Weather And British Open Courses

If you’ve had the great good fortune to play links golf in Scotland, you probably know how much of a factor the weather is. When it’s warm and sunny with no wind – a rare occurrence – you might get the idea that links courses are not so difficult. That notion gets thrown out the window as soon as the wind and rain arrive.

It makes such a difference for these courses that many change the par daily based on the weather – it’s posted right at the starter’s shack! This makes a lot of sense when a good score on any given course could be 75 or 90, depending on the weather. In case you forgot, Tiger shot an 81 at Muirfield during the 2002 Open on Saturday when the wind and rain attacked the course.

This year’s open at Turnberry looks to be an interesting mix of wind, rain and sun if the forecasters are right. It’s supposed to start out cloudy on Thursday, turning windy and rainy in the afternoon. Friday starts with rain and more wind (18 mph) turning to just clouds as the day progresses. Saturday and Sunday look to be a mix of sun and showers, with higher winds on Sunday.

This means that weather could be more of a factor at this year’s British Open than it was at the U.S. Open and that’s saying something. If the forecast holds, those that go out early Thursday and late Friday may have a significant advantage. In that group would be Duval, Dougherty, Stenson, McDowell, Villegas and Tiger Woods. Those who might end up on the wrong side of the draw are Glover, McIlroy, Kim, Casey, Ogilvy, McGinley and Harrington.

When the weather hits a links course it separates the real golfers from the pretenders. Weaknesses in your game are magnified. Golf becomes more a game of feel than robot like precision. You’ve got to embrace the conditions instead of fighting them.

I was fortunate enough to play Turnberry in 2002 and enjoyed it very much. It’s a great course, but just because it has hosted numerous Opens doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better than other Scottish classics like Royal Dornoch, Royal Aberdeen and Cruden Bay.

Open courses have to be great, but they also have to be able to accommodate hundreds of contestants and caddies, thousands of media and golf professionals and hundreds of thousands of spectators.

There aren’t a lot of venues in Scotland that can host these masses, which is why you won’t see an Open played at places like Royal Dornoch. The good news? These are great places for golf vacations. It will cost you less, you’ll be spared the teaming throngs and you’ll play some of the most challenging courses in the world. What’s not to like?

For the cost of lodging and a round at Carnoustie or Turnberry you can play two or three rounds at Royal Aberdeen and Cruden Bay including delightful B&B accommodations. If you head to Scotland for a golf vacation, don’t be afraid to expand your horizons!

Related posts:

1. Review Of Scottish Links Courses
2. Winds Gonna Blow For The Open
3. British Open TV Schedule
4. Tiger’s Plight and British Open Prediction
5. Predictions Based On British Open Interviews

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