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Tyrrell Hatton hit out at Royal Troon after a difficult first round at The Open, suggesting that the Ayrshire links course has been made overly long and is no longer enjoyable to play.
The Englishman shot an opening round 73 to sit eight shots back at two-over-par, recording 16 pars and a pair of bogeys on Thursday.
The combustable 32-year-old is seldom afraid to speak his mind on courses, previously saying that Augusta doesn’t “suit my eye” ahead of The Masters.
Hatton believes that Troon, which has been lengthened by almost 200 yards since it last hosted The Open in 2016, has been overly extended, reflecting a trend of making courses longer to combat the bigger hitting golfers of today.
“There’s a few holes that are just obviously playing really long,” Hatton said after the opening round at the Ayrshire links. “Unfortunately, that’s where it’s going at the moment, where they just seem to try to make it longer to make it harder, which I think doesn’t make it the most enjoyable test.
“They didn’t put any tees forward. You can’t reach any of the par-5s on the front nine. Was it 15 or 16? The par-5 [16th], you’re hitting a 4-iron off it. Tell me a good par-5 where you’re hitting 4-iron off the tee? There isn’t one.
“Even though they’ve moved the tee back on 17, which I think is a shame, it’s still with the wind today, you’re hitting 5-iron and hoping it can stay on the green. Rory [McIlroy] obviously hits it a lot higher and further, and he was hitting 7-iron there. It doesn’t change the fact that it’s a tough hole, and it’s still hard to hit that green.”
Golf has struggled to adapt to the greater driving distances of the modern day player, with courses generally getting longer and longer to combat the development.
Links golf has traditionally been a natural counter-balance, with tight fairways, gusting coastal winds and thick rough placing a premium on accuracy.
Those elements were at play on a wet opening day to the 152nd edition of The Open as plenty of players struggled, and Hatton feels that the greens could have been better prepared to allow those who navigated on to the putting surface to score more freely.
“I holed a couple of par putts, but I think the greens are pretty hard to hole putts on,” Hatton said. “They seem pretty inconsistent speeds as well. And they don’t roll great. So it’s not a good combination.”
