| OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
Classic
Challenge The men-only policy at Muirfield is undoubtedly a tad quaint in this day and age but, whatever anyone might say to the contrary, this year’s Open venue has plenty of features which no-one would want to change, starting with the course, writes Lewine Mair.
Mark Alexander
The stout par-four 18th at Muirfield provides a fitting finale for arguably the fairest test in Open Championship golf 50
HK Golfer・JUL 2013
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・JUL 2013
51
Muirfield, it has to be said, has stood the test of time as well as any course on the Open rota. At its present length of 7,192 yards, it is only 667 yards longer than it was in its original guise.
T
Mark Alexander
The par-five fifth (top) affords sea views and offers a relatively straightforward birdie opportunity – if the winds allow; the green at the par-four 12th (opposite) is particularly well guarded 52
HK Golfer・JUL 2013
hough there are plenty of famous links featuring nine holes into the distance and nine home, Muirfield could not be further removed from the straight out, straight back scenario. Instead, it has two loops of nine – one clockwise and the other anticlockwise – and a host of different winds to exercise golfing minds. Such a lay-out further ensures that no-one is ever too far from base. This, of course, was eminently reassuring for spectators on that Saturday in 2002 when Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomerie, to name but two, coincided with some of the worst conditions in Open championship history. Both men plummeted down the leaderboard, with Woods returning the 81 which allowed him to say of Monty’s 84, “At least I kicked your butt!” Muirfield, it has to be said, has stood the test of time as well as any course on the Open rota. At its present length of 7,192 yards, it is only 667
yards longer than it was in its original guise while, rather more pertinently, the difference between 2002 and 2013 is no more than 158 yards. As a result, there are none of those endless treks from greens to tees which can ruin a man’s rhythm. Of the six new tees that have been installed, the one at the ninth will be the hardest posting for the players – and not just because it brings the hole up to what can be an endless 554 yards into the wind. With a strategically-placed new fairway bunker down the right, the players cannot but feel more uncomfortably aware of the out-ofbounds wall on the left than has been the case at previous Muirfield Opens. Yet that hole apart, Ernie Els and those chasing the title he won 11 years ago will probably be talking more about the tougher questions being asked of their short games. Bunkers have moved and are sitting more snuggly – and smugly – around the greens, the idea being that they will make a better fist of swallowing up those ‘iffy’ shots which were always going to need an element of luck to stick fast on the putting surface. Though the compact nature of the course contributes to the rapid pace of play the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers so enjoy, their modus operandi is no less telling. Their preferred HKGOLFER.COM
format is – and always has been – foursomes. Peter Dawson, the CEO of the R&A, has often reminded people of how the governing bodies would like a return to the days when a golfer could breakfast at home, play 18 holes and be home in time for lunch. That situation is pretty close to being enacted every weekend at Muirfield where members play foursomes in the morning and foursomes again in the afternoon, with neither round taking much more than two hours and 40 minutes. “It can be even quicker when you have the better players involved,” said Robin Dow, the new captain who took office in the spring. The only departure from Dawson’s vision is that not too many of the members hurry home for lunch. The explanation, here, is that there is nothing to surpass the good old-fashioned fare on offer in the clubhouse. Though most of the Open championship men will be guided by their nutritionists towards the pasta and lettuce in the players’ tented area, it is not too difficult to imagine the Carl Petterssons of the golfing world sneaking into the members’ dining room. There, they can expect an array of starters and soups, handsome joints, Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes, along with a table devoted to puddings of which the centrepiece is often a HKGOLFER.COM
Muirfield members play foursomes in the morning and foursomes again in the afternoon, with neither round taking much more than two hours and 40 minutes. treacle sponge. The secret of the latter’s success is that there is no rationing of the treacle. If you want more, you tip on as much as you please from a handy jug. In truth, it is all so breathtakingly perfect as to set you thinking that if the lady cook were to go on strike because of the clubs’ refusal to have women members, it would be one way of making the men come to heel. Muirfield’s position off the Edinburgh-North Berwick coastal road is up there with the course and its lunches. The views stretch out across the Firth of Forth to the Kingdom of Fife, with sundry islands and oil-tankers in between. As applies at the other Open venues, there is none of your modern fairway housing at Muirfield. The nearest thing to it is a row of charming homes on the drive down to the club and to the left of the first fairway. (In the case of the first fairway editions, the gardens are out of reach of all but the most vicious of opening hooks). The famous Greywalls Hotel is to the right of the clubhouse. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens HK Golfer・JUL 2013
53
10 Things You Might Not Know About Muirfield Ancient History Muirfield is the home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Considered the world’s oldest Golf Club they were originally based at Leith Links near Edinburgh. In 1744 the gentlemen drew up the first set of rules to coincide with an open-to-all tournament held over the five-hole course. Not unlike those we play today, the only rule which has historians furrowing their collective brow is the one which states: “Your tee must be upon the ground.”
Muirfield or Marshland? Originally designed by ‘Old’ Tom Morris of St Andrews, Muirfield opened for play on 3 May, 1891. The name derives from “muir or “moor-field” – the Scottish word for an uncultivated scrubland area. Now considered in the world’s top-10 golf courses, Muirfield received some savage reviews including one from top Scottish amateur Freddie Tait who said: “I hate Muirfield like poison!” He was followed by Andrew Kirkaldy who described it as “not fit for golf” and no more than “an old water meadow.”
Amateur Hour Harold Hilton won the first Open played at Muirfield in 1892. One of only three amateurs to have lifted the Claret Jug, along with John Ball Jnr and Bobby Jones, he won by three strokes despite not having a single practice round. The first championship played over 72 holes, the course had barely been opened nine months. The 2013 Open will the 16th time the event has been played here.
AFP (Els and Levet); Old Golf Images
and once owned by the Horlicks family, ‘Greywalls’ is actually a bit of a misnomer, with the stonework more Cotswold gold than grey. From 1959, the year when Gary Player won at Muirfield, every Open winner has stayed in this hostelry, which is hardly the best of news for agent Chubby Chandler who has rented alternative accommodations for players such as Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke. For what it's worth, there are no neighbours from hell beyond the hotel. Instead, there are a couple of fields owned by the R&A rather than Muirfield which are used for tented areas and car-parking during an Open week. For those who wonder what purpose they serve in nonOpen years, the answer, as was discovered on the media day, is that they are occupied by sheep, “R&A branded sheep,” quipped one staff member. Going back to the matter of Muirfield’s allmale membership, officialdom may think that they have knocked the subject on the head for this year but that is almost certainly wishful thinking on their part. The tabloid writers will arrive in force at the start of Open week and, unless there is what they perceive as a bigger scandal, this old chestnut will suffice. By way of an update, there are women in the mix on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Muirfield’s visitors’ days and the days when members tend to stay well clear. What is more, for the last couple of 54
HK Golfer・JUL 2013
Controversial Start Like Royal Lytham the opening hole at Muirfield was originally a 204-yard, parthree played across the front of the clubhouse. The cause of much controversy, the green was situated hard by a knee-high stone boundary wall on land now occupied by the caddie master’s hut. “So many balls have been sent over the wall and so many others have bounced off it and run quite close to the hole,” wrote the editor of American Golfer in 1909. Changed to a long par-four in 1928, it is now considered among the most testing openers on the Open rota.
Change is in the Air In 1923, the Honourable Company secured 50 acres of land to the north of the course. Renowned course designer Harry Colt was consulted and he introduced 14 new holes including two concentric loops of nine, one running clockwise around the outer edge with the back nine running anti-clockwise inside the outward nine. Changes to the signature par-three 13th hole were made by Tom Simpson in 1935. Bringing the course up to date for this year’s Open, relatively small changes were made at 15 holes in 2010 and 2011 following a review by architect Martin Hawtree.
committee. But the Honourable Company and R&A refused to compromise and the only concession they would offer was an agreement to listen to any “justifiable requirements” prior to the 1913 Open at Royal Liverpool.
Nice one, Cyril The sportsmanship displayed by Brit Cyril Tolley and American Robert Gardner during the final of the 1920 Amateur Championship at Muirfield so impressed USGA President, George Herbert Walker, that he conceived the Walker Cup contest between the top amateurs in America and Great Britain and Ireland. In a quirk of history he might not have been quite so impressed had he known that Tolley (right) had already paid a “win” bonus to his caddie before stepping onto the first tee! (The Englishman won on the 37th hole.)
What's in a Name? Jack Nicklaus (below) began a lifelong love affair with Muirfield after representing the United States against GB & Ireland during the 1959 Walker Cup. Winner of the Open at Muirfield in 1966, he was so impressed with the East Lothian links that he named his own course in Columbus, Ohio, "Muirfield Village" after it opened in 1974. Other courses named in honour of Muirfield include, Muirfield Golf Club in New South Wales, Australia and Muirfield Lakes Golf Club in Alberta, Canada.
Low Profile When it’s not hosting the Open Championship, Muirfield remains among the most private of Scottish golf clubs. Located just outside the village of Gullane, signage to the world famous course was restricted for many years to a small hand-painted wooden board at the top of Duncur Road saying: “HCEG Entrance.” Today, not much has changed at the home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Modern day visitors are now forced to negotiate a retractable metal gate which bars the way to the course. Muirfield also lacks its own professional shop. Instead you are politely directed down the road to the pro shop at nearby Gullane Golf Club which has permission to stock Muirfield logoed items.
Not Quite Men Only Visitor times at Muirfield are restricted to Tuesdays and Thursdays excluding public holidays. Most booking are made over a year ahead with cost ranging from £195 (approximately HK$2,400) for a single round and £250 for two rounds in one day. Contrary to popular belief woman are allowed to play but the Honourable Company continues to prohibit female members from joining its ranks. A source of much discussion especially when the Open returns here every five years or so, its stance contrasts with the United States Golf Association who does not allow clubs with single-sex policies to host the US Open. – Dale Concannon
Uncle Sam Slates the Scots Reigning US Open Champion John J McDermott, Jr made the long sea voyage to Scotland to compete in the 1912 Open at Muirfield. Like many of his fellow professionals he was disgusted with the poor accommodation set aside for them in nearby Gullane. He was doubly annoyed when he found out the member lockerrooms remained out-of-bounds to competing professionals but not amateurs. With a revolt threatening to cancel the tournament, matters became so heated that the British PGA called an emergency meeting with the championship
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
years, the women concerned have been allowed to eat the lunch instead of being shunted into a side-room with a plate of sandwiches. The club also has a history, if a scanty one, of having hosted a couple of Curtis Cups, though in the case of the 1958 installment, they stopped short of letting the women use the clubhouse as their base. (On the one day the women were allowed in for tea, the secretary posted a warning in the members’ locker-room and said he hoped that the members would not be too inconvenienced by the invasion.) More recently, the members have played an annual match against a team of women professionals led by Ireland’s Maureen Madill, who often commentates for the BBC during The Open. The above is a fixture which the members will often mention by way of suggesting that they are doing more than enough to balance the ledger. That can be a little irritating; though, in terms of irritation, not too much can have matched how Muirfield, the R&A and the other male-only establishments would have felt when Augusta admitted a couple of women members in time for this year’s Masters. How many of those Muirfield and R&A men, you have to wonder, would have gone up to the green-jacketed ones during that major and complained, “You’ve let the side down …” Yet, by the end of this month’s championship, all the fuss will have given way to reports of how one more golfing great has won at Muirfield. For sure, no other Open venue can boast such a list of champions: Harold Hilton, Harry Vardon, James Braid, Ted Ray, Walter Hagen, Henry Cotton, Alf Perry, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo and Ernie Els. HK Golfer・JUL 2013
55