by Joe Daniels

Or as they call it across the pond “The Open Championship”. This is one of the oldest championships that exists in sports today. This year they celebrated the 150th playing of the event at of all courses, the Old course in St. Andrews. Obviously, being there was a very special time and I cannot write enough to explain how awesome this experience was. But I will try.

While making plans to go with my son Jaren, I had to decide on the mode of travel, place to stay and things for my wife Janick to do while we were at the tournament. Well, first of all, anyone planning on going to a British Open event needs to know that you cannot plan far enough ahead. I made reservations in April for July and we ended staying in Edinburgh, Scotland. This seemed like a long way from the golf course (it showed it to be an hour) but it turns out, it was a great place to camp while attending the Open.

We arrived on Wednesday night after a 12 hour journey from LAX through Paris to Scotland. After checking into our hotel “The Chester Residence” we quickly went to bed to catch up on sleep. In the morning, we were able to scout the city and transportation. The train station was 10 minutes by cab and the train took you to a stop just outside of St. Andrews. Then a bus ride into the course and you were dropped off right outside the 15th hole. This main entrance was perfect for accessing the entire course.

So off we went, an hours ride on the train, 10 minutes on the bus and golf all day. We did this for 3 days and caught the early trains up and the late train back each day. An average of 10 hours on the course each day was not enough! The course has no shortage of viewing spots for golf. We quickly learned a few things. If you watched the event on TV, you knew that it rained at times. Well, we planned ahead and had our rain pants and rain jackets on each day. That was the most important aspect of the trip. It rained each day for some period and the wind blew each day as well. Without the rain gear, we would not have survived. Some of you know this, but the main lesson learned, when you plan on traveling to Scotland, make sure you bring the rain gear. And don’t buy the cheap stuff! You will need Rain pants, not wind pants. At any rate, the course was fantastic. What you don’t see on Television is the large greens that dot the course. Many of the greens are over 100 yards wide because they are shared by two holes. The outward hole #3 would be shared with the inward hole #15. Each of the shared green combinations adds up to 18. So while you are playing #8, the guys on putting on #10 just off to the right. Needless to say, this creates some interesting golf. Holes #7 through #11 can all be viewed from a couple of locations (see map insert). This is where we spent most of our time as well as on #17 (the Road Hole) and #18. By sitting on #11 tee box in the stands you can view golf on all of these holes. If they had waiters serving food, it would have been heaven. Oh yeah, and the bathrooms were a bit too far away. But that was ok.

The main thing you take away from St. Andrews is the history. This is unmatched in golf. From Old Tom Morris to Bobby Jones, and even Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer you have great stories of golf and tradition. Tiger showed up but couldn’t putt, a theme to be repeated numerous times the remainder of the year. Nick Faldo played and you could see he was over matched in an attempt to capture another Open title. We saw Rory McIlroy play his heart out a few rounds and you can see why this kid is going to be great some day. But over the four days, it what Mr. Louis Oosthuizen from South Africa was the better golfer. He played the event of his life striking the ball effortlessly and putting like he grew up on the greens. You could see in his game on Saturday, that each shot was easy. He never looked pressed nor did he “miss” a shot it seems. When the dust had settled, he was along at the top. Standing amidst the crowd on the 18th green is an experience that I will never forget. I could tell by my son’s reaction to the crowd and players that he would never forget it as well. These are the true fans of golf as it should be played. It was something that I had never seen before, even the Masters has a different feel. Maybe it was the way Old Tom Morris imagined it to be when he laid out the Old Course? Maybe it was the way Bobby Jones felt after he picked up in 1921 and withdrew claiming he didn’t like the course. Then later returned to forge a fabulous history with St. Andrews and the people who live there. Whatever the reason, you cannot help but feel it as you stroll the fairways.

I look forward to returning to St. Andrews to play and even watch another Open Championship there in the years to come. My goal is to get there next year and feel the greens and wind while trying to keep the ball out of the gorse and tall grass. Walking off the first tee and hitting over the bern to the green and making par will be step one on the journey of a lifetime. We (Jaren an I) took out first step in July this year. Next step, Whistling Straits and the PGA, stay tuned for the final Major of the year. It should be a good one.