Donald Trump’s Turnberry Golf Club has missed out again as The Open Championship continues to look elsewhere for future venues.
The course remains one of the most famous links in golf, but prestige alone is not enough to bring The Open back.
The R&A is now judging venues by the demands of a modern championship, and Turnberry still has major hurdles to clear.
That became even clearer after Royal Lytham & St Annes was named as the 2028 host, leaving Turnberry out of the rotation plans once again.
Speaking to Sky Sports, R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon pointed to infrastructure rather than the quality of the course.
“The challenge at Turnberry is a logistical challenge. You see the scale of a modern Open championship – the road, rail, and accommodation network around that venue is challenging to deliver what we now deliver,” Darbon said.
He added, “We’ve got a good dialogue with the venue, we’re open-minded, we’ll maintain that dialogue and see where we get.”
That is the key distinction. The R&A is not saying Turnberry lacks championship quality. The problem is whether the surrounding area can handle the size of the event as it exists today.
Turnberry last hosted The Open in 2009, before Trump bought the resort in 2014. Since then, the tournament has grown significantly, with modern Opens requiring far more crowd capacity, transport access, hospitality space, and nearby accommodation.
The issue for Turnberry is that The Open is no longer built like the event it hosted more than a decade ago.
Recent editions have pushed toward much larger attendance figures, with crowds well above what Turnberry handled in 2009. That creates pressure on roads, rail links, hotels, media facilities, and spectator movement around the venue.
Turnberry’s location on the Ayrshire coast remains part of its charm, but it also creates a problem. The area does not have the same transport and accommodation network as venues such as St Andrews, Royal Birkdale, or Royal Lytham.
There is also the unavoidable political backdrop of Trump’s ownership, which has followed every discussion around the course.
For now, the route is closed through at least 2028. The R&A has not ruled Turnberry out forever, but the message is clear. The course may be elite, yet The Open needs more than an elite course.
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