Was the British Open played on Tatooine?

[Mennon]

Sure looked like it on the telly. Why do the R&A; restrict their tournament to links courses? I'm all for tradition, but just once in while I'd like to be able to see a golf ball land on the fairway in the Open - a nice, green fairway lined with trees. These places must be a bitch for everone to get too. Is there not ONE inland course worthy of the Open? What about Wentworth?

[cdriver]

I, for one, like the links style golf courses the Open Championships are played on. I like the wind and the rain and the cool weather. I like seeing the sea in the background and the windswept fairways with the flags bending under the force of nature. I agree, it ain't pretty golf like we have on the PGA Tour where every blade of grass has been coddled to perfection, but it is closer to the origins of the game.

Most of us only get to play PGA style golf on special occasions because it is just too expensive to maintain courses to that level of perfection, so most of us play on courses that are closer to the links courses than the TPC @ Sawgrass. It's kinda nice to see the tour players come down to our level and have to play off hardpan and out of weeds.

[georgep]

I agree with cdriver. We get enough of parkland courses all year long. The British Open means links golf to me.

[iacas]

I agree with cdriver. We get enough of parkland courses all year long. The British Open means links golf to me.

Ditto.

[thehillgolfer]

i agree with mennon, except i would like to take it a bit farther. take the masters for example. i mean the play the same stinkin course each year, not just the same style like the Open Championship, but the same course. come on, where is the fun in having to watch the Masters being played at Augusta every year

[Xt1ncT]

To start with - there is no championship called the British Open - it's called The Open Championship......

Ok, got that off my chest

Touring pros get very little chance to play links golf, and for me it makes a refreshing change not seeing courses "tricked up" a la the US Open. The courses are basically as Nature intended. No manicuring, no bulldozing. Seeing them have to play such differnet shots is great as well, somthing we can all learn from.

IMHO too many tournaments are played on parkland type courses where it amounts to target golf, and crazy scores as well. A lot of the time you can't tell one course from anotehr as they are so similar in looks.

At least when you switch on The Open, you know what you're watching.

[iacas]

To start with - there is no championship called the British Open - it's called The Open Championship......

I'm as much a stickler for that as anyone, but it's "The British Open" here because we have our own Open Championship... we just like to stick "U.S." in front of it to show our national pride. Or something like that...

Touring pros get very little chance to play links golf, and for me it makes a refreshing change not seeing courses "tricked up" a la the US Open. The courses are basically as Nature intended. No manicuring, no bulldozing. Seeing them have to play such differnet shots is great as well, somthing we can all learn from.

I'll add this: British Opens seem to produce far fewer "flaky" winners - despite recent history - than U.S. Opens. (For every Ben Curtis, there's a Steve Jones [x2] waiting to counter it... and then a Michael Campbell after that...).

[Xt1ncT]

I'm as much a stickler for that as anyone, but it's "The British Open" here because we have our own Open Championship... we just like to stick "U.S." in front of it to show our national pride. Or something like that...

Sorry, again I have to disagree. The US Open is called just that. look at the Flags - they say US Open on it. The Open Championship is called just that. You've said in the past that people need to stick to facts if pointing things out, and this is a fact, yours is called the US Open, just like the one here is called the New Zealand Open, and the one in Australia is called....yep you've guessed it, the Australian Open. The Open Championship was the first, so they didn't need to put "British" in front of it, and it's name has been that for as long as it's been around - 135 odd years if my memory serves.

[iacas]

Sorry, again I have to disagree.

Drop it. You've missed the point.

You've said in the past that people need to stick to facts if pointing things out, and this is a fact, yours is called the US Open, just like the one here is called the New Zealand Open, and the one in Australia is called....yep you've guessed it, the Australian Open. The Open Championship was the first, so they didn't need to put "British" in front of it, and it's name has been that for as long as it's been around - 135 odd years if my memory serves.

And it's also a fact that a lot of people here in the U.S. call it the British Open, which was and remains my point. It's pointless to argue about it because you're not going to convince people.

Back to discussing whether the British Open should be played on a parkland style course...

[xian]

One thing that you have to consider is that changing the rota is done very infrequently. Just look at how much press was dedicated to the "new" course this year. It's not like having some new course host a US Open, its' more like having a new course host the Masters (well, not quite). Plus, the players couldnt' seem to heap enough praise on Hoylake this year. Personally, I like the change to hard and fast playing conditions and wish I could watch it more than once a year.

[Konrad]

Pfft. I love watching the British Open and I'd rather watch it than all the boring to watch American golf we have way to much here.

Where else can someone get up and down with a putter from the bunker? (Jim Furyk)

[kippax]

Sure looked like it on the telly. Why do the R&A; restrict their tournament to links courses? These places must be a bitch for everone to get too. Is there not ONE inland course worthy of the Open? What about Wentworth?

Its not like Hoylake is out in the sticks mate, its just outside Liverpool.

How often are competitions in the US held on links courses??(not having a dig, just curious??) kip.