After what has seemed like an eternity of time, the Open Championship returns this week. This year, Royal St. Georges Golf Club plays host, the site of much history throughout its life, most recently the scene of Darren Clarke's inspiring win back in 2011.
In the days leading up to the tournament, I am reminded once again why this is such a unique major, perhaps the most out of the bunch. The history, the battle, the rawness of the Open Championship, all played out over four days of unpredictability.
But, in the age of long-bombing tour pros and AI-designed golf clubs, some struggle to understand this tournament and what it truly has to offer, both player and spectator alike.
The Open Championship is golf in its rawest but purest form, a return to the roots of the game. For one week, players and spectators are reminded of the golf of days past. The history that comes along with this tournament is well documented and vast. Nearly all of golf's giants have won this tournament and those who haven't have yearned to do so. Its as if walking through a living museum; whether it's watching players cross over Swilcan Bridge at St. Andrews or walk across the weather-barraged fairways of Carnoustie, we are reminded of those that came before us. If those fairways could talk, imagine the stories they could tell. This brings, I believe, a level of respect to the tournament that is unmatched by others; this is not something that is fabricated for player or spectator enjoyment, rather something much more innate. I like to think of it as how our golfing ancestors would have envisioned golf tournaments looking like in the future.
A traditional links course is always the setting for an Open Championship, where players are expected to battle both the course and the elements surrounding it; a stark contrast to the well-manicured, sometimes benign, parkland courses typically seen in a standard PGA Tour rotation. One does not play "at" a links course, but "on" a links course, for many links courses are simply as nature designed them; shaped over thousands of years by sea and wind alike. It is this connection to nature, in both design and influence, that requires a completely different set of golfing skills, which so few players possess. Calculations and metrics fade as feel takes over when playing a links course.
The build-up to an Open Championship is something special. Excitement and apprehensiveness churn even before the players tee off. We ask ourselves, what will the weather bring, how will the players react to it, who will falter first? This uncertainty is what makes the Open Championship so unique and such a test of skill. Players are forced out of their comfort zones, forced to adapt, forced to change their styles, a respectful salute to the origins of the game. It truly is the ultimate test of a player, a battle between golfer and nature, one that is on full display for public eyes. And when things do go wrong, there is no hiding on the tree-stripped, nature-sculpted, undulating mounds of a links course, as many can attest to. There is a sense of vulnerability seen in players, which I believe is something that the average golfer can relate to. From Jean van de Velde in 1999 to Adam Scott in 2012, some of golf's worst collapses have been seen at the Open Championship.
On a more personal note, as someone from the opposite side of the Atlantic looking at the tournament, I often get the feeling that the community, the host town as it is in most cases, embrace the Open Championship and are proud of it, proud to be hosting and proud to be displaying it to the world. The sense of community and collectiveness is much stronger at the Open Championship that any other tournament I've seen. Its hard to describe it exactly, but the entire vibe of the tournament just feels different. And given the state of the world over the past year and a half, this is something that feels good, it feels right.
So as we go into this what will be the 149th playing of the Open Championship, I encourage all those who watch golf to study this tournament and allow yourself to become immersed in it. Look at the unique features that Royal St. Georges has to offer, from its deep bunkers to its rolling hills. Pay attention to little things, like how the winds change from hole to hole, hour to hour, how the players adjust their shot style or use the features of the course, or how dependent a players score can be when their tee time is. I can guarantee that you will be rewarded and experience something you have never seen before at a golf tournament.
This is the beauty of the Open Championship.
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
Royal St. Georges Golf Club plays host to the 149th Open Championship this week (image: RSGGC)
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