The Open Championship, soon to be contended for, will bring the Ayrshire watering-place of Troon into great prominence. Though contiguous, freon and Prestwick differ greatly as_regards golf and other things. Taking the other things first. Troon is a creation of yesterday, while Prestwick's record' show that it is "beyond the memory of man." I remember an old Troon minister at a social gathering at Prestwick declaring that the only good thing he could say of the old burgh was that a fine view of Troon was obtained from it. Troon's original inhabitants were fishermen and other seafaring folk—most of them smugglers—while the Prestwick folk were tillers of the soil and weavers. But to come to golf. Troon this year, for the first time, will have the Open Championship played for over its links, while Prest-wick has already had about a score of these, and perhaps also as many Amateur Championships. Troon's greens are upon the whole, flat, while Prestwick's undulate. Willie Park has declared that the former's are "no sao muckle up in the air," while Andrew—Kirkeal has affirmed that the latter's are "ower muckle up in the air."
As a golfing resort Troon ovcubies the favoured and delightful position of being central to 14 golf courses. The place itself has five, to which may be added one at Barassie, a suburb of Troon. The championship course comes so near the most norther-
championship one-that a tee of the Prestwick courses—the shot driven from Troon's ninth green might find its way to the eighth at Prestwick. Indeed, frequently players thave started at Troon, played right on to the last hole at Prestwick, had luncheon there and then played hack to the last hole at Troon. Though I have-spoken of Troon's being flat, the old (now championship) course rises at the southern end towards bigness and grandeur, The greens at Prest-wick.and Troon have the same fine qualities of turf, and it may be stated: that a number of years ago Mr. Horace G. Hutchinson said that the eighteenth hole at the latter place was absolutely perfect."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.