The golf course at Royal Birkdale currently resembles a forgotten patch of desert. We’re talking brown and yellow, hard as a brick. This isn’t your perfectly manicured country club lawn fantasy. This is links golf. Or what’s left of it after a summer that apparently forgot what rain is.
Getting to Birkdale is its own adventure. Narrow, winding roads. Lots of sideways farmland. It’s the kind of place the R&A likes to bring the Open back to, again and again. They claim it’s a "championship test." On days like Monday, it looked more like a test of endurance. Or maybe just finding a spot of shade.
Links golf, they say, inverts perception. What’s bad is good. Brown is the new green. After a scorching summer, it’s certainly brown. Pros probably see this desiccated landscape as a canvas for "creativity." Most of us just see a good reason to stay home and watch TV. But sure, "uncertainty" sounds more exciting.
Apparently, someone decided a "Last Chance Qualifier" on Monday was a good idea. Because the rest of the week is just packed with golf. High-level pros and amateurs duked it out for a final spot. Imagine, more golf. Who asked for this? The crowd seemed into it, though. They’re easily amused.
Joe Dean, a former truck driver, won the whole thing. Sounds about right. The R&A, meanwhile, is probably congratulating itself for adding "free tournament golf" to a quiet Monday. Never let it be said they don't know how to fill airtime without tipping the whole operation over. Just add more golf. Brilliant.
Then there's the driving range situation. It's a trek from the first tee, a classic links course problem. Land is scarce, practice areas are an afterthought. They’ve solved it this year by using the range at Hillside, a neighbor. So, the players get a slightly shorter walk after they’ve already walked a mile to get to the first tee. Progress.