The Open 2022

[IanM]

Just back from playing the Winter Open at Porthcawl...beautiful warm sunny day!

They've been taking out gorse bushes over the past few years to make crowd access better, several new tournament tees... bags of room. The R&A have been down regularly...Senior Open been a good test (although no where near the scale)....noises thought to be positive... who knows.

I'd be suprised if the Welsh Govt wouldnt put up a bundle of cash to fill in any gaps...

R&A won't use Turnberry while DT is owner, let alone Prez, they don't need the agro (rightly or wrongly) of all the protestors who'd go in to meltdown.....

 

[Jacko_G]

Royal Liverpool isn't a patch on Turnberry, not even close.

 

[Garush34]

I believe the best thing going for Hoylake is that they can get loads of spectators in.

Not to say it’s not a good course, but I think this was one of the reasons for getting it back onto the rota and using It regularly.

This certainly smacks of avoiding Trump and Turnberry. Turnberry is well overdue, but avoiding 2022... they could easily go;
2023 Muirfield
2024 Lytham
2025 St. Andrews

You don’t know the conversations that take place and you’d imagine there is some dialogue between Turnberry and the R&A (even if it’s only in the direction of the R&A). Who knows if they are simply avoiding a president as host or will continue to avoid him in the hope the venue falls into less contentious hands.

Is it not likely that St Andrews will be the 2026 Open, because that way they get all the big ones such as the 200th Open without having to change the sequence if they continue with St Andrews every 5 years.

 

[Grant85]

Is it not likely that St Andrews will be the 2026 Open, because that way they get all the big ones such as the 200th Open without having to change the sequence if they continue with St Andrews every 5 years.

Not sure. They've had a fairly consistent run of every year ending 0 and 5 since 1990. Only changing it for the 150th, so if they change it again in 50 years for 1 year, I think they'd be happy doing that.

They also don't often go 2 years in a row out of Scotland and never 3, so that's another issue Turnberry has caused (which may effectively be replaced by Portrush, depending on how it goes this year).

 

[Garush34]

Turnberry still on the list according to the R&A - https://www.bunkered.co.uk/golf-news/r-a-chief-provides-turnberry-open-update

 

[Jacko_G]

Portrush will be here to stay after this year's as it's a top track and another that blows Royal Liverpool out of the water.

 

[woofers]

I must be easily confused, I thought this was a thread about The Open in 2022 (as per the title) but all the chat seems to be about 2023......

 

[Grant85]

Portrush will be here to stay after this year's as it's a top track and another that blows Royal Liverpool out of the water.

Yes - but there are far more things to consider rather than how good the course is. That is almost secondary tbh.

Logistics of setting it up, how many people can reasonably attend and walk round the course.

Hotels / accommodation and where they will need to shuttle people from is probably the biggest concern at Portrush. This is also an issue at Turnberry.

How easy it is to attract the thousands of temporary staff they will need (probably tougher than at most other venues which are generally closer to bigger population bases).

Obviously they will have considered a lot of this, but they will be watching for the pinch points carefully.

 

[USER1999]

There will only be so many years that the open can afford to tolerate the lower visitor numbers the more remote venues attract. Good golf course or not, money talks, and that includes gate receipts.

 

[Grant85]

There will only be so many years that the open can afford to tolerate the lower visitor numbers the more remote venues attract. Good golf course or not, money talks, and that includes gate receipts.

This is true, but given how quickly the event has sold out they could probably charge a few quid more and make up the difference with a higher ticket price.

But if they can't call on a large student population from the likes of Edinburgh / St. Andrews / Dundee / Ayrshire / Liverpool to fill the temporary positions, it could become a big issue logistically.

 

[Jacko_G]

Yes - but there are far more things to consider rather than how good the course is. That is almost secondary tbh.

Logistics of setting it up, how many people can reasonably attend and walk round the course.

Hotels / accommodation and where they will need to shuttle people from is probably the biggest concern at Portrush. This is also an issue at Turnberry.

How easy it is to attract the thousands of temporary staff they will need (probably tougher than at most other venues which are generally closer to bigger population bases).

Obviously they will have considered a lot of this, but they will be watching for the pinch points carefully.

Which have obviously been done hence why it's on the rota.

Next!

 

[MendieGK]

Portrush will be here to stay after this year's as it's a top track and another that blows Royal Liverpool out of the water.

Guessing you don’t like Royal Liverpool? Zzzz

 

[Jacko_G]

Guessing you don’t like Royal Liverpool? Zzzz

It's decent, not great and not a fantastic test of golf. Better location than Lytham but nowhere near as strong a golf course.

Each to there own. Thread was about Royal Liverpool, others introduced other venues, I just compared them to the course in the title. Nothing personal. Just calling it as I see it.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Which have obviously been done hence why it's on the rota.

Next!

It’s also a very very good excellent links course - it may not have the drama and the big dunes but I loved it , the condition was superb , the par 3’s were excellent, greens brilliant - brilliant course in its own right without having the need to make comparisons

 

[Jacko_G]

It’s also a very very good excellent links course - it may not have the drama and the big dunes but I loved it , the condition was superb , the par 3’s were excellent, greens brilliant - brilliant course in its own right without having the need to make comparisons

Wouldn't expect an Open venue to have anything less than brilliant greens. Hardly anything to get excited about at a venue that is held in high enough regard to get an Open.

 

[MendieGK]

It's decent, not great and not a fantastic test of golf. Better location than Lytham but nowhere near as strong a golf course.

Each to there own. Thread was about Royal Liverpool, others introduced other venues, I just compared them to the course in the title. Nothing personal. Just calling it as I see it.

I’m only toying with you.
I liked the course but think The trio in the south west (saunton, burnham and St Enodoc) are better

 

[patricks148]

It's decent, not great and not a fantastic test of golf. Better location than Lytham but nowhere near as strong a golf course.

Each to there own. Thread was about Royal Liverpool, others introduced other venues, I just compared them to the course in the title. Nothing personal. Just calling it as I see it.

never played it what are the showers like?

 

[Jacko_G]

I’m only toying with you.
I liked the course but think The trio in the south west (saunton, burnham and St Enodoc) are better

Never played any of them. Might be worth exploring them at some point if you rate them that highly.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Wouldn't expect an Open venue to have anything less than brilliant greens. Hardly anything to get excited about at a venue that is held in high enough regard to get an Open.

I guess it’s all depends on what you see as exciting - when I play Sandwich it has dramatic sand dunes which Hoylake doesn’t have but it’s still a course that I was excited to play and will go back againb

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I’m only toying with you.
I liked the course but think The trio in the south west (saunton, burnham and St Enodoc) are better

I think a mixture of the East and West at Saunton would be a great course , Burnham around the turn and early back 9 just has a few meh holes - not played St Enodoc yet