Beastie

I think it is a poor venue for this type of event. It looks a fun course to play but a terrible course to be spectator following matches, it’s up down all the way with side slopes etc. A hard walk. I’m hoping for a tight finish on Sunday, whoever wins.

He will get his stake back if he wins so £110k returns £100k in winnings leaving him £210k net. So it’s still a winning bet.

If you are way too inconsistent to get a fitting then stick with the stock shaft. Save the money form grange LX’s and get some lessons with it

I would have just explained to them the basic etiquette and then asked to play through.( Framing it as a done deal so to speak.) How long did you wait behind them?

Looks good to me!

It’s about 160-200 depending on the angle but it is quite visually intimidating. 🫤

We played Silloth this afternoon. It’s an old school links course out and back with an excess of heather in the rough , nicely interspersed with gorse bushes so it really pays to be RDFM. It’s a tough track on a balmy summer day and a total beast on a windy day or, like today, a complete mare in a 40mph+ gale. I hit a 125 yard flat out 6 iron into the wind and later a 205 yard 9 iron down gale, so about a 4 or 5 club breeze. It is great fun but I am really looking to a calm day back inland next.

It’s unlikely that @famousdavis has any friends, so I expect there is not much bowing down going on.

I thought I’d put up a quick travel log of our trip to the open. Well we woke up this morning to clear blue skies and warm sunshine. Murphy’s law I suppose after the massively wet day we spent at Royal Liverpool on Sunday. We jumped on the train from Liverpool out to Hoylake( 1/2 hour journey, leaving every 10 mins). From Hoylake station it was a five minute stroll to the practice ground After a quick and very tasty Bacon Roll for breakfast(£5) we left and headed across the road to the course. Despite there being many people arriving the queue to get in moved very quickly and we were through in about 3 mins. The good setup was repeated in the shop(huge), the bars(plentiful) and the food outlets(varied) Everything was very well organised. We stood on the corner of #3 amd watched a few groups come through then headed over to the main spectator village. It was still dry and our hopes were high, so we grabbed a morning beer and headed back out onto the course. It was very green, but the rough was not that bad ( we had played Silloth earlier in the week and the rough there was phenomenally heavy) We spent the rest of the morning at the 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th. By this time it was raining steadily. We headed to the giant screen next to the 5th fairway and had some lunch, and a few beers whilst under our umbrellas. This was a good spot as we could walk the 20yards to the rope on the 5th and watch the second shots and return to our table. Then it was back to the course and we walked 15 and 16 , then parked ourselves at 17 for an hour By this time it was raining very heavily. We headed back to the giant screen by the 5th to watch the finale and had some more beers. We left once Harmon was on the 17th and headed for the train. Despite the crowds we had only a 2 min queue and were back in the apartment well under an hour after leaving the course. Overall the event was very well organised. The atmosphere was a bit bit boisterous around the bars by the late afternoon, but not on the course. Harmon was so solid in his lead that the tournament felt a foregone conclusion after he recovered from his dropped shots. If anyone is thinking of going to Birkdale in 2 years time I highly recommend staying in Liverpool and taking the train to the course. We had a great steak dinner and a few more beers before calling it a (very long ) day.

Are we including guys whose time is most likely been and gone, but are still playing. I would say Matt Kuchar and Lee Westwood were in this group for a long time, but are obviously getting a bit long in the tooth. Hovland certainly has the game to win at major venues. He gets my vote.

Well there has been some good golf but it is wetter than an otters pocket

Naa it’s just marketing spiel.

Harman is a solid player and he did well at St Andrews last year. He wouldn’t, by a long shot, be the worst player to win a major. However he’s only half way.

He’s a redneck parody. If he was an Aussie they would call him a “Bogan”. When he won the PGA, my dad had just got Sky Tv, and I remember watching it after coming home from the pub. 9th alternate!!!! He holed a shitload of putts as well as bombing it. I was an instant fan then, but he is just a bit of a muppet really.

Both the 3rd and the 18th at Royal Liverpool are more interesting with the OB that without. 3 especially without the OB it’s just a blaze away with a driver. It is quite common for courses ( older courses mainly) in the UK to have areas OB inside the footprint of the property. Not so normal to see in internal OB like @RayG posted above. Did you all see Tyrell Hatton put 2 OB in a row on 18 today, tell me you didn’t enjoy that..

I don’t know what you mean……

What’s wrong with Tommy? He’s a good guy

Brian Harman is on it this morning

I’ve watched a lot of Scheffler over the last week and a half. Tee to green he is absolutely incredible. It’s no wonder he misses so many 10-15 ft puts - he has about 15 of them every round

The new 17th reminds me of the 10th at Penrith. Not much to worry about from the front tee on a calm day but from the back tee into the teeth of a gale is very nervy. Don’t go long!

Well there has been a British Masters, but everyone knows which event THE Masters is……… Well your Open may be more important to you lot on the far side of the pond, but our Open has always been more important on this side. And for many decades before your imitation Open came along. i hope we can agree that they are both exciting golf tournaments

I wondered if the title would be changed, it will always be THE Open to me. Although Faldo reckons it might just be called The soon….

‘The Nairn’ is one of my favourite courses in Scotland, and maybe one of the least well known. In the North East you should also consider Castle Stuart, Cruden Bay, Murcar and Royal Aberdeen. All fantastic links courses. There are loads of other fun links courses without the cache, or the size of the more famous names. Spey Bay, Cullen, Montrose,Stonehaven are all a good day out. Also should could consider the are around North Berwick which has loads of incredible links courses. Muirfield, Gullane #1, North Berwick etc.So many courses so little time.

It’s a toss up as to what my favourite golf tournament is but as I am yet to get tickets for the Masters, well for now it’s the Open. The course Royal Liverpool | Hole by Hole Guide | The 151st Open Read all about each hole at Royal Liverpool, in our guide to the host course for The 151st Open, taking... The weather forecast is so so, but not biblical. Anyone who played well at the Scottish Open will be looking forward to Thursday. The bookies favourites are Mcilroy, Scheffler, Koepka, Smith. I’ll be hoping that it’s an 8 way dog fight on the back nine with Rory or Rickie winning. Can’t wait

Well let’s say dry would be fine. There will be no chance of a suntan with the forecast. ☔️