Huxley Golf has installed a new all-weather tee at the iconic 8th hole at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland to ensure golfers are able to carry on playing one of the world’s most famous par threes throughout the year without compromise.
The installation of Huxley Golf Premier Tee Turf 2, the closest all-weather surface to natural grass, will help to ensure continuity of the Postage Stamp experience. The club had previously trialled the idea of creating a separate winter tee from natural turf, but it was unable to withstand the extraordinary levels of wear and tear.
Course Manager, Billy McLachlan, explained: “The Postage Stamp is an important feature of our club. Being a short hole, the impacts of wear and tear on the tee are concentrated over a small area. This not only affects play during the winter, but it also impacts the start of the golf season because natural grass takes time to recover fully.
“Our recourse was to turn to Huxley Golf to help us find the optimal solution for our precise needs: one that would look good aesthetically and critically, live up to players’ expectations. As a result, we now have a permanent feature that we can switch to with minimal interruption when the landscape demands it. Over time, this will help preserve play to this exceptional hole.”
Huxley Golf used its superior Premier Tee Turf 2 to create the 12ft x 12ft (3.6m x 3.6m) tee, and supplemented this with a fringe surround, which will enable natural grass to seamlessly marry in around it.
Hugh Fraser, Scotland and North East England Area Manager at Huxley Golf, commented: “We understand that it can be a difficult decision for historic environments to work with the new generation of all-weather turf, but most now realise that Huxley Golf Premier Tee Turf 2 offers a superb option for winter play and to relieve wear and tear at any time of year. It has benefits to both the environment, the greenkeeping team and players, as it protects natural features, requires virtually no maintenance, and yet, offers golfers an incredibly realistic surface to hit from. Its unique surface gives players an excellent experience, even in the most demanding of situations and climates.”
