Prestwick Golf Club - Too short for a British Open but challenging for the rest of us
Released on = May 3, 2007, 10:32 am
Press Release Author = GolfPublisher Syndications
Industry = Media
Press Release Summary = British Open home Prestwick Golf Club still challenging for the rest of us. Scotland course reviews at GolfEurope.com
Press Release Body = By Brandon Tucker, Staff Writer, Golf Publisher Syndications
PRESTWICK, Scotland (May 2, 2007) - Prestwick Golf Club is known as the \"Birthplace of the Open\". Now it\'s the place the Open outgrew.
The Ayrshire golf course hosted the first British Open in 1860 and the next 11 after that, but by 1925 the tournament had moved on to bigger, longer venues.
But if you think Prestwick is an obsolete pitch \'n\' putt, think again. You\'ll certainly revise your opinion by the time you finish the stretch from No. 7 to No. 10, a quartet of par 4s ranging from 430 to 455 yards from the middle tees that play uphill and often into wind.
Prestwick was a lot shorter for that first Open - only 12 holes, in fact. Willie Park shot rounds of 55, 59 and 60 to beat the course\'s designer Old Tom Morris, and 10 other competitors.
These days the golf course is a healthy 6,544 yards from the whites, longer than regular Open venue the Old Course at St. Andrews from its commonly used yellows.
Still, apart from that brutal stretch of mid-round par 4s, accuracy is paramount here, as gorse and rough is grown thick. Prestwick is Old Tom at his quirkiest.
First-timers will be left a little clueless at times, beginning with No. 1, where the landing zone is difficult to identify (members who greet guests at the first tee say a mid-iron is the only play). The fifth is a long par 3 that plays straight uphill; finding the green is sheer guesswork.
It\'s important that anyone who comes for the first time they take a caddie,\" club Secretary Ian Bunch said. \"The [fifth] hole is blind but the green doesn\'t move, so if you know which hill to hit over you\'ve got a chance of hitting it close. It\'s interesting, but it\'s a course you\'ve got to get to know.\"
The closing holes provide a few chances for redemption. No. 14 thru 16 are all short, but dunes and gorse off the fairway make them tricky. The 17th is a challenge, with the massive Sahara bunker hiding over the crest before the green.
The 284-yard par-4 18th offers a drive-and-pitch birdie opportunity as members hang around on the connected practice green eying your finish. The green is about three paces from the parking lot, so take care not to launch your drive into the windshield of a member\'s car.
For more details visit - : http://www.golfeurope.com/course-reviews/scotland/prestwick-golf-club-british-open-scotland-5235.htm
May 2, 2007 Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.
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