Turnberry 2012

I have never really been a fan of Links golf. That may be something to do with the fact that I have never really played much Links golf!
If you offered me the choice of playing a course lined by Pine trees or a Links course the Pine trees would get the nod every time.
I recently got invited to play Turnberry, in Scotland, for the Srixon & Cleveland Pro-Am invitational. Would this be opportunity that might make me change my mind about links golf?

It was to be a 2 day event played on the Kintyre and Ailsa courses at Turnberry.

On day 1 we played the Kintyre course. Most of the fairways are lined with gorse bushes and as some of the other guys noted “they may as well have been Out of Bounds markers!”. It was very tough off the tee and the fact that we played the front 9 in sideways rain and then got onto the back 9 when the rain stopped but the wind got up was……..educational!

It certainly made me appreciate the potential importance of getting a good tee time. We had to tee off at 8am and got battered by the weather but the guys teeing off nearer 12:00 would have had a much dryer and more pleasant round.

The starter was Andrew Murray (european tour, seniors tour and BBC sport commentator). He is an ambassador for Srixon/Cleveland and also Turnberry. It is the first time I have ever walked off a first tee, wind blowing, rain lashing down and the starter shouting “Dig in deep!”

In the evening Andrew gave quite a passionate speech about Turnberry and how he thought it was golfing heaven. He made a statement that “from holes 4 to 12 on the Ailsa you would struggle to find a better stretch of golf on the planet”. Bearing in mind how travelled a golfer Andrew Murray is, that was a hell of a statement!

So was he right?

I think he probably was! That stretch of holes is fantastic to play and look at. On a great day it is truly spectacular, although if you catch the weather on an off day you will probably not think so.

Am I a convert to Links golf? Well I certainly want to play more Links courses because I do enjoy having to manufacture golf shots (years of unintentional practice!!).

Would I go back to play Turnberry? Yes, in a heartbeat.

Would I choose Turnberry or Pinehurst?……….the pine trees are still winning that one.

Thanks to Cleveland and Srixon for the invite. I’m already looking forward to 2013’s event.