The Open Championship

The Open Championship, 3^rd Major

The 2012 Open Championship begins with the 1^st round on July 19^th and held at the revered course at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club located in England.  The last time the Open Championship was held at Royal Lytham was back in 2001 when David Duval took the Claret Jug home. 

The tournament itself is known for one of the few tournaments the pros play that opens with a par 3 & their 200 + bunkers.  Expect a great tournament and let’s root for an American to take home the Claret Jug this year, house money is on Tiger to break through and silence his critics.

Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club prides itself on being one of the premiere courses in the world and has a mantra of pace of play that most clubs especially in the Mid-Atlantic region should practice.

The Club expects you to follow the governing rules for pace of play and what they expect from their members and visitors:

Etiquette and Slow Play
We understand that every golfer does not play to the same standard or at the same speed. It is most inconsiderate to hold up players behind you and to do so would ruin their day. PLEASE CALL THEM THROUGH. A Fourball should take no longer than 4 hours.

Please read the underlined sentence:  NO LONGER THAN 4 HOURS!!! & yes that means for a foursome.  For those of you accustomed to playing 4 ½, 5, or 6 hour rounds.  If you don’t practice ready golf or regularly averaging 12 minutes a hole, this means YOU!!  I realize good money was paid to enjoy a round of golf but if you are regularly having problems locating your ball in the woods or heavy rough, stop playing with expensive balls; take your penalty/mulligan/give me and move on.  If you still constantly average 15 minutes or more to play a hole—please let the group behind you pass through—most golfers don’t like to see bad shots constantly nor less playing slowly.  I could and have played with all sorts of playing abilities stemming from individuals who never touched a club before to former collegiate golfers and take pride in either not playing slow or letting the group behind you play through.  You will make your round a lot more enjoyable letting a group through that’s constantly breathing down your back hole after hole.  Golf is a great game and hard enough to play well; no need to add additional distractions to make the game harder.