British Open -- The king of all golf tournaments
| BOOK YOUR TRIP | |
|
By David Brice, Golf International, Inc.
Of all the professional golf tournaments that take place around the world each year, it's the four Majors that have the unfailing ability to appeal to just about everyone. From professional and amateur golfers of every ability, to a surprisingly large audience of enthusiastic onlookers, who have never touched a golf club in their lives, literally everyone becomes a golf enthusiast, even if it may only be for the few days of these big time events. The Masters, The U.S. Open and The PGA Championship, all have the magical, star quality that brings audiences flocking to see their favorite golf heroes in action. But it's the one Major that never touches American soil, The British Open that holds the greatest appeal of them all. Even among the other prestigious Majors, The Open Championship is the undisputed King.
By far the oldest of any golf tournament, The Open was first played in Scotland, back in 1860, making next year its 150th anniversary. Only once every 5 years, when The Open returns to St. Andrews, does the true magnificence of golf's event of the year, come shining through so brilliantly and so the 2010 Open celebrates its 150th birthday in true style at the very place where the game was born, over 600 years ago.
No other tournament has the history and tradition, the pageantry and undiluted drama of this champion of all championship events. This is the one tournament that everyone, golfer or not, owes it to themselves to witness personally, at least once in their lifetime. Watching the event on television may provide a small taste of what The Open is all about, but only those who are actually there in person and actually lives one of the world's greatest sporting events, will ever know just how special it is.
Scotland is a country close to the hearts of every golfer and 2010 presents the opportunity to not only live The Open experience during this important celebratory year, but also play a hand-picked selection of the most famous links courses on the globe and why not a few hidden gems as well? But Scotland is a lot more than only golf and any trip to this country, rich in history and culture that has played such an important role in Britain's colorful past, demands some time is spent discovering another side of golf's birthplace.
The combination of playing top ranked Scottish courses with the experience of attending The Open and taking in some well-planned sightseeing, may seem like the beginning of a rather complex set of arrangements, but it needn't be. Leave the arrangements to an experienced golf travel company, such as Golf International, which has been planning such trips for well over 20 years and you will have the perfect vacation where players and non-players are both catered to - and in high style.
An escorted motorcoach tour, means you need have no concerns about driving on the "wrong side" of the road, or getting lost along some wandering country road, or worse yet, trying to navigate the indecipherable, one way street systems of Scotland's towns and cities. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the scenery, knowing that you will arrive at each golf course in plenty of time for that valuable tee-time and for those not playing golf, your knowledgeable guide will make certain you enjoy all of the carefully planned sightseeing that shouldn't be missed.
One of the secrets that goes into making any Open tour successful, is selecting the right hotel and at Open time, when the number of people looking for hotel rooms, far exceeds the availability of conveniently located hotels, location is extremely important.
Nobody wants to spend an hour or two driving to and from the big event, often stuck in traffic jams, as everyone heads for St. Andrews at the same time, clogging the roads in similar fashion at the end of each day's play. A normal one-hour drive can quickly turn into a two-hour trauma and often even longer. But hotels located in and close to St. Andrews were snapped up literally years ago, not only by the players and their accompany entourages, but by the news media from around the globe and the tournament organizers. Also at the front of the line for hotel rooms were the few experienced tour operators, such as Golf International, who very well know how serious The Open Championship accommodation situation always is.
From first-class hotels literally sitting within a dozen yards of the 18th green of St. Andrews Old Course, to a five-star golf resort sitting just a couple of miles away, to one of Scotland's charming country house properties, overlooking a hidden gem of an historic links, only ten miles away, Golf International is offering a selection of accommodation choices to suit every budget.
The Open is unique in it's appeal to many who have never played the game themselves, yet still appreciate watching the real experts display their craft, often becoming some of the games most enthusiastic fans, so everyone gets to enjoy the thrilling, final two days of the 2010 Open together.
Watching accomplished professional golfers is one thing; suffering through the rigors of a struggling 28 handicapper, tackling an unforgiving Scottish links can be quite different. In the belief that non-golfers would prefer to use the golfers playing time to discover some of Scotland's wealth of history, her scenic countryside, intriguing old towns and villages and perhaps even a little shopping, Golf International provides a comprehensive program that does exactly that.
There was a time when golf was considered strictly as a game for the boys and golf trips were only for golfers. Fortunately, the world has changed a lot and with it many of the often misguided views about the Royal & Ancient game. Golf International has gone a long way toward proving that unlike oil and water, golfers and non-golfers do mix and mix very well. There may be no time to better prove it to yourself than on a 2010 British Open tour.
For more information on Golf International's selection of escorted tours to experience the 2010 British Open taking place in St. Andrews, click here.
©2009 David Brice / Golf International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Golf International -- Providers of quality golf travel arrangements since 1988.
Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
Play a TPC near you
Play one of the PGA TOUR's premier daily-fee or destination properties by clicking here
Take off to Scotland
A golf trip to Scotland in 2009 costs far less than in past years, but deals won't last forever. Story
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network