The par-72 Kintyre, called so after the long, narrow peninsula lying beyond the Isle of Arran in the Irish Sea, is another exhilarating championship course. Noted English architect Donald Steel has revised the old Arran course, originally constructed in 1909, into a 6,921-yard course that incorporates a set of turbulent swells in elevation.

As it rises up from the 7th green, the sweeping panorama from the brow of Bain's Hill gives way to brilliant fairways and majestic ocean holes. These range from a delicate pitch in a rocky dell on the 8th to a thrilling second along the shoreline of the 9th. Earlier holes-like Leerie Licht, the short 3rd-may seem benign, but each brings its own trials. On this one, it's the play into the prevailing wind and the green that is just 23 yards deep.

The 8th is Kintyre's signature hole, and it involves a drive from an elevated tee towards the sea and an unforgettable blind second shot. Utterly hidden by a narrow ridge, the green is set in a cove that seems to merge with the rugged beach beyond. On the 9th, an invigorating drive offers the choice between adventure and caution, and glimpses of two of Turnberry's charms: Ailsa Craig and the lighthouse.

A climb up to the 10th puts players at the highest point of the course, and in the way of any weather in the vicinity. After the myriad tests posed by the back nine, to escape the closing hole and its 11 bunkers without using a sand wedge is an accomplishment in itself.

In 2004, the Kintyre hosted the Open Championship Final Qualifying round.