
Six times Major champion to host exclusive event at Trump Turnberry
Those taking part can join the legendary golfer for some unforgettable holes on the renowned Ailsa Course.
Trump Turnberry will host an exclusive event offering passionate golfers the opportunity to receive personalised coaching from Sir Nick Faldo.
And those taking part can join the legendary golfer for some unforgettable holes on the renowned Ailsa Course.
The event, taking place from Thursday, August 14 to Sunday, August 17, will provide a unique opportunity to play with, be coached by, and gain insight into the career of one of the game's greatest ever golfers who won both The Open and Masters three times.
The extraordinary golfing experience comes just a few weeks after the reopening of the Ailsa following extensive renovations, elevating one of the world's great links courses to new heights.
The Ailsa has already witnessed some of the sport's most storied moments as a four-time host of The Open including the unforgettable 'Duel in the Sun' between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson in 1977, and 2025 heralds a new chapter for the Ayrshire links.
The three-night package includes: three nights with full Scottish breakfast at Trump Turnberry Resort; two rounds on the championship Ailsa Course; six holes with Sir Nick Faldo on the Ailsa Course; one round on The King Robert the Bruce Course; evening Q&A with Sir Nick Faldo; golf clinic led by Sir Nick Faldo at The Trump Turnberry Academy, lunch-time refreshments; pre-dinner drinks and dinner on each night and welcome gift.
For non-golfers there are relaxing treatments at The Spa at Turnberry, thrilling outdoor pursuits including clay pigeon shooting, archery and horse riding, shopping at the Pro Shop, or indulgent dining experiences including the signature afternoon tea.
The package includes full access to the Turnberry practice facilities including The Wee Links Pitch & Putt.
For guests looking to take their game to the next level, the new state-of-the-art Trackman Range and Trackman iO Simulator will provide participants with the opportunity to fine-tune distances or enjoy a competitive round indoors with friends within the Golf Academy at Trump Turnberry.
The iconic Ailsa course is a permanent fixture at the top of global golf course rankings, and will open for members from June 1 and guests a month later following an eagerly anticipated refurbishment by renowned architect Martin Ebert.
Headlining the latest changes are the seventh and eighth holes hugging the rugged coastline to offer a golfing experience vista like no other.
The King Robert the Bruce, which is recognised as one of Scotland's best golfing experiences in its own right and made its debut this year in the renowned Golf Digest World's Greatest 100 Courses ranking to join the illustrious Ailsa on the list, is another journey through one of Scotland's most picturesque landscapes.
Nic Oldham, General Manager at Trump Turnberry, said: 'We look forward to welcoming Sir Nick and guests to Trump Turnberry for what promises to be a truly special occasion. The Ailsa is looking magnificent after the renovations and the opportunity to play with one of the game's greatest ever golfers will be an experience to treasure.'
Places are limited with packages from £5,755 per person for single occupancy to £9,570 for double occupancy or £7,510 for a golfer and non-golfer.
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Pic: Portuguese Football Federation | Portuguese Football Federation Scottish set piece influence MacPhee's influence can also already be traced. Eagle-eyed set-piece afficionados might have recognised an old routine in extra-time of the final against Spain, when both teams were striving for a winner while locked at 2-2. Neither side were able to find a goal but Portugal came close with a free-kick routine that Hearts and Northern Ireland have already employed to good effect when MacPhee was on the staff. For Fernandes, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes, read Sean Clare, Jake Mulraney and Steven Naismith, who combined to score the second goal for Hearts in a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in February 2019. The trick is successfully relaying a message to players of different skill - and perhaps intelligence - levels. The concept of space is the same in the Scottish lower tiers as it is on the highest rung of international football. Providing players can recognise this, MacPhee's own limited playing credentials are not a factor. "I go back to what I learned at St Mirren,' he says, with reference to his time coaching under Danny Lennon, who he also helped at Cowdenbeath. 'Every player only asks themselves one question, 'Can this person help me?' Of course, you have to be able to engage – set pieces is an area of football that is perceived as less entertaining. It is more enjoyable to play five v fives than it is to do set pieces. But sometimes an engaging physics teacher can make physics more fun. And a bad PE teacher can manage to make PE not very enjoyable, when it should be enjoyable. That's more or less my philosophy.' Fast forward to many of the world's finest footballers frolicking with MacPhee at the Allianz Arena as they celebrated Portugal's latest international crown. This was an altogether happier, not to say cathartic, experience for the Scot, who nearly a year earlier was in the dugout for Scotland's 5-1 humbling by Germany (Scotland's goal came from a set piece) in the opening game of Euro 2024, when Ryan Porteous was sent off just before half-time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It helps when you keep eleven players on the field, as Portugal did. It also helps when four members of their squad had won the Champions League with Paris-Saint Germain the week before, which highlights the company MacPhee is now keeping. Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group How Martinez found his 'perfect fit' While the Fifer has now earned the right to be considered among the best in the world at what he does, circumstances do often play a part. Thomas Tuchel's appointment as England manager started a chain reaction that saw MacPhee approached by Martinez. Anthony Barry, who worked with Martinez at both Belgium and Portugal, was poached by Tuchel, with their relationship dating to Chelsea days. Martinez was now a coach short. It didn't seem impossible that Martinez and MacPhee might already know each other – the Portugal manager enjoyed a brief spell at Motherwell, after all, and is married to a Scot, Beth. It turns out they didn't, which seems novel in a world where positions are often offered on the basis of pre-existing relationships. Of course, Martinez was aware of MacPhee, who has overseen set pieces at Villa for four years, but his name emerged following 'an open search', which is how the Portugal manager himself described it to The Scotsman. 'We highlighted from a very technical point which areas we wanted the new staff member to focus on,' he explained via text message as he flew to the United States, where he is a member of Fifa's technical study group at the Club World Cup. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We used AI to find the best performing team in Europe in those technical areas - and the answer was Aston Villa,' he added. The league tables spell this out. Villa currently have the best record in the Premier League for defending corners: they concede just one every 97 on average when the world average is one every 29. They lead the way in Europe's top five leagues in the past two seasons for goals scored from set-pieces, with 45. Martinez explained that they then started to find out more about MacPhee's career and 'his human quality'. Very quickly, he added, 'he became our perfect fit'. Some further investigation uncovered the fact that the only goal Portugal had conceded from a set play in their Nations League campaign last year had come against Scotland, when MacPhee was still involved. 'It made sense very quickly,' writes Martinez. He was appointed in February, before a 5-3 aggregate win over Denmark in the Nations League semi-final. Aston Villa set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee joined Roberto Martinez's backroom team with Portugal in February. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Wire) Written in the stars Paramount above all this in the process was an improvement in MacPhee's father's health, which meant taking on further responsibilities became possible. Concerns regarding his dad's cancer diagnosis had led to him stepping away from Scotland in September. 'He has a letter saying he should be dead in November,' says MacPhee. 'He is now very much alive, swimming up and down the pool in the Fairmont (outside St Andrews) and playing golf and going to the pub and following Dunfermline – telling me about the poker champion who has bought Dunfermline.' Understandably, Villa were very keen for MacPhee to broaden his horizons and make some new, talented connections in the process. As he puts it, 'you have a relationship with some of the best players in the world who you might want one day to sign'. There could be no downsides. It also seemed written in the stars. When he was offered the post, MacPhee's son Dino, who was once on the books at both Hibs and Hearts, had just accepted a place at the University of Lisbon, where he will start studying business and entrepreneurship in the coming academic year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad MacPhee couldn't say yes to Martinez quickly enough. It helped knowing that the majority of the Portuguese squad, including Ronaldo while in his second spell at Manchester United, had already felt the impact of Villa's set-piece proficiency, as have many of Portugal's England-based players. It's hard not to be slightly wowed by MacPhee's trajectory. Eleven years ago he had just joined up with Northern Ireland, having met Michael O'Neill at an Aberdeen game. He wasn't yet known as a set-piece coach per se but when 11 of the 16 goals Northern Ireland scored en route to qualifying for Euro 2016 were from set-pieces, it was clear something was changing in football. Now those such as Bernardo Silva are eager to reply to messages about MacPhee's influence. On the day he was named among the substitutes as Manchester City opened their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Moroccan side Wydad AC, Silva responded by text to a request for some information on how the players have enjoyed working with MacPhee. 'As you know, set pieces play a major part in football nowadays,' he replied before taking his place on the bench. 'We are creating a lot of problems for our rivals since he joined, so honestly it has been a pleasure for all of us'. He added that the 'message and ideas are very clear - simple but at the same time very effective'. He referenced a photo that circulated on social media showing Silva pulling pints next to MacPhee following the Nations League victory. 'The one thing to say,' he added with a laughing emoji, 'is that he's not very good at pulling pints – I am better!' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Former Scotland set piece coach Austin MacPhee with captain Andy Robertson during the match against Switzerland at Euro 2024. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SFA Switching from Scotland MacPhee, who played football in Romania, Japan and the United States, is not finding it strange switching from Scotland, where his heart clearly lies as a former Tartan Army member who travelled to support the team at France 98 in a Renault 5. 'I have been seven years with Northern Ireland as well,' he says. 'I think you become connected with a group of people with a common identity and a common goal. Of course, it is different. I am not Portuguese. But I think you can care more but you don't necessarily try any harder is the best way I can describe it. "I tried as hard as I could for Northern Ireland, I tried my best. I tried to do the same with Scotland. In the big moments there is slightly more euphoria and in the bad times there is slightly more hurt, probably, because you are thinking of all your family and friends from Scotland, there is an extra thing. It's slightly different. 'One of my dreams as a wee boy was to go to a World Cup,' he continues. 'I have never done that. I've experienced the Champions League, the Conference League, the Euros. This season we are playing in the Europa League. I've done the Nations League, worked abroad. The World Cup is the missing experience, the one I've not had.'