Well its finally arrived, for me at least, the best Major of the year.
The Open Championship, don’t DARE call it by any other name, on the links courses is the truest test of golf.
Must admit one of my pet hates is when people say they are “hitting the links this weekend” when they are playing a parkland course.
The phrase links comes from the bits of wasteland between arable farmland and the sea, no good for anything the landed gentry allowed us peasants to play golf on it.
The vast majority of Scottish links courses are on public, commonly owned land, Feuars Land mainly.
Folklore states that if you stay within the boundaries of St Andrews you can still allow your sheep to graze on the old course on a Sunday! But I would like to see you try.
Golf has always been a game for the common man in Scotland, we enjoy some of the cheapest memberships in the world.
Take my home course of Cruden Bay, rated 61st in the world is £600 with a £500 joining fee.
Gullane, next door to Muirfield is £728 per year with a joining fee of £1,456, BUT there are 3 courses there.
My bucket list course, North Berwick home of the Matthew who can golf, is only £585 membership with a £1,170 joining fee.
Now I called various courses on the Open Rota in England to be told “Sorry we don’t divulge that information”, so I tried some of their neighbours.
Royal Cinque Ports in Kent is £1,586 with a £1,500 joining fee, for probably the best course not on the Open Rota anf it is also open to male and female golfers unlike Royal St Georges.
Hillside in Southport is only £1,180 but with a £2,500 joining fee.
St Annes Old Links in Lytham St Annes has a joining fee of £1,200 and is £980 a year.
Overall we in Scotland score with cheap golf.
There are 1 or 2 exceptions, Royal Aberdeen host of next years Scottish Open is £1,200 membership and £1,200 joining fee. And Aberdeen is one of the most expensive cities in Scotland to stay in. But at £120 a round if you play more than 10 rounds, trust me you would play a lot more than 10, you are in profit.
There are “exclusive” clubs that charge stupid fees but the thing is do you want to play a great course or simply be a member of an exclusive club?
For me it’s the course first and foremost.
This year we have the Open Championship at Muirfield and the Ricoh Womans British Open at St Andrews, next year we host the Ryder Cup in Scotland.
So far this year visitor numbers are up almost 40% on Scottish courses, we even had NBC in America broadcasting this years Scottish Open live on American TV.
Golf in Scotland is booming at the moment, in thanks to wonderful marketing by Visit Scotland and the support of the Scottish government.
East Lothian is booming in particular, coining the phrase “Scotland’s Golf Coast” was pure genius.
East Lothian has set the bar high its now up to the rest of us in Scotland to match it.
We have, we always have had, the courses, but some clubs need to come into the 21st century, our travel infrastructure needs improved outside the central belt and some of our hotels need to lift their game.
In Field of Dreams the voice told Kevin Costner “Build it and they will come”, we don’t need to build it because its already here, in abundance in fact.
But lets, collectively, improve our customer care off the course.
The Open Championship, don’t DARE call it by any other name, on the links courses is the truest test of golf.
Must admit one of my pet hates is when people say they are “hitting the links this weekend” when they are playing a parkland course.
The phrase links comes from the bits of wasteland between arable farmland and the sea, no good for anything the landed gentry allowed us peasants to play golf on it.
The vast majority of Scottish links courses are on public, commonly owned land, Feuars Land mainly.
Folklore states that if you stay within the boundaries of St Andrews you can still allow your sheep to graze on the old course on a Sunday! But I would like to see you try.
Golf has always been a game for the common man in Scotland, we enjoy some of the cheapest memberships in the world.
Gullane, next door to Muirfield is £728 per year with a joining fee of £1,456, BUT there are 3 courses there.
My bucket list course, North Berwick home of the Matthew who can golf, is only £585 membership with a £1,170 joining fee.
Now I called various courses on the Open Rota in England to be told “Sorry we don’t divulge that information”, so I tried some of their neighbours.
Royal Cinque Ports in Kent is £1,586 with a £1,500 joining fee, for probably the best course not on the Open Rota anf it is also open to male and female golfers unlike Royal St Georges.
Hillside in Southport is only £1,180 but with a £2,500 joining fee.
St Annes Old Links in Lytham St Annes has a joining fee of £1,200 and is £980 a year.
Overall we in Scotland score with cheap golf.
There are “exclusive” clubs that charge stupid fees but the thing is do you want to play a great course or simply be a member of an exclusive club?
For me it’s the course first and foremost.
This year we have the Open Championship at Muirfield and the Ricoh Womans British Open at St Andrews, next year we host the Ryder Cup in Scotland.
So far this year visitor numbers are up almost 40% on Scottish courses, we even had NBC in America broadcasting this years Scottish Open live on American TV.
Golf in Scotland is booming at the moment, in thanks to wonderful marketing by Visit Scotland and the support of the Scottish government.
East Lothian is booming in particular, coining the phrase “Scotland’s Golf Coast” was pure genius.East Lothian has set the bar high its now up to the rest of us in Scotland to match it.
We have, we always have had, the courses, but some clubs need to come into the 21st century, our travel infrastructure needs improved outside the central belt and some of our hotels need to lift their game.
In Field of Dreams the voice told Kevin Costner “Build it and they will come”, we don’t need to build it because its already here, in abundance in fact.
But lets, collectively, improve our customer care off the course.
No comments:
Post a Comment