A U.K.-based writer heads back to Troon, Scotland, for a restorative vacation by the sea.
It was 2011, and I was 21.
Fast forward 12 years and I am now a writer in need of a break.
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Emails have piled up and my phone is abuzz with petty gossip.
Even the seagulls outside my window sound strained.
It istime for an escape.
Courtesy of Marine Troon
In under 40 minutes, Im back in Troon.
The first-ever Open Championship took place down the road in Prestwick, in 1860.
Overlooking the 18th hole of Royal Troon Golf Club isMarine Troon, an 89-room hotel built in 1894.
Courtesy of Marine Troon
Aside from a smattering of green accents and some historical photos, Marine Troon wears its heritage lightly.
The interior is thoughtfully designed, and perhaps best described as Scottish coastal maximalism.
We really leaned into the idea of the nexus between sea and land.
Courtesy of Marine Troon
Theres actually not a whole lot of golf iconography.
Ripoff, he says, examining the label.
No added color?'
Jim McDowall/Getty Images
He points me instead to bottles from the nearby Arran and Lochlea distilleries.
“I learned to drive a boat before driving a car, he says.
Jim McDowall/Getty Images
The sea is in everything here.
I spend a morning walking the southern path, with oystercatchers, curlews and the occasional dogwalker for company.
Out at sea, a flock of kitesurfers perform gravity-defying tricks.
Beguiling as the sea is, itd be a shame to miss out on some of Ayrshires inland attractions.
Rural imagery suffuses [Burns] work, says Christopher Waddell, the museums learning manager.
Thats Troon for you, though a small town with an outsized heart.
