The 2011 golfing calendar
By
Martin Dempster
The final pieces have been fitted into the jigsaw
and, once again, Scottish golf fans can start marking their
calendars to make sure they don't miss out on another stellar
line-up of events in the 'Home of Golf' in 2011.
Ending months of speculation, the most glaring
gap on that fixture list has now been filled following the
announcement that the Barclays Scottish Open is moving to a new
home at Castle Stuart, near Inverness.
No longer will some of the world's leading
players be taking the high road nor low road to Loch Lomond, home
of a European Tour event since 1996 and, for the last decade, our
national Open. Most will remember that stint with fond memories,
the course designed by former Open champion Tom Weiskopf in tandem
with Jay Morrish proving a fabulous venue for one of the European
Tour's flagship events.
Sure, we all got the odd soaking on the bonnie
banks and those midgies can be a real pain. But, for the vast
majority of those 15 years, it was a pleasure for players and fans
alike to spend a few days at such an idyllic venue.
Only time will tell what the future holds for
Loch Lomond, now under the control of a members' group following a
buyout, but as one door closed it has opened wide for a new kid on
the block when it comes to Scotland's championship courses. Castle
Stuart only opened in the summer of 2009 but it hasn't taken long
for people to come to the conclusion that something special has
been created by the two co-designers, Mark Parsinen and Gil Hanse,
on the banks of the Moray Firth.
I had the pleasure of playing the course for the
first time before it actually came on stream, so to speak, and I
was hooked right away, loving the design of the holes and also the
clever routing implemented by the designers. It's a course that is
very playable, the holes on the top tier having lots of room from
the tee. But it will still prove a great test for some of the
world's top players on July 7-10, with Phil Mickleson, Graeme
McDowell and Padraig Harrington among those who have already
confirmed their places in the field.
A managing partner at Castle Stuart and an
enthusiast when it comes to golf courses if there ever was one,
Parsinen can't wait for that week to come around and it is
refreshing to hear that he doesn't want players heading for the
Open Championship at Royal St George's the following week feeling
"beaten up".
One of the reasons the Barclays Scottish Open is
being taken to Castle Stuart after a lengthy run on an inland
course is to give players some links preparation for the world's
oldest major and they should certainly be eased in rather than
having their confidence shattered by a test that is too severe. It
promises to be a fascinating week in the Highlands and no wonder
there is so much excitement in that part of the country, where the
likes of Nairn, Royal Dornoch, Macdonald Spey Valley and Boat of
Garten to name just a few can surely expect some extra traffic this
summer on the back of this.
So, too, surely can the area known as 'Carnoustie
Country' when it hosts an equally exciting event three weeks later
(July 28-31) in the shape of the Ricoh Women's British Open. The
big guns in women's golf will all be there, as was the case when
the Old Course at St Andrews staged the same event in 2007, when
Lorena Ochoa emerged as a worthy winner in what was a historic
occasion.
Now the new group of women's world stars are
getting the chance to play the famed Carnoustie Championship course
for the first time, extending a unique run after the venue also
staged the Open Championship (2007) and the Senior Open
Championship (2010).
Europe's top women will also be in action at
Archerfield Links on August 18-20, when the Aberdeen Ladies'
Scottish Open returns to the superb East Lothian venue for the
second year running, the players having been full of praises for
the course and facilities when Frenchwoman Virginie
Lagoutte-Clement came from out of the pack to lift the title last
summer.
For two of those three days, the Cleveland
Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open will also be taking place at
Fairmont St Andrews, where Englishman Barry Lane will be defending
the title that saw him get his over-50s career off to a flying
start over the re-designed Torrance Course in 2010.
There's no doubting the fact that such a clash is
unfortunate, but in fairness to Tour officials, it can be often be
difficult to avoid such clashes due to crowded schedules and each
of these events can still be confident about attracting decent
crowds in East Lothian and Fife.
The week after that double-header sees the
Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, where there may not be
the potential excitement of a race for Ryder Cup spots concluding
this time around but, as the 2014 match on the Pertshire course
edges ever closer, more of the leading European players should
surely be starting to think seriously about adding that to their
schedules.
Talking of the Ryder Cup, Gleneagles will be the
first match on this side of the Atlantic to bear an impressive new
logo after it was unified by the Ryder Cup Europe and the PGA of
America. That move may not mean an awful lot to the general golfing
public but it has given those involved in delivering the event a
renewed focus and that logo is sure to become a lot more prominent
over the next three-and-a-half years.
Getting back to 2011 and that mouth-watering
line-up of golfing treats, the season comes to a conclusion, as it
has for a good number of years now, on the Fife and Angus coast,
where St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns stage the ever-popular
Dunhill Links Championship on September 29-October 2.
And, if you want to get a small taste of what the
Ryder Cup is going to be like in 2014, then get yourself along to
Royal Aberdeen on the weekend of September 10-11 for the Walker Cup
as it returns to the 'Home of Golf' for the first time since the
biennial clash between Great Britain & Ireland and the United
States was held at Nairn in 1999.
That was my first experience of the match and,
having also been at Ganton four years later then Royal County Down
another four years after that, I can testify that the Walker Cup is
indeed an event well worth attending when a chance like this
arises.
It all adds up to another year to savour for
Scottish golf fans, so make sure you get those dates circled
straight away.
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