Ricky Hall can pinpoint the exact moment his fascination with Turnberry began. It was the 1986 Open Championship, standing alongside his father who was volunteering as a steward at the back of the 15th green. Greg Norman went on to claim the Claret Jug that year as the event returned to the scene of the iconic Duel in the Sun for the first time.

After Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson famously battled it out for supremacy in 1977, Norman took the honours with relative ease by comparison as a sensational second-round 63 fired him to the top of the leaderboard before he went on to claim a five-stroke victory.

But away from the glare of the Australian’s memorable yellow knitwear, an impressionable youngster had his epiphany which would set him in on his way to his dream job as director of golf at a venue which will forever be woven into the fabric of the sport’s heritage.

Hall recalled: “I first came to Turnberry as an 11-year-old kid for the 1986 Open. My dad Morgan was the chief steward at the 15th hole and I came with him every day. I’d started to play golf by that point and I was like ‘wow’.

“I remember standing there with him, holding my ‘Quiet Please’ sign but from that point on, I have been mesmerised by the place.

“My career went on, I played a bit and knew I probably wasn’t devoted enough to play full time but I knew I wanted a career in golf and became a PGA professional. I always aspired to be at Turnberry – to play it first and then to work here.”

To suggest he ‘played a bit’, Hall rather downplays the facts that he turned professional with a handicap of plus-one, has shot a personal best of 65 round the Ailsa, has six holes-in-one to his name and once teed it up with a certain Tiger Woods at a corporate event – “a lovely guy”, according to Hall.

After moving into golf operations, he has now chalked up 21 years of service at Turnberry, which must be especially hard to swallow for a well-meaning former careers advisor.

Hall said: “I grew up about an hour from Turnberry and I remember one of the careers guys coming to my school and suggesting there was a big world out there and our area may not be able to deliver what you want out of life.

“I remember thinking ‘I quite like the west coast of Scotland’, so I wanted to forge a career here. I love the people and it’s such a special corner of the world. I don’t want to be anywhere else – I love the place.

“To a lot of people, Turnberry is a ‘bucket list’ course and my job is to ensure people enjoy the whole experience, which is great. I love hearing what people thought about it and how special it was to them.

“I never ever take that for granted.”

It’s fair to suggest, he has seen a few changes during his tenure and dealt with some high-profile owners and figures along the way – most notably the former President of the USA. The renovation of 2016, overseen and initiated by Donald Trump and in tandem with son Eric, has propelled the resort to new heights.

The King Robert The Bruce course – formerly the Kintyre – has also undergone a major renovation with Eric as the hands-on driving force behind that aspect of the project and subsequent relaunch. It is now a superb track in its own right, just without the prestige of The Open behind it.

But Hall paints a picture of an owner with a deep affection and loyalty towards the project and as a committed custodian of the course, which may not always fit with his public persona.

He said: “I was in those meetings with Mr Trump, Eric Trump and the architect, Martin Ebert. I wouldn’t claim to be heavily involved but I was party to everything and I was often asked for my views.

“But it definitely exceeded my expectations on what could be achieved.

“The Trumps understood the commitment to investment, conditioning and service levels. They know what that looks like and what a top-class golf experience should be. That was their world. They promised Turnberry a lot and they delivered even more.

“They were very excited about owning the property but what struck me was their attention to the history and the heritage of Turnberry. There was serious time and dedication that went into the golf course. They explored what was possible for the very best outcome – hour after hour and day after day.

“Martin is an incredible golf course architect and he really looked into what had gone before. The Trumps really bought into that and wanted to tell the history of Turnberry. I call it a restoration as well as a renovation.

“Myself and Mr Trump were out there in all sorts of weathers and looking at possible tee locations, bunkers and re-siting greens. To me, it showed how important it was to them. They wanted to do it to the highest level they possibly could.

“They were very respectful and knew how important this place was to people in this part of the world. He would often stop by one of the housekeepers or caddies and ask them for their view. He wanted to find out the staff’s thoughts and it was fascinating to see.

“I remember during the Women’s British Open, he’d been out watching the golf and was delighted with the way the golf course had been presented – it looked great,” recalls Hall.

“He asked to meet all of the greenkeeping staff. So 35-40 of them were all gathered at 7am the next morning on the 11th green after they had done their set-up. He gave a fantastic speech about how grateful he was for their hard work and the investment he was going to make in the course to make it the best in the world.

“He looked everyone in the eye, shook them all by the hand and thanked them personally for their work. A lot of those staff had been here for decades and couldn’t have picked out our previous owners from a photo. They had no idea who they were.

“And here was the new owner of Turnberry getting out of bed to go and personally thank them for their hard work. For me, that’s how loyalty is born.”

With the renovated golf course meeting universal positive acclaim and having hosted four Open Championships, Turnberry remains ready to host the event in the future.

On its last outing in 2009, the venue served up yet another memorable Open chapter as 59-year-old Watson so nearly became the oldest Major champion in history, only to be denied by Stewart Cink in a play-off.

Hall said: “We are ready, willing and able. And we firmly hope it will return one day.

“We are very proud of those times we have hosted the Open Championship. We have everything in place, but the venue also has that emotional connection with the history and heritage too.

“The course changes were made in agreement with The R&A and they were firmly part of the discussion so I’d like to think that before too long, we will host it again.

“I’m often asked about it but if you gave me Turnberry with the way that it was and the way that it was going under the previous ownership and the fact that we would still host the Open Championship, or Turnberry with the investment and the scale of what they have done with the property as it is now without an Open Championship, hands down I would take the latter.”