Turnberry’s Ailsa course is currently rated the UK’s number one in two top golf publications – but as a venue for this week’s Open Championship, it will be something of a mystery to many of the world’s top 50 players.

World number one Tiger Woods would have us believe the first time he clapped eyes in person on the place - often dubbed as Britain’s Pebble Beach - was when he rocked up on Sunday.

He is already predicting the course could provide a fierce examination for Woods as he seeks to top his comeback from major knee surgery with his first Major victory since last year’s US Open at Torrey Pines – his fourth Claret Jug since 2000, and one more win closer to Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Majors.

The famous Ayrshire links – scene of the incredible “duel in the sun” between Nicklaus and Tom Watson back in 1977 - last staged the Open some 15 years ago.

Only six of the top 20 back in 1994 will be teeing it up come Thursday morning including past champions Sir Nick Faldo, Mark Calcavecchia, Watson and Greg Norman, who rolled back the years to finish second behind Padraig Harrington at Royal Birkdale 12 months ago.

Tiger made his Open debut as an amateur a year later at St Andrews and since then Turnberry has fallen off the rota – only to be restored in late 2005 amid promises to improve the road access to the course and after Donald Steel had toughened up the revered Ailsa links.

An extra 228 yards has been added with some new tees to help it withstand a decade-and-a-half of technology improvements and advances in the modern day golf ball.

While the nation wonders whether our brave boys in Afghanistan have sufficient firepower to topple the Taliban’s resistance, will Tiger and Co. have the firepower to overcome the Ailsa links come Sunday evening?

ANDREW GRIFFIN looks at the some of the key changes to Turnberry in a hole-by-hole guide to the course for the 138th Open Championship which starts on Thursday.

1) AILSA CRAIG 354 yards par 4 – named after the isle in the Firth of Clyde visible from almost everywhere on the course. Short it may be, even with the new tee adding four yards, but it has defences worthy of the battlefield. Four bunkers down the left, one on the right and four more guarding the green make this a tough opener. Best to play a full shot in by landing an iron off the tee short of them.

2) MAK SICCAR 428 yards par 4 – Literally translated as “Make Sure” for good reason as there is trouble all around for any poor shot - a steep slope to the left of the fairway and green being just two. Two pot bunkers within the fairway must be avoided and club selection to a long, narrow green is crucial to avoid three-putt territory.

3) BLAW WEARIE 489 yards par 4 – You will be “Out of Breath” with the prevailing wind into the players’ faces with two good whacks needed to reach now that the hole is 37 yards longer. Protecting par is key on the longest par four on the new-look Turnberry which has two new fairway bunkers on the left – one of three by the green has been filled in.

4) WOE-BE-TIDE 168 yards par 3 – Deep pot bunker guards the first of the short holes - miss left and you will be down a big slope towards the beach. Shots should filter to the middle of the bowl-shaped green. This hole marks the start of one of the Open’s most stunning stretches of holes which even without High Definition pictures courtesy of Auntie Beeb, we should all enjoy this week.

5) FIN ME OUT 474 yard par 4 – An old back tee has been resurrected to add an extra 33 yards on the dogleg right to left. Two new pot bunkers on the right mean four now await the errant drive. Two more dangerous traps await anything short and left of the green as well as one on the right.

6) TAPPIE TOORIE 231 yards par 3 – Unchanged in length in what was one of the longest short holes in old money! Long uphill shot to raised green requires accuracy and nerve to avoid the large front bunker. Three more traps on the left make the shot as intimidating as they come at Turnberry.

7) ROON THE BEND 538 yards par 5 – Ten yards added but still short by modern standards so birdie is the order of the day. Dog-leg right to left requires a shot over the saddle from the raised tee. The danger is the deep crater which has been cut closer to the fairway short and left of the heavily-contoured target, which has two sand traps guarding front right.

8) GOAT FELL 454 yards par 4 – New tee adds 23 yards with the beach sweeping majestically down the left. Two new bunkers on the right elbow to catch the hardest drive of the 18 as the fairway slopes left to right. Three more traps await anything short of the two-tiered green with an uphill approach adding to the difficulty.

9) BRUCE’S CASTLE 449 yards – par 4 – The remains of the castle of the Scottish King can be seen from the green and next tee. Narrow fairway up to the lighthouse has no bunkers but the tee shot from the rocky clifftop is tough enough with the rough on the left and the ground falling away on the right. Missing the green will compound the players’ problems as chipping from the mounds and hollows surrounding it is no easy task.

10) DINNA FOUTER 456 yards par 4 – “Don’t Mess About.” New tee down by the lighthouse for one of the most dramatic tee shots in Major Championship golf makes this more of a dog-leg to the left. New fairway bunkers – two in the middle of the fairway – will test the players’ course management with a slilghtly different angle drive from ’94. Take them on and they could be left with a wedge in or a mid-iron if they play safe. Circular bunker with an island of turf is 50 yards short of the target.

11) MAIDENS 175 yards par 3 – The last hole by the coast. Two bunkers protect the front of the green which slopes from right to left and back to front. The left trap has a steep face. Players will not have anything but a breaking putt.

12) MONUMENT 451 yards par 4 – Turnberry was an airfield during both world wars with the monument above the green dedicated to their memory. Long, straight hole and a new bunker around the 320 mark on the right reinforces the one on the favoured left side at the 280-mark. Two traps and run offs protect a raised green which is traditionally difficult to read.

13) TICKLY TAP 410 yards par 4 – Requires a fade from the elevated tee with three bunkers along the left edge. Most will cut the corner to attack the raised two-tier green which is actually much larger than the target appears from the fairway. No greenside bunkers – one of only two holes to lack such protection.

14) RISK-AN-HOPE 448 yards par 4 – An extra eight yards from the new tee from the nearby Kintyre course and two new bunkers at driving range on the right make this hole even tougher. Two bold shots – the second uphill and into the wind - required to get on the green with traps, front, left and right. A ridged fairway will create some interesting lies. Left greenside bunker forces approach right.

15) CA’ CANNY 206 yards par 3 – “Take Care” is the moniker’s meaning with good reason. Three treacherous traps await around the left of the green and a steep run off to the right can leave you dead. A trailing Watson holed a monster from the fringe to grab the Golden Bear and shake the Claret Jug free from Nicklaus’ grasp in ’77 – that long, hot summer. Expect more drama come Sunday.

16) WEE BURN 455 yards par 4 – A new tee adds another 45 yards and transform a straight hole into a daunting dog-leg which will ratchet up the tension for the final round leaders. After a fade from the tee – unless they cut the corner and take on the new bunker and deep crater – the players will have to carry the burn in front of the green. The latter slopes from back to front with a real danger of rolling back down into the water. Not quite Carnoustie, but quite nasty.

17) LANG WHANG 559 yards par 5 – If a dropped shot was the result of tackling the 16^th, at least you can make it straight back up here? Not so. Now some 61 yards longer, getting on the penultimate hole in two will require a very good drive and another “Good Whack.” Three new pot bunkers will test those laying-up and a new back greenside trap adds to the test.

18) DUEL IN THE SUN 481 yards par 4 – Renamed in honour of Tom and Nick’s showdown 32 years ago. An extra 29 yards courtesy of the new tee and a third bunker has been added at the driving distance, poses the question: “Do I take on the dog-leg?” Carry the traps and you could run off into gorse. An extra bunker on the approach and a greenside trap on the left will greet Watson, who also won the Seniors title here in 2003 – a year before Steel got to work on the changes. Green is slightly elevated – fall short and the balls are thrown left leaving a tricky chip.