- Trump’s Twelve was named World’s Best Par-3 Course at the 2026 World Golf Awards.
- The Turnberry Lighthouse won World’s Best Halfway House.
- The Ailsa was named Scotland’s Best Golf Course.
Trump Turnberry’s newest course has a world title before the end of its first season. Trump’s Twelve, the 12-hole par-3 layout that opened on August 10, was named the World’s Best Par-3 Course at the World Golf Awards, one of three honours for the Ayrshire resort.
The Turnberry Lighthouse took World’s Best Halfway House, and the Ailsa was named Scotland’s Best Golf Course for a second consecutive year.
The awards were presented on November 7 at Madinaty Golf Club in New Cairo, the first time the World Golf Awards have been staged in Africa.
A short course with a world title
Trump’s Twelve was designed by Turnberry’s in-house team, led by Director of Golf Courses and Estates Allan Patterson, on the ground once occupied by the Arran Course. Its holes run from 70 to 206 yards, so a round can call for anything from a soft wedge to a long iron or hybrid. Water, natural waste areas and varied green surrounds add the trouble, and multiple tees make it playable for beginners and families as well as single-figure handicappers.
In October it staged a charity hole-in-one challenge with a £100,000 prize on the 11th, and it now forms part of the resort’s PGA-certified Golf Academy.
Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of The Trump Organisation, said winning the award within months of opening reflected well on the team that built the course.
Lunch with a view, and a long history
The lighthouse sits beside the Ailsa’s ninth green and serves food and drink to players at the turn, with views across the Firth of Clyde to Ailsa Craig and the Isle of Arran. The 24-metre tower was commissioned in the 19th century to warn ships off nearby Bristo Rock. It also stands on the remains of Turnberry Castle, traditionally held to be the birthplace of Robert the Bruce.
The Ailsa keeps its crown
The Ailsa has hosted The Open four times, including the 1977 ‘Duel in the Sun’ between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. Martin Ebert led a further round of changes in 2025, including work on the seventh and eighth holes, and the course placed fifth in the 2026 GB&I Top 100, behind Royal County Down, the Old Course at St Andrews, Royal Portrush and Muirfield.
The resort’s golf also includes the King Robert the Bruce championship course and an Academy with a TrackMan Range, simulator and dedicated short-game facilities.
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Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.