Bonus Weekend Content - Linksapaloosa Edition

It's the summer of 1979 and much younger version of your humble blogger is traveling Europe with a graduate school buddy.  Through circumstances too convoluted to be worth your time, I find myself touring Scotland with a fine young lass, and end up in the university town called St. Andrews.  Now your humble blogger was not a golfer at that point, but I had played a little, and even watched Jack secure his third Open Championship the prior summer on the Old Course, so I wandered over to see what all the fuss was about.

It so transpired that the starter was able to accommodate singles and, before your could say "Old Tom Morris", I was on the first tee under the imposing R&A clubhouse with a set of rental clubs (amusingly, playing in a pair of Wallabees).  Golf grabs us in differing ways...  For Theresa, a woman who once choreographed a dance theater piece that made fun of golf and golfers, tells of taking her niece to Chelsea Piers in NYC to hit some balls.  At one point she said "let me try", and apparently as she first wrapped her paws around the grip something profound clicked, and the game grabbed her.

For me, it was that opening drive on the Old Course.  The first tee is quite a spot, but my epiphany began the moment the ball (and let's face it, it was its own miracle that I actually put the club face on the ball) hit the ground.  It was the highest bounce I'd ever seen, followed by a zig left and a zag right... and it was love.  Readers by now know that I love our crazy game in ists infinite variety, but I worship the links variant.

I'm experiencing all sorts of schedule complications this week, which unfortunately includes Monday morning, when I'll need to be on the road early to the wonderful North Jersey Country Club for a Met. Golf Writers outing.  So some weekend blogging seems only fair, and there's a nice selection of pieces up on the courses of GB&I.  Shall we dive in?

First up is this ESPN piece, which https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/31794218/2021-open-ranking-all-open-venuesranks the Open rota courses, of which I've played all but this week's venue.  It ledes with something we've been hearing more of this week, a perhaps apocryphal quote from Jack:

Jack Nicklaus never got to play an Open at Royal St. George's during his prime. That, perhaps, is one of the reasons a quote attributed to him -- he is coy about whether he actually really said it -- make some sense. And why when an Open comes around at the southeastern England venue, as it does this week, the quote resurfaces.

"The Open venues get worse the farther south you go," Nicklaus once allegedly said.

 Amusingly, Jack has seemingly tried to walk this baby back:

This comment or various iterations have been linked to Nicklaus, although pinning down its origin is problematic. Nicklaus over the years has denied saying it, laughed when it is brought up, admits he might have said it, then goes into a more diplomatic response.

"I liked the Scottish venues better than the English venues," said Nicklaus, who won all three of his Opens -- Muirfield and twice at St. Andrews -- in Scotland. "I think the type of golf in Scotland is a little different than the type of golf in England, and the farther south you went the more you saw sort of a hummocks and bee hills and stuff that was different."

 As is noted, the R&A put Royal St. George's in a time-out from 1949 until 1981, clearly missing Jack's salad years.  Jack won all three of his Claret Jugs in Scotland, Muirfield in '66 and the Old Course in '70 and '78), but perhaps his opinion was swayed by the opening round 83 he shot at Royal St. George's in 1981 in horrible weather.  He was cheered loudly the next day, which he later attributed to their respect that he merely showed up after the prior day's disaster, shot a tasty 66 and managed to hang around for the weekend.

To the rankings, where they probably felt compelled top give the old girl her due

1. St. Andrews (The Old Course)

St. Andrews, Scotland

Hosted 29 Opens; first in 1873, the last: 2015. Next scheduled: 2022.

This tops the list for obvious reasons. St. Andrews is considered the home of golf, the Old Course its jewel. Not everyone likes the layout, but its uniqueness makes it special and it has remained virtually the same since Old Tom Morris took care of the place in the 19th century. Next year, the 150th playing of The Open will take place at St. Andrews. The course has produced some of the biggest winners of their respective generations. Tiger Woods won there twice. So did Jack Nicklaus. Seve Ballesteros won at St. Andrews. And yet, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson did not.

I revere the place as much as any and don't begrudge the top ranking, though an asterisk might be appropriate.  As usual, the most interesting bits in these rankings are found at the top and the bottom, so this course gets Miss Congeniality:

2. Muirfield

Gullane, Scotland

Hosted 16 Opens; the first in 1892, the last in 2013. Next: yet to be scheduled.

Known more formally as the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, Muirfield is one of the oldest clubs in the world and often cited as the fairest of the Open venues. The course was opened in 1891 and became a frequent site of The Open, replacing nearby Musselburgh, which was a nine-hole layout. The list of winners at Muirfield is also impressive: Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson all won here

 It is truly that good, though the most interesting bit is this:

Muirfield tidbit: Muirfield was briefly taken out of the running for future Opens because it did not have any women members. The course voted to change that in 2017. Still, it has yet to be awarded another Open since Mickelson's win in 2013.

Have they, in fact, admitted any women as members?  

Birkdale comes in at No. 3, about which I have no grave issues.  perhaps it's a click or two higher than expected, but this at No. 4 gets my attention:

4. Royal Portrush

Portrush, Northern Ireland

Hosted two Opens; the first in 1951, the last in 2019. Next: not yet scheduled.

Only two Opens have been played outside of Great Britain. The most recent was so successful the venue will be rewarded with at least one more, perhaps relatively soon. Logistical concerns were the main reason for such an absence, certainly not the golf course, which is known for its stunning beauty and immense difficulty when the wind howls. The town of Portrush is also home to Open champion Darren Clarke. Fellow major winners Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell also hail from Northern Ireland. And it certainly helped that an Irishman, Shane Lowry, won the championship in 2019.

It's so damn good that I wouldn't have minded seeing it top the list.  While the return is not schedule, it's reasonable to assume that this time won't entail a 68 year wait.

To me, the list now takes a nosedive.... Royal Troon comes in at No.6, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more charmless links.  Turnberry is ranked ninth out of ten, but one can only commiserate with their fear of provoking the woke mob.  It's interesting for a number of existential reasons, the first being, "Is it still an Open rota links?"  The second is that it's undergone substantial changes since 2009, which have been very favorably received, even by those whose politics are above reproach.  

Bringing up the rear (and now regretting my early use of the Miss Congeniality bit) is...

10. Lytham St. Anne's, England

Hosted 11 Opens; the first in 1926, the last in 2012.

Next: not yet scheduled.

It starts with a par-3 and is not overly long at 7,100 yards, but with some 200 bunkers, Lytham can be very exacting, especially when the wind blows. Bobby Jones won the first Open at Lytham in 1926. It took until 1996 for another American, Tom Lehman, to win at the course on England's northwest coast. It is also where England's Tony Jacklin became the event's first homegrown winner in 1969. Much like Turnberry, Lytham has fallen out of favor with the R&A, due not so much to the course but to its footprint and the struggles to host such a large enterprise. It has not been mentioned in any future Open plans.

You say potato.... It certainly deserves to be near the bottom of the rankings, though I'd have it above Troon and Hoylake, if only because it has one of the great short Par-3's in golf, their ninth hole.

Before I get the the existential issues, the author also includes, though doesn't rank, former Open venues such as Royal Cinque Port, Princes, Prestwick and Musselburgh.  If you were ranking links according to fun factor, Prestwick would have to be the leader in the clubhouse, and those other three (none of which I've actually played) would figure prominently.

But the main listing highlights the bigger issue of, "For whom"?  Alan Shipnuck takes this on in his latest mailbag feature, responding to this question: 

Give me your Open rota in order please? @AlanChairman

Let’s begin with a quick chat about the Old Course. For everyday golfers it is an endlessly fascinating test. The charm and ambience is unparalleled. It is certainly one of my favorite courses in the world. But for the pros it is laughably short, and if the wind doesn’t howl next year I fear a couple of 59s will be in the offing and 28 under might be the winning score. We should also note that Turnberry has been an important part of the rota and will be so again once its ownership situation becomes more palatable, so I’m including it here even though it is not scheduled for any future Opens. OK, enough foreplay:

1. Turnberry
2. Portrush
3. Birkdale
4. Muirfield
5. Carnoustie
6. Old Course
7. St. George’s
8. Hoylake
9. Lytham
10. Troon

That is how I think of these courses as championship venues. But here’s the order in which I’d want to play them:

1. Old Course
2. Portrush
3. Turnberry
4. Birkdale
5. Carnoustie
6. St. Georges
7. Muirfield
8. Hoylake
9. Lytham
10. Troon

This actually reminds of how, back in the day, Bill James resolved the endless Mantle vs. Mays argument by ranking the players in terms of both Peak and Career Value... Duh, why didn't someone think of that earlier?

Of courses surprises and/or curiosities appear on Alan's lists, though none involving Royal Troon's placement on either list.  It gets those rankings the old-fashioned way, by earning it.  The Postage Stamp is a fine one-shotter, but it's as flat and featureless as a links can get.

To me the biggest surprise is Alan's ranking of that Orange Man Bad property in the top slot for the big boys.  There's no way of knowing whether Alan has played the Ailsa since the extensive changes were made but, when the Open last visited in 2009, its weaknesses were on full display.  Those included the absurdly-contoured ninth fairway, which was harder to hit than Royal St. George's 1st.  I've long joked that any discussion of hitting that fairway was delusional, but that the question remained as to whether one could take a free drop in the fairway and have the ball remain on the short fescue.  Oh, and those two finishing holes were ridiculously weak...

For anyone questioning Alan's ranking of the Old for the pros, hold that thought for 361 days.  We've seen in previous Opens that the R&A has had to move tee boxes onto the adjacent golf course, ironically have the boys tee off from ground that is, ironically, out-of-bounds.  But for those of us that worry about things like distance, the Old Course is ground zero, as per this famous Paul Azinger quote:

“Augusta can always be defended. St Andrews is in trouble.”

If you're speculating as to when we'll see the first 59 in Major Championship history, 2022 is the odds-on favorite.  I would guess that Martin Slumbers is already checking out the wind forecast for July 2022, because that is, literally, the only remaining defense.  Of course, being the relentlessly positive soul that I am (I'll give you a sec to clean up after that spit take), perhaps it's a 58 on the Old Course by a qualifier that's needed to spur our governing bodies into action.

I'm also a bit surprised to see this week's venue only ranked one slot higher for the unwashed masses.  I've not played it, but it looks delightfully quirky and a hoot to play.  I also suspect that Carnoustie is ranked a bit too high for the traveling golfer, as it shares a certain dreariness with Troon.

But, Alan, did you consider a third way of ranking the courses?  Specifically, as match-play venues?  I'm not completely serious here, though these is one point to be made, which is that the Old Course could be the ultimate Match Play venue, not that our leaders are smart enough to make that happen at the professional level.  Back in the day, Ryder Cups were played at Birkdale (The Concession, anyone?), Lytham and Muirfield, but that seems like a galaxy far, far away.  The Old Course, with at least four reachable Par-4's would, to this observer, be the perfect match play venue.  Will anyone try to reach the 1st hole in an Open?  Bloody well not.  But in match play, especially fourball, I sure would like to see it...  The best we'll do is the next Walker Cup, though they don't actually play fourball in that event.

Since we're talking Open venues, this is a clever take from Links Magazine:

18 Exceptional Golf Courses in the Shadow of the Open Championship Venues

I can't tell you how many times I've seen a proposed itinerary for a Scotland trip that includes Troon, but ignores that far better experiences to be had within a few miles.  I'll just excerpt the entire list:

There's quibbles to be had, but the relatively unknown Hillside, Portstewart and Western Gailes are exactly the kinds of places to which I try to point travelers.  

We'll close with my favorite list, one tied to the recent 200th birthday of Old Tom Morris.  The folks at Links Magazine take their shot at Old Tom's Top Ten:

OLD COURSE, ST. ANDREWS

Front nine, new greens, bunkers… there is not one inch of the Old Course that Tom didn’t refine, including changing the direction of play.

ROYAL COUNTY DOWN

If God designed a golf course, this is it. A stunning and natural links.

PRESTWICK GOLF CLUB

Created in 1851, the course is innovative, challenging, and a joy to play.

BALCOMIE, CRAIL GOLFING SOCIETY

The epitome of what golf was meant to be.

MUIRFIELD

Undeniably one of the toughest courses on the Open rota, Tom set out 16 holes in 1891. With the purchase of more land, Harry Colt redesigned it in 1923.

 OLD TOM MORRIS LINKS, ROSAPENNA

Created in 1891, the Donegal links is a wonderful setting, with scenic backdrops maximized by Sheephaven Bay.

 ROYAL DORNOCH

An exemplary and historic links, which he extended to 18 holes in 1886.

 CRUDEN BAY

The surprising highlight of many a trip to Scotland, set out by Tom in 1899.

 MACHRIHANISH GOLF CLUB

He redesigned the links in 1878–9 to create a full 18-hole course, with its unforgettable opening hole.

THE ROYAL NORTH DEVON AND WEST OF ENGLAND GOLF CLUB (WESTWARD HO!)

Originally called The Burrows of Northam when he designed it in 1860, it was home to England’s finest amateurs, including Horace Hutchinson.

OMG, what a list!  This is, quite simply, the stuff that dreams are made of, at least the dreams of links nerds such as your humble blogger.  If you riff on the concept of fun in the prior course listing, they don't come any funner than Machrihanish, Cruden Bay and Prestwick.

The hard part with Old Tom's work is that, in some of these cases, there's not much of his handiwork left.  It was an era when repeated improvements to golf ball technology dramatically changed the game, and places like Muirfield and County Down are far more Harry Colt than Old Tom.  Among the omissions is Lahinch, where Alister MacKenzie rerouted the course pretty substantially, though in that case he had the good sense to leave intact two of the craziest golf holes known to mankind that Tome designed, the Klondyke and the Dell, the latter of which might be the closest kin to Royal St. George's Maiden hole, which sadly no longer exists.

But perhaps the coolest factoid, and I might be a tad biased here, is that your humble blogger has played each and every one.  The most obscure of these would be Rosapenna, tucked away in the Northwest corner of Ireland.  It's a charming nine holes along the bay, which are now paired with a new Pat Ruddy nine.  It's a charming spot, and now features at least 63 holes of linksy goodness, including a new Tom Doak links on land that looked perfect in its raw state back in 2008.  I can also assure you that they take their Old Tom lineage seriously:

Must be playing a fade, as he seems to be aligned a bit left...

I hope this kind of rambling is fun for readers, as it's fun for your humble blogger.  Better yet, it's cheaper than psychotherapy, of which I'm in need after two linksless seasons.  

Though this linksfest does lead to a small measure of bad news, to wit, that I won't be available for our traditional Weekend Wrap tomorrow morning.  The Met Golf Writers have a playdate scheduled at the delightful North Jersey Country Club, and I've done the math and need to get on the road early.  We'll do flood-the-zone day after coverage on Tuesday morning, and I promise you'll miss nary a random musing or silly bit.  I'm posting this at 1:00 on Sunday, though I've yet to start watching the final round.  But, as I shared back around Torrey, I've staked out a position that a certain South African professional golfer never wins, and I'm sensing that a triple-decker crow sandwich (see what I did there?) is in my near-term future.