En route to the first tee at Royal Troon for a hit at the venue for the 152nd Open during a media day, someone I presume was a member was coming out of the main clubhouse entrance and shouted over to me: “You won’t enjoy it out there today!”

In fairness, his pessimism wasn’t completely uncalled for given that rain was spitting through at the time from darkened skies above the Ayrshire venue and, probably more so, it was blowing a hoolie, the direction of which I’ll get round to as that was certainly interesting.

With all due respect to the individual in question, though, he was wrong because, from my experience at least, it’s impossible not to enjoy a game of golf at Royal Troon, hence why I’ve said for a long time that it’s under-utilised when it comes to showcasing it.

The par-4 11th hole at Royal Troon is part of a 'loop' on the Ayrshire course, where The Open is being staged for a tenth time in July. Picture: National World

From start to finish, it’s simply an outstanding test of golf and, of course, there’s that tasty treat in the middle as you get to tackle the iconic Postage Stamp, which, for me anyway, is the best short hole in the game and somewhere you could play over and over and over again.

This will be the fifth Open I’ve covered at Royal Troon and, through similar media events, I’ve been lucky to get a taste of what lies in wait for the world’s top players later in the year on each of those occasions. Bloody difficult is my verdict for the 152nd Open and we weren’t anywhere near the back tees, including nine new ones that will see the test stretched to 7385 yards - an increase of 195 yards from 2016 - on 18-21 July.

Scores at this particular Claret Jug venue are usually made on the opening stretch before players buckle in and try to limit the damage around its ‘loop’, which includes the outstanding par-4 11th flanked by the railway line on one side of its narrow fairway and a wall of gorse on the other, then the straight closing stretch on a course that always leaves you feeling that it has three separate sections.

Well, this particular day opened the eyes of many about how a course can change when the wind is blowing from a certain direction because the first seven holes were straight into the teeth of it and, believe me, my 3-iron was worn out over that opening run of holes. And not just hitting second shots! A driver was also required off the tee at the first of the short holes - the fifth - and, even then, it came up just short, though I do have to admit that Old Father Time has indeed caught up with me.

The iconic Postage Stamp at Royal Troon is officially listed at 123 yards but can be shortened to just 99 yards. Picture: National World

A new tee at the fifth, incidentally, will bring a deep bunker on the front right of the green more into play while also promising to be stunning from a visual perspective due it being close to the beach and more precision will be required off the tee at the previous hole due to a change of angle three from another of those new tees.

There’s not one at the Postage Stamp because, quite frankly, it never needs to be altered in any way. It’s official yardage is just 123 yards but, from a forward tee to a front hole location, can play at 99 yards, as happened in 2016 and will almost certainly be the case on one of the four days again this summer.

With the wind helping on this particular day, even for me it was just a wee flick with a wedge that safely found the putting surface and my first-ever 2 there looked a distinct possibility until a 25-footer dived across the front of the hole with its final roll. One more roll with an attempt from slightly closer would have seen a 2 at the 17th, but it was a real struggle otherwise and that included putting off the front of the green at seventh from just 15 feet away and being wary that it would be quick.

Having been used to them all my golfing life, I’ve never really been too fazed by bunkers on links courses, but I have to say that I genuinely believe the ones that have been prepared on this one are the most fearsome as a set at any venue I’ve ever come across. It probably didn’t help that, due to the sand in a lot of them being a bit wet, balls were resting up against the bottom of steep faces quite often, but, if you are already starting to think about bets for the season’s final major, then it would definitely be worthwhile checking out some sand statistics.

The 152nd Open at Royal Troon is set to welcome 250,000 fans - 77,000 more than the 2016 event at the Ayrshire venue. Picture: National World

This will be Royal Troon’s tenth Open, the last one eight years ago having provided a thrilling title tussle over the weekend involving Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson, with the Swede prevailing in the end to create history as the first Scandinavian to win a men’s major.

It’s incredible, really, to think that a total of 250,000 spectators - 77,000 more than 2016 - will be heading to the Ayrshire coast for this latest edition but, in fairness, fans should get a bit more breathing space than last year at Royal Liverpool. The prime seats, of course, will be in an l-shaped grandstand that is being constructed at the Postage Stamp, where a wire camera and cameras in all five of the greenside bunkers will capture the drama there and relay it to a global television audience.

I don’t know if that member will be hanging around the clubhouse entrance in July and making any predictions, but, as the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa gear up to tackle it for the first time in the world’s oldest major, I’m going to safely say they are in for one of golf’s greatest treats.

2024 Open: Playing Royal Troon is a treat but bloody difficult with most fearsome bunkers I've seen

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