Open Championship Round Three.

This year the Open is at another level.  We thought that it was big when it was at St Andrews, but here at Lytham it is massive.  45000 people were spectating today, Rory mania is high, and Tiger mania is alive and well in the UK as well.

Rory McIlroy

We spent quite a bit of time at the driving range today, and were fortunate to be right behind Adam Scott during his warm up.  He did not miss hit a shot, and was able to take that form into the round.

He goes into the final round 4 shots ahead of GMac and Brandt Snedeker.

A view from the tee at the driving range

Adam Scott at the chipping green

Some of the 45000 spectators (sorry about the thumb)

Can't wait for Sunday.  Go Scotty!!!

Royal Liverpool (Hoylake)

Another day another Open Championship venue.  Today we played Royal Liverpool. Peter Thomson won here in 1956, and more recently Tiger Woods in 2006.

Looking back to the clubhouse from the 1st tee

Set on what is a relatively flat piece of land, the outlook is that of overlooking a wheat field.  Knee high grass as far as you can see.

The view down the 1st from the tee

Hoylake has magnificent bunkering, all with steep riveted faces which provide a high level of difficulty.

A view of the pot bunkering and thick rough

John MacKenzie escaping from the deep bunker.  Yes that is the flagpole next to his left shoulder. Out sideways was the only option.

As you approach each hole, the ribbon of fairway appears, and you get some sort of an idea where to go.

Looking at the 8th green

Royal Liverpool is hosting the British Women's Open in September, and it is almost in tournament condition now.  All that would be required is for the blades to be dropped on the mowers on the fairways and greens.

The great bunkering on the 16th green

A great opportunity to play an Open venue, in near Open conditions.  These conditions however meant that whilst players were battling this beast, rounds were over 5 hours long.

We did have some great scoring with both John MacKenzie & Michael McCann scoring 43 points.  The countback system, in line with the handicapping system works a little differently on the tours.  The winner on a countback (not having won before) was Michael McCann.

Other good scores for the day were: Rae Biggart 42, Tom Pettigrew 37, Tony MacLean 36 & Pam MacKenzie 36.

We are off to Royal Lytham & St Annes tomorrow to watch round three of the Open Championship.

Old Course St Andrews

Yesterday was the hardest course I have played, today was the hardest conditions I have played in!!  The weather that was expected for today arrived, and arrived in a worse form than predicted. An inch and a half of rain fell whilst we slogged around the Old Course.

The course was at times nearly unplayable, and casual water was pooling everywhere.  Everyone was soaked through.

The famous Valley of Sin at the front of 18 was more like the Moat of Sin, and the Swilcan burn was a raging torrent, and was overflowing onto the 1st and 18th fairways.

The Valley of sin full of water!

A view back to the swollen Swilcan Burn

Caddies today were invaluable, and made a very difficult day bearable.  When the members were asked about how they enjoyed their day, even though they were all wet through, the beaming responses were resoundingly AMAZING.

I myself hate playing in the rain, and if it were any other course we would most likely have walked back in.  But this was the Old Course, and I loved every second of it.  I think that the weather even added to the experience.

Looking over the 18th green to the 1st tee

As you may appreciate, the weather made it impossible to take any photos other than these few after we finished.

It is quite fortunate that tomorrow is a travel day, as the equipment will require plenty of drying out.

Our bathroom / drying room in the aftermath from today

A brilliant day had by all, and an Old Course Experience we will never forget.  A big thanks to Lindsay Rowan from the Old Course Experience for all of her assistance over the past few days.

Today was the day that the Bisector made a revival.  43 points from Geoff Vincent won the day, which was full of high scores even in the appalling weather.

Patrick Carlisle took advantage of the Tom Morris golf shop on the RHS of the 18th, bouncing his 3 wood approach off the building, back into play and on to the green.  This well planned ricochet assisted him on his way to 40 points.  Richard Logan had 39 points, whilst Katryna Economou and Jeff Faure scored 38 points.  Well Done.

Geoff "The Bisector" Vincent during his victory speech

John Gaffney, Lee Kidman & Pam MacKenzie at our End of Scotland Dinner

Jeff Faure & Libby McCann

Members enjoying the End of Scotland Dinner

Those who followed the 2010 tour will know that we had a habit of running into famous people on the trip, today it was Sir Nick Faldo, six time major champion three of which were Open Championships.  Sir Nick won the 1990 Open at St Andrews, and ironically myself and Matt are staying in the Nick Faldo room.

Two St Andrews Champions!!!

Today saw the end of our Scottish leg.  Tomorrow is a travel day as we make our way down to Southport.  We re acquaint ourselves with Dean Barber, master coach driver, and enjoy the country side.

Carnoustie

The most difficult course I have ever played was on offer at Carnoustie today.  It is never a good sign when the pro shop staff warn you about how thick the rough is, and that it will require chipping out with a wedge when you get in it.

John & Pam MacKenzie, Nola & Jeff Faure with caddies on the 1st tee.

According to our caddy, the rough has not been this long and thick since the 1999 Open.  Even in 2007 at the Open, the rough was more friendly.

A view looking back to the 2nd green from the 3rd tee.

Looking over the 5th green from the 3rd tee.

Not only is the rough thick, but the fairways are ribbon thin, and get narrower at driving distance. Throw in around 250 pot bunkers and you have the infamous Carnasty and a Cartastrophy on your scorecard.

Richard Logan successfully extracting his ball from the deep bunker on the 5th.

In 1953 Ben Hogan famously mastered the Par 5 sixth.  On all four days of the Open Championship he drove the ball into ideal position between the boundary fence on the left, and the fairway bunkers.

This was a phenomenal achievement as the gap was only 18 yards.  What makes this more special is that on each occasion Hogan deliberately started the ball over the OOB fence and faded it back into play.  The hole has been named "Hogan's Alley" in honour of his performance there.

The view from the tee on hole 6, Hogan's Alley

Did I mention the burns? Oh just another little treat to contend with, especially when you get to 17 & 18.  Anyone who thinks that the closing stretch at the Heath is tough needs to see 14 through 18 at Carnoustie.  Nearly impossible.

The burn running across the 5th fairway.

The burn that saw the demise of Jean Van de Velde in 1999.

All of these thing contribute to it's difficulty, but what a fantastic links this is.  A very stern test for all concerned today.  Rae "The Chairman" Biggart was top scorer for the day with an amazing 37 points. Congratulations also to Patrick Carlisle with 35 and Suzanne Jackson with 34 points for the second day running.

Suzanne leads the race for the Dunhill Links section heading into the final round at the Old Course tomorrow.

After two lovely days weather wise, we prepare for the worst as the forecast suggests heavy rain tomorrow.  The caddies will have their work cut out for them!!

Kingsbarns

What a great way to start the tour.  The group met up last night at Rusacks, and many, including myself, took the opportunity to stroll the fairways of the Old Course and collect some photographs.

This is the view from the back steps of the hotel.

Looking up to the 18th green and R&A clubhouse over the Swilcan Bridge

The Old Course is closed for golf on Sundays, and becomes public access land.  That meant we could roam wherever we liked on the hallowed turf.  It was however quite strange to see people with prams, and walking their dogs on the most famous piece of golfing land.

After this the group was ready for some golf at Kingsbarns.

Ready to go to Kingsbarns, on the steps of Rusacks Hotel.

This morning the group met Lyndsay from the Old Course Experience, who will be assisting us over the next few days, and made our way to Kingsbarns.

The whole Kingsbarns experience was phenomenal.  We were made very welcome from the moment we arrived, and the staff were only too happy to assist us.

Having the first sunny day in the UK for 6 weeks, with relatively little wind certainly helped.

Kingsbarns provides spectacular views almost everywhere you look.

Bob Murphy & Laurie Ryan 

Lee Kidman, Matt Cleverdon, Libby McCann, Pam MacKenzie with caddy Jimmy.

The caddies play a huge part in the enjoyment of the day, and I can comfortably say that the caddies at Kingsbarns are some of the best that we have had in the UK.

A view from the 9th tee overlooking the greens on 8 and 15

It was John MacKenzie who started with some hot form, taming the course with 38 points.  Rob Sayer and Bob Murphy were not far behind with 35.  Both professionals got off to a good start early with both Matt and myself being under part for large portions of the game.  Matt finished on level par after a solid day, I however, drifted away on the back nine.

After such a great start, we are all looking forward to what will be a stern test at Carnoustie tomorrow.

 WELCOME TO THE BLOG FOR OUR 2012 BACK TO THE LINKS TOUR.

THE MAP BELOW SHOWS OUR JOURNEY THROUGH SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND. STARTING IN THE HOME OF GOLF ST. ANDREWS, VIEWING THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP AT LYTHAM & ST ANNES, AND FINISHING AT OUR UK RECIPROCAL CLUB WALTON HEATH.

BELOW IS OUR ITINERARY OF GOLF. YOU WILL FIND INFORMATION ABOUT MOST OF THE COURSES BY CLICKING ON THE TABS ABOVE, LOCATED BELOW THE TOUR LOGO.

 

SUNDAY 15 JULY:  The tour begins at Rusacks Hotel, St. Andrews Scotland at 6pm Sunday evening.  Rusacks is an iconic hotel located about 100 metres from the 18th green on the Old Course.  You can see the hotel on the right hand side of the background picture above. We will be staying here for 4 nights.

MONDAY 16 JULY: Our first round of golf is at the relatively new Kingsbarns.

TUESDAY 17 JULY: Golf at Carnoustie.

WEDNESDAY 18 JULY: The holy grail. Golf at The Old Course St. Andrews. No ballot required for us, we have a guaranteed tee time here.

THURSDAY 19 JULY: Travel day.  Today we move from St. Andrews and head to England.  Our home for the next 4 nights will be the Vincent Hotel, in Southport.

FRIDAY 20 JULY: Golf at Royal Liverpool.

SATURDAY 21 JULY: Round 3 of the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

  

SUNDAY 22 JULY: The final Round of the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

MONDAY 23 JULY: Golf at Royal Birkdale, then travel to Surrey. We will be staying at the Oatlands Park Hotel for the remainder of our tour.

TUESDAY 24 JULY: Golf at Royal St. Georges.

WEDNESDAY 25 JULY: Golf at Sunningdale Old in the AM, Sunningdale New in the PM.

THURSDAY 26 JULY: Rest day.  Optional golf at New Zealand Golf Club in the AM, and The Berkshire in the PM.

FRIDAY 27 JULY: Our Final day.  Golf at our reciprocal club Walton Heath, and our final dinner at the hotel. The opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics is this night.

SATURDAY 28 JULY: Participants depart.  The Olympic Cycling road race will be running past the hotel on this day.

Please feel free to follow our journey, and if you would like to be emailed when the blog is updated, please type your email address into the box on the left side of the screen and follow the links.