Every golf course has its quirks, but Royal Troon is truly set apart by the sprawling house plonked right in the middle of it. And those living there will get a first-class view of The Open this week, where the likes of Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler will battle it out for a major victory.
Blackrock Cottages featured in the original plans for Royal Troon Golf Club, suggesting the building existed in one form or another before the course was built around it in 1878.
It has been theorised that the cottages were primarily used to house people fishing the nearby coastline. It wasn't until the 1920s that the building as it exists today was constructed.
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Greer Carson, an Oscar-winning actress born in 1904, used to spend her summers at Blackrock House when it was owned by her brother. Nowadays the two properties which make up Blackrock House are in the hands of the Kelly's and the Gregory's.
They will be the lucky ones in situ when The Open gets underway today (Thursday). Boasting front-row views of multiple tees and greens, Cath Gregory has explained what life is like owning one of the properties at Blackrock House.
"I check the draw sheet, watch the television and then I go out and have a look," she told Bunkered. "We bought this house to be near our family, and we play golf so it seemed like a good idea!
"The sea, the views, the proximity to the beach, getting a ferry out to the Isle of Arran... We have lots of visitors coming. My son-in-law and my grandson are coming and we have lots of friends coming later in the week."
The half of Blackrock House owned by the Kelly's is now up for sale, and there has been plenty of interest from buyers spying a unique opportunity. The Kelly's are believed to have lived there for the past four Opens at Royal Troon, including Mark Calcavecchia's triumph in 1989.
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Rather than buying the house which curiously stands right in the middle of the course, Royal Troon Golf Club are seemingly keen to honour its history by leaving it untouched, and in the hands of appreciative owners.
Paul Gregory, husband of Cath, claimed back in 2016 that the club had never even approached him with the idea of buying them out. The last time a property at Blackrock House changed hands, nearly two decades ago, it was on the market for £850,000, and any upcoming sale is expected to fetch north of £1million.
