2024
Royal Troon Golf Club lies within an important dune landscape with a kaleidoscope of habitats including species-rich acid and calcareous dune grasslands, dune heath, scrub and open sand. These habitats all require some level of management and the greenkeeping team work hard to monitor and control scrub, create new areas of bare sand, and cut and collect grasslands to ensure wildflowers can continue to thrive.
The bare sand scrapes around the golf courses serve many purposes, mimicking natural dune processes and allowing pioneer dune plants to establish, like the Isle of Man cabbage and corn spurrey – both plants being of conservation interest. The scrapes also support a myriad of invertebrates, like sand digger wasps and basking butterflies.
At Royal Troon, 45 different species of butterflies and moths have been recorded on the golf courses, including seven species listed on the Scottish Biodiversity List which includes species of most importance for biodiversity conservation. One such butterfly which Royal Troon are working hard to one day support through their partnership with the Nectar Network is the Small Blue whos sole foodplant is Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria). The larvae live only in the flower heads where they feed on developing anthers and seed.