best of the postage stamp. "I happened to put the ball 10 centimeters from the flag, says the Scottish golfer. It also happened to me to concede a triple or a quadruple bogey here. When the wind is head-on, you may be forced to pull out a 5 iron and there, the serious things begin ... " In 1978, on the occasion of the centenary of the route, Queen Elisabeth II even granted royal patronage to a simple postage stamp. A unique honor for a hole that is equally so.

Frank Crudo

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szlvCDHM7kQ

** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SugO6tWocQU