A property in the middle of this week’s Open Championship venue Royal Troon Golf Club – labeled the “best house in golf” – is officially for sale.
Just a few steps from the second and 16th greens at the iconic South Ayrshire links sits a magnificent estate containing two private residences called ‘Blackrock’, named after the black rocks that sit between Royal Troon and the sea.
As many visiting Troon this week ahead of The Open may have noticed, one of those houses is now on the market, with a big “FOR SALE” sign in its front yard.
Real estate company Strutt & Parker was reportedly only alerted about the sale last Monday and recently put the house on the market just in time for this week’s Major.
There doesn’t seem to be a public listing or price for the property yet, but owning this piece of golfing history won’t come cheap.
The property existed long before Royal Troon Golf Club was first established in 1878, with ‘Blackrock Cottages’ included in the plans for the initial six-hole course design.
The house, located at 16 Crosbie Road, was originally built in the 1920s and is a four bedroom, four bathroom renovated home. Golf Digest called it “the best house in golf”.
When the property was last up for sale in 2007, it was reportedly listed for £850,000.
Scottish newspaper, the Daily Record, joked at the time that any prospective buyer would need £3 million to own the property.
“One million for the house and two million to get the windows repaired every couple of days,” wrote Tam Cowan.
A four bedroom property up the road from the course sold for £935,515 last year, according to Rightmove.
The other half of the Blackrock property is owned by Edinburgh-based couple Paul and Catherine Gregory, who bought the house as a summer home 17 years ago.
Ahead of the last Open Championship at Royal Troon in 2016, Paul – who is a member at the club – told Golf.com that he had never been approached by Royal Troon about purchasing it.