Before the focus turns away from the west coast of Scotland and the epic 145th Open, I hope we can also remember the importance of Prestwick Golf Club and all that it means tothe game. Daydreaming a bit while walking around the clubhouse with club historian Andrew Lockhead, one an easily imagine what that first gathering of professionals was like, capped off by Tom Morris hitting the opening shot. But what strikes most is how, based on the documentation and formality of the proceedings, how those involved knew they were on to something historic.
The Archive Room, with pencilled-in scores from the 1860s, tells tales of terrible traumas outside. Darwin added: “Holes and bunkers that can bring down great men with so terrible a crash deserve great names and in these Prestwick is rich; the Slough of Despond, Purgatory, the Goose Dubs, Lion’s Den, the Pill Box, the Precentor’s Desk and Sandy Neuk.” It feels friendlier in the clubhouse.
“I am obviously biased,” says Goodwin, “but I think Prestwick is unquestionably the best golf club in the world. The whole ethos is to have fun, and lots of it.”
Thanks to Lockhead and secretary Ken Goodwin, I was able to see the magnificent club archives where all of the key old scorecards from the Opens at Prestwick are lovingly bound into a permanent volume, while each important letter related to The Open is still in the club's possession. (We discussed on Morning Drive earlier in the week.)
Check out the actual scorecard from Young Tom Morris' 3 on the then 578-yard first hole:
Detailed look at the face of the belt, from an exact replica on display at The Open this week.
While the initial contest was for the Champion Belt and was essentially an invitational open to those with ties to ten or so clubs, it was the realization that the "world" needed to be part of "Open" competition that proves so mesmerizing to see put on paper. It makes the branding emphasis on open take on greater meaning.
As for Prestwick's architecture, the course retains its playing charm and design fascination, an astounding notion given how so many courses do not age well. The appreciation heard last week for its merits is heartening and offers more evidence that a greater awareness for design is in the game. Just like North Berwick's recent renaissance, Prestwick no longer is getting tagged with a negative "quirky" or "bizarre" labels. Instead, the overall walkability, memorability, variety and at times, audacity of the holes appeals to a broader golf audience than 20 years ago. The fun word is getting throw about too, and never in that demeaning way suggesting the course is too "easy."
The Himalayas remains such a thrill to play, and a great reminder that blind can be exhilarating. What I can't figure out: why the blindness is better received in 2016 than even 2006? Is it the awareness before arriving at Prestwick that has people prepared? Or just the overall desire to have a sense of a natural adventure that has been re-introduced by more lay-of-the-land courses? Either way...
And the 17th/Alps remains as bizarrely nutty as ever. How did they play this with a baffing spoon!?
Prestwick's place in the game is as vital as the Old Course is today. It was the birthplace of professional golf and a testing ground for golf architecture both manmade and natural. Because of its place through golf history as a joyous locale for the game--continued on by today's club--Prestwick should always be one of your first stops for a Scotland golf pilgrimage.
Furthermore, many clubs with a trace of the history Prestwick enjoys could learn from the way this grand place in the game proudly shares itself with the world for all to come and see and play. Every professional golfer should pay a visit out of respect for those who gave birth to their pastime.
The firm of Mackenzie & Ebert, founded in 2005, has been entrusted with some of the world's most important links. The former staff members of Donald Steel's firm have proven up to the task of addressing difficult issues while leaving behind architectural touches that restore and embellish.
I was fearful that any Cruden Bay tinkering could be problematic, but Tom Mackenzie made the 9th hole significantly better, injecting several new elements to form a more dramatic hole befitting the epic location of that short par-5. A new tee angle at the 10th improved the look and feel of the tee shot, while addressing a safety matter brought on by modern technology.
Mackenzie's design partner, Martin Ebert, kindly took time to give us insights into three links he has worked at and which are very much on the minds of golfers: Turnberry, Royal Portrush and Royal Troon.
As The Open gets underway at Troon, Ebert fills us in on the work done at these three landmark courses. I'll be posting a ful Turnberry review after an evening round in the rain. In short, the transformation is magnificent. But in the meantime, please enjoy his thoughts as well as links to Mackenzie and Ebert's groundbreaking use of presentation graphics.
GS: What would be the best description for the work at Turnberry: redesign, modernization, restoration, renovation or some combination of all?
ME: That is an excellent question as there is a combination of all of the descriptions which could apply.
'Redesign' can definitely be applied as we have, I would say, 5 completely new holes within the layout. The 6th is really a new par 3, having new tees and a new green in different locations and the hole is a much shorter par 3 than it was before. The 9th is a new par 3, albeit played from the same general teeing area as the old, hog's back par 4. The 10th has been extended to a par 5 with new back tees and a new green so I would claim that this is really a new hole. The 11th is a new par 3 occupying a different piece of ground than the old hole. Finally the 14th is routed into completely new land from tees in a similar location to the old hole and the hole is now a par 5 rather than a par 4. A case could even be made for the 1st being a new hole as well as the tees and green have both been extended backwards and the landing area bunkering has been reconfigured. So I think that the changes would constitute redesign.
'Modernization' also applies as I believe that we have made the course fit to test the greatest players in the world and the way that they play the game from a range of new tees and green locations. Some of the changes would not have been possible in years gone by. The players would not have carried the ball far enough to take on the new tee shots at the 9th and 10th holes for instance. However, the course needs to meet the modern demands of average club member and visitor play as this will be the use of The Ailsa for 99% of its time.
In pursuit of that, I believe that we have made the course more 'fit for purpose' as it should now be more enjoyable for the vast majority of golfers. They now have five par 3s to play and almost all golfers love playing par 3s, and we have added two par 5s to the front nine, leading to four in total, which makes the 5th and the 7th holes, previously par 4s, much more playable. In another way we have modernized the course by providing more flag positions on many of the greens. Higher green speeds have meant, as with all courses, that some areas of greens which used to be suitable for flag positions no longer are. That was especially the case at Turnberry where many of the greens had a 'bowl' like shape with the edges of the greens just too sloping to be useable. We have softened some of these areas to provide some exciting new flag locations which will use the edge features of bunkers, links banks and swales much more than before. An example is the par 3 15th hole where the flag can now be located much closer to the dangerous bank to the right of the green.
As far as 'Restoration' is concerned, my advice to Mr Trump when we embarked upon the project was that we should conduct as thorough a study as possible of the evolution of the course and especially following its reincarnation immediately after the Second World War. This proved to be a fascinating exercise when we compared the aerial photographs from just before Philip Mackenzie Ross carried out his work to just after it was completed. The photographs showed completely different bunker shapes and it was also clear that the bunkers had rough edges rather than revetted edges. In fact, the rough edges survived until the 1980s. Hence our recommendation was to restore the shapes of the bunkers where appropriate and to restore the rough edged character to the fairway bunkers. The greenside bunkers have new plan shapes to reflect the old forms but are revetted which was preferred by The R&A. Now that the project is completed I think that the two styles sit well with one another.
Finally, 'Renovation' also applies as every tee, green and bunker has been reconstructed. The greens have been built with a much sandier root zone created by mixing the old green root zone with dune sand to provide much more free draining surfaces which will be easier to manage in the long term to produce firmer and finer greens. The tees have been formed using the old green root zone and the bunker drainage as well as general fairway drainage has been improved.
GS: Turnberry has produced some of golf's most thrilling finishes, did this put any added pressure on you in approaching how to re-imagine the links?
ME: I am not sure this added any pressure but we did want to respect those wonderful Open finishes as far as possible. For instance, we chose to retain the 18th green surface exactly as it was before the work started given the historic moments of the Duel in the Sun in 1977 and the sad events of 2009 although the green surrounds have had a little more feature added.
There were some misgivings about changing the 17th green. I imagine that Nick Price will be a little disappointed that the scene of his great eagle putt is no longer. However, hopefully he will understand that the greater cause of the major layout change to produce a straightened 18th hole for championship play justifies this.
One of the key changes to the course has been that straightening of the 18th hole for championship play. Previously the hole was a sharp and rather unnatural dogleg. The spectators in the 18th green grandstands would only get a view of the players at the corner of the dogleg. Now they will see the players silhouetted on the tee located on the dune bank with the ocean as the backdrop. The golfers will be taking aim on some part of the iconic hotel. So hopefully we will have set an even better scene for more thrilling finishes. However, that did mean shortening the 17th hole to a par 4 but it also had the knock on effect of requiring a new par 5 at the 14th hole and the new, shortened par 3 6th hole.
GS: Tell us about what has happened with the pitch-and-putt course, The Wee Links?
ME: The pitch and putt course has been completely rebuilt and now provides the hotel with a real links like setting immediately below it. The pitch and putt course used to have more of a garden feel to it and the greens were tiny. You had to be a good player to have any chance of hitting the greens. There was also a tennis court within the area which detracted from the view from the hotel. We imported a lot of on site fill material and shaped this up into what could be described as a large scale Himalayas (St Andrews) landscape with some bunkers included. Apart from recovery from the bunkers, a complete non golfer can now play the course with a putter. There are no set tee positions so the tee markers can be placed wherever suits. There are 18 greens (two are double greens) but the course could be played as 18 holes, 12 holes, 9 holes or even 6 holes by simply removing some of the flags and hence creating longer or shorter holes.
GS: The Arran Course is also slated for a redesign, what can you tell us about the plans?
ME: I assume that you mean the Kintyre Course although the second course used to be called the Arran. There is a lot of change here too to the extent that the course will be renamed. We are currently working on the changes. Mr Trump is currently considering some alternatives for this. The jewel in the crown of the landform is Bains Hill at the furthest point from the hotel and clubhouse. This coastal hillside will have its three holes reversed in direction to make maximum use of the views to the ocean and the existing 11th will be extended to a par 5 with an aiming point directly upon the Lighthouse. The direct coastal stretch will be the home of an incredible new hole with one of the most stunning greensites perched high above the waves as one could imagine.
Along with the changes at Bains Hill, there are new back tees for the 1st, 7th, 17th and 18th holes and a redesigned green for the 18th which sits just below the clubhouse. The 1st hole has had the artificial burn which used to cross it replaced with central bunkers giving more options to play the hole and the gorse lined nature of the course will be lessened with the creation of a large wetland feature between the 5th and 13th holes. The fairway bunkers are being converted into marram grass fringed hazards much like some of the bunkers at Royal County Down. All in all a considerable makeover.
GS: How are things going at Royal Portrush?
ME: The changes at Portrush are coming along very well. The new Valley Course came into play in May and have been well received. There are also a couple of new holes for the par 3 Skerries Course which have stunning views. These changes were necessary to give enough ground for the two new holes of the Dunluce Course.
The changes within the existing Dunluce Course have all opened for play in May. This includes the new 2nd green (adding length to the par 5), the new 3rd green (rebuilt to improve its condition) and the new 10th green (existing 8th green which was not an original Harry Colt green so it has been reshaped to give it more of a 'Colt' character) and various fairway bunkers and new tees.
The two new holes have been completed. The tees, greens and surrounds were turfed (sodded) and could be played already. The fairway areas are being established by spreading hollow cores and overseeding. They are coming on well. The plan is to open them in the early summer of next year but they may be ready by the end of this year.
GS: How will the new holes fit in with the original course?
ME: I think they will fit in really well to the rest of the course both in terms of location and their character. There was a possibility of the Club playing them on the back nine but The R&A were adamant that they be part of the front nine for spectator movement reasons principally and the Club are likely to adopt the same routing. This sees the holes slot in between the 6th and 7th holes. The landscape for both holes is stunning with the 7th running down into and gently up a valley in the dunes and the 8th demanding a spectacular tee shot with a carry over a steep dune bank which will require a real decision about how much to bite off from the tee.
A permanent players' tunnel is being constructed to provide access for players during The Open between the 8th and 9th holes and between the 10th and 11th holes with the spectators able to move freely above.
GS: You've also consulted at Royal Troon, what has happened in advance of this Open?
ME: A long time has passed since the last Open at Royal Troon in 2004. There have been two tranches of changes carried out in that time although a number of the changes might be described more as restoration of old features than changes.
We removed trees and created new dunes behind the 9th green, really to help improve the light and airflow to the green and we added new back tees and the restored a huge bunker in the carry of the 10th hole originally designed by Willie Fernie and which Dr. Alister MacKenzie provided input upon in the 1920s.
The other major change was to the position of the tees and the first half of the 15th fairway well to the left of the previous line. Again this is a restoration of the hole alignment which was played during The Open in 1923. This became clear following the discovery of a wonderful illustration of the course for the event which was published prior to that Open in the Illustrated London News. Plans were already afoot to take the hole away from the Old Course's boundary road to the right of the hole for this year's Open. Any unease felt by the members about such a change was dispelled by the discovery of the illustration. Quite incredibly, it showed that the chosen alignment was exactly the same as that played in 1923.
In the intervening years the tees and fairway had been moved to the right, possibly due to low areas of the old fairway lying wet during the winter months. In order to ensure dry conditions for the restored fairway, levels have been raised considerably. Hence the new fairway has been shaped from where it starts to where it joins up with the wonderful undulations of the second part of the hole.
The other changes included some fairway bunker adjustments and the addition of an approach bunker at the par-5 4th, plus we reconfigured the tees on 5, reshaped green surrounds at 6, restored an old bunker at 7, softened the green contours at 8 which had become more severe from bunker sand splash and constructed dunes along the fairway by the burn at 16. Many of the greens have been mown out larger including the front of the Postage Stamp to bring the front bunker into play more. We also enlarged many of the championship tees and removed scrub and gorse vegetation in various places. We took those areas down to bare sand as recommended by The R&A's ecologist which has helped return the course to more of its look from years gone by.
GS: Besides the Postage Stamp, what holes would you say are most worth of study at Royal Troon?
ME: I believe that the Old Course at Troon is generally underrated. I believe it to be one of the best of The Open venues. It has some superb views, has tees which could not be closer to the coastline on the front nine, some great individual holes including the incomparable Postage Stamp and one of the toughest back nines in championship golf. In terms of other notable holes, the 5th is a wonderful par 3 on its elevated ridge by the sea, the dogleg 7th asks questions from the tee if conditions are favourable, the 11th must have the most intimidating tee shot on The Open rota being played over a sea of gorse with no view of the fairway, the 13th has the most magical undulations and shows that bunkerless holes can be the very best, the 15th, in its new guise has great shape to its fairway line and, of course, the 18th is the ultimate test with the clubhouse and out of bounds so close behind the green.
GS: You will be working as a referee at The Open, correct? What do you enjoy about that role, since it's so different than the work of a golf architect?
ME: I will be refereeing at The Open this year. I am possibly one of the most nervous referees! However, we are well briefed and have great back up for any awkward situations. It is a real privilege to walk inside the ropes and be so close to the players and it does help give me an insight into how the modern elite golfers play the game which is very useful when it comes to making changes to Open venues.
Overall though, the sheer experience of being part of the greatest championship of them all is incredible and, last year, I had the opportunity to walk up the 18th at St Andrews as referee with my son carrying the scoreboard. A truly special occasion.
I'm still investigating many things in the hopes of providing you tips on Highlands golf and elsewhere, but I'm already floored by a few things from my visit: value, options and golfers branching out to lesser known courses.
While there is still a ways to go in making this an East Lothian/St. Andrews pilgramage destination, for the record I want it known there was a tour bus at Lossiemouth today (aka Moray Golf Club). I couldn't have been more pleased! Americans testing the craft architecture!
And while I've pondered what Herbert Warren Wind would make of the masses pulling up to Dornoch and tackling the place with passion, ultimately I concluded from the epic Links House Dornoch that he would be utterly thrilled to see so many making the journey here for northernmost links golf.
Anyhow, as I said, more to investigate while you hopefully enjoy the Scottish Open at nearby Castle Stuart. But my findings will be here and at GolfDigest.com.
While I never enjoy seeing a course setup go bad--especially when I know how sick the PGA Tour rules staffers and weather forecasters will be following Saturday's TPC Sawgrass putting bloodbath--it's good to have days like this to remind people how close golf courses are taken to the edge in the name of resisting technological advances that no architecture can keep up with.
When Stimpmeter speeds hover in the 12-13 neighborhood, the slightest bit of drop in humidity mixed with little root structure and unexpected wind can send greens that just days before were said to be too soft (but still wickedly fast) into a state of goofiness. We reached a point in the sport where the green is taken up to extreme speeds and allowed to play too prominent of a role at all levels in part because agronomists are so good at what they do. But mostly, it's about, but the professional game having outgrown just about every course on the planet.
As the 2016 Players joined the list of tournaments influenced by a setup gone wild, we are reminded again that the modern golf ball, when hit by the world's best, goes distances not foreseen by designers and therefore is not something manageable by any design under 8000 yards.
The TPC Sawgrass, once a beast, is often overmatched in today's game. It's final defense, short of 5 inch rough and and adding new tees: extreme green speeds that are manageable until they're not.
Unlike every other professional sports league, the PGA Tour will never get in the business of regulating the equipment played at its events to keep courses relevant and green speeds at a sane level. So there is sweet irony in watching yet another position taken with profit margins in mind bubble to the surface at the Tour's marquee event.
The unfortunate takeaway most will have from Saturday's debacle will believe that the tour was angry at the low scoring and did this. But having been around the TPC all week, I didn't encounter one PGA Tour official even the least bit bothered by Jason Day breaking the 36-hole scoring record. This was a greater-than expected change in the weather that took greens so precariously close to the speed edge and turned them silly.
It's funny that a sport which self congratulates itself repeatedly for having more integrity than any other looks the other way when it comes to protecting the integrity of its playing fields, solely in fear of (potentially) costly regulatory fights that also might call into question golf's devotion to the gospel of unfettered capitalism. How is this sad state of affairs any less ridiculous than looking the other way on a doping scandal?
But I digress...
In Brian Wacker's GolfDigest.com round up of player comments, note Justin Rose's comment about the ball gliding over the greens. That's what happens when all moisture has been sucked out of the blades from mowing, rolling, heat, lack of humidity and perhaps some influence from the Precision air units underneath (assuming they were in use). Also note these numbers:
Over the first two days, there were 122 combined three-putts among the 144 players in the field. On Saturday there were 149 three-putts among the 76 players who made the cut, and 15 of those players had at least 34 putts for their round including McIlroy, who had 37.
“We have done the same thing all week. We have been double cutting these greens and double rolling them and trying to get them firmed up,” said Mark Russell, the Tour’s vice president of rules and competition. “What happened today was just kind of a perfect storm with the weather. We weren't expecting a 20 mph wind all day, and the humidity 30 percent, not a cloud in the sky. And they just, you know, sped up on us.”
But then that doesn’t explain a three-putt percentage of historic proportions?
The Tour average for three-putts in a round is 2.93 percent, and on Thursday and Friday the field hovered around the norm with a 2.08 and 2.67 percent average, respectively. On Saturday that number skyrocketed to 11 percent.
“I mean, it’s like a U.S. Open out there. I can’t really describe it any other way,” McIlroy said. “I just found I had a really difficult time adjusting to them. I stood up here yesterday and I said it’s amazing how differently the course plays from morning to afternoon, but I didn’t expect it to be like that out there this afternoon. That was borderline unfair on a few holes.”
McIlroy opened his round with a birdie, but he realized conditions had changed when his 85-foot eagle attempt on No. 2 raced nearly 18 feet past the hole. It led to the first of five three-putts on the day, including three such instances in a four-hole stretch on Nos. 10-13 that dropped him off the first page of the leaderboard.
“A lot of caddies kept asking, ‘What’s this remind you of?’ ” said James Edmondson, the caddie for Ryan Palmer. “Everyone said, ‘Shinnecock.’ ”
And when his back-nine 42 and round of 79 was complete, Ian Poulter blurted out “TPC Shinnecock,” only to catch himself and shake his head. “I’ll refrain from saying anything,” Poulter declared, and wisely he moved to the autograph area and signed for a long line of youngsters.
ESPN.com's Bob Harigsays players were not buying the tour's stance on greens getting the same treatment as the previous days. Technically that is true with one extra rolling between the conclusion of round two and the start of round three.
"It was a massive change -- it wasn't very subtle,'' Scott said.
"That was borderline unfair on a few holes,'' Rory McIlroy said.
"I felt like I was putting on dance floors out there,'' Billy Horschel said.
"It was crazy tough,'' Matsuyama said.
There were just three rounds Saturday in the 60s and only six under par. There were seven in the 80s. The 76 players in the field combined for 149 three-putts or worse -- a record for the course. There were 86 double-bogeys or worse.
Sergio'ssix-putt should not be watched by young children...
Some of you may know I find the links golf move toward immaculately manicured jacuzzi bunkers to be a depressing evolution of seaside bunkering. Especially given what the old photographs show and the vitality of naturalness in links golf.
So imagine my shock and joy in seeing the first photos emerging from Trump Turnberry showing off the finished product. No more bathtub bunkers. Architects Mackenzie and Ebert deserve most of the credit, especially since they convinced The Donald to go this route.
Exciting stuff from Turnberry, which reopens soon and will be getting a full inspection from yours truly this July:
Well maybe those who don't want to see him tee up before he's absolutely ready may not need to worry about Tiger Woods teeing off for a while, as he revealed Monday's Bluejack National opener was his first since August, 2015.
Then again, as I noted in this week'sForward Press look at the week ahead, anything is possible with a man who showed up at a Masters untested. He has until late Friday afternoon to decide on Quail Hollow, so there is always the chance he enters a favorite tour event next week.
Bob Harigreports from the club home to the first Woods design in North America. It's a redesign of an existing course, opened on what appeared to be a much-needed beautiful day for Houston.
"I'm definitely a little tired but I feel pretty good," Woods said in an interview afterward. "I haven't been out here playing like this. I hadn't played any holes until today. I know people have said I've played holes back at Medalist, but I haven't. This is actually the first time I've played holes since Wyndham. It's been awhile.
A short highlight reel from the opener heavy on Woods, light on good looks at the course. And you may recall the club's short course opened in rather unbelievable fashion.
BW: If you were equipment czar of the game for a day, running the USGA and R&A, what would you change?
AS: I think it's possible that you could make an argument for having different equipment rules for us than the amateurs. I think that's almost logical to do that. I’d re-implement anchored putting because until I'm given facts that it actually is a game-improver, performance-enhancer, then I'm going to have to say I'd put it back in. Maybe driver head size is something I'd look at. That’s a massive difference now. When I was a kid, pulling the driver out of the bag was a concern, like you're going to have to make a great swing to hit a good drive. Now it's the go-to club. It's the most forgiving club we have. That's a huge difference in how you get off the tee to start a hole of golf.
And in the one-course-you-could-play-for-the-rest-of-your-life division, Adam picks...
AS: I guess I'm torn. I could play Kingston Heath every day for the rest of my life in Australia, and the upside of that is in it's Australia and it's an amazing golf course. But I love Cypress Point. It's my favorite course in the world. I just love playing socially on those golf courses that are so much shorter and just less demanding length-wise for me, and then the people I play with can enjoy it. It's very hard to enjoy a round of golf when I play 90 yards from them. It's like we're on different courses. So those two, if I’m allowed to say two.
Geoff Shackelford
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning Drive, is co-host of The Ringer's ShackHouse is the author of eleven books.
The Guardian's Paul Weaver took the full tour as well, and captures the essence of this great clubs, which maintains an amazing reverece for its history without the attitude that could come with having such a vital place in golf.
