CADDIE'S ROLE:What a contrast between the old and the new on our golfing calendar
HAVING MISSED the historic Irish Open, which one player who decided to give it a miss described as the Glory Walk, I was keen to hear the feedback from players and caddies who had participated at Portrush.
There was an overwhelming response from a seasoned group of tour veterans who unanimously raved about the event when I talked to them in Paris last week.
Despite fears of a lack of accommodation and restaurants at the Co Antrim venue, following the inconvenience of having to endure two rounds of British Open qualifying at Sunningdale and its lack of immediate proximity to an airport, the usual chatter of speculation preceded the event.
You could argue that the Irish Open was a week for the real golf enthusiasts. From the forged tradition of Sunningdale with its sandy, peaty soil and its old-fashioned clubhouse with rolls of honour preceded by Sir and Brigadier, you were under no illusions about just where you were; the cradle of old-fashioned golfing.
To follow a balmy day in Sunningdale with a blustery and wet week on the Antrim coast may have been daunting. The Tour was stopping in another bastion of old-golf world in the links-land of Portrush which was in stark contrast to tournaments staged in newer complexes trying to make a name for themselves on the European Tour. What struck me by my colleagues’ response was that they are all true golf lovers. I suppose the dearth of traditional golf in the modern game has made us all more appreciative of what many would call real golf, where the terrain opens your imagination and fuels your creative golfing brain.
With a lack of length, in today’s super-powered golf game of 330-yard drives on firm fairways, the Dunluce course was relatively short. The consensus was that the back-to-back par fives half-way around could well become par fours and instantly bring the scores back to a more respectable level for a championship links.
The fact that the greens were as soft as they were, was very much nature’s contribution – we are all aware of how wet it has been on this island in June. Despite the rain the rough was not particularly penal. The only way to combat a professional golfer is with firm greens. As soon as they can spin the ball back, and effectively play darts to the pins, the course becomes at least two shots easier a round.
The British Open was very much on their minds as players and caddies assessed the quality of the course. I am not sure how aware many of the Europeans were of the political significance of the first Irish Open being held in Northern Ireland since 1953. But they were mindful that the week may have been a trial run for a future British Open, which was last played in Portrush in 1951. They all spread their suggestions for how Portrush could work on a few things to guarantee the R and A’s renewed Open venue consideration.
My Irish colleagues of course were more aware of the quality of the Dunluce course and their comments were more focused on the success of the first major sporting event held up North for over half a century. It would be fair to say that everyone I talked to thoroughly enjoyed the week despite the usual unpredictable Irish summer weather.
How juxtaposed it was in Paris last week at the Albatross course at the French National situated west of the nation’s capital in Guyancourt. Like so many European cities there is a stark contrast between the historical old parts of sophisticated cities and the modern suburbs. Nowhere represents this more than the location of the French National. Most of us stay in the regal town of Versailles with the overwhelming Palace evident at the top of each avenue you peer along. A 20-minute trip to the perfunctory French National complex with its underwhelming hotel exaggerates the splendour of architecture from previous centuries and that of the modern era.
The French National, which of course was chosen as the Ryder Cup venue for 2018, is a wonderful golf course. It was designed by Hubert Chesneau and Robert Von Hagge, two somewhat understated course architects who first paved their creative paths across what was an old rubbish dump in 1987. The National was opened in 1990 by Greg Norman. Despite France possessing some historic and elegant old world golf courses such as La Boulie and Chantilly which were in the elite company and of equal standard to Sunningdale, those sculptures of golf from another era have become obsolete to the modern professional game.
Naturally the old world elegance remains with the likes of St Germain-en-laye and St Nom La Breteche but the National represents nouveau golf in France. That is not to say less is more at the French National. The Albatross course itself has got every facet required to host a global event; a serious and good golf course, excellent spectator capacity and natural vantage points and a spectacular panoramic finish in its last four holes. They never fail to cause drama at the annual denouement to the French Open.
The problem is the hollow new nature of the modern age of French golf. Despite huge efforts to embellish the golf complex with innate French style (did anyone spot the tricolour guarding the final green made up of towering blue, white and red tees?), the place is lacking the traditional je ne sais quoi of the French.
There has also been some meddling to the very carefully designed course with the current set-up. Habitual thick and mind-numbing rough took away from the intricacies of Chesneau and Von Hagge’s sharp architectural minds. I suppose the Ryder Cup is now on the organisers minds so the tinkering has commenced in preparation.
The French National is a legacy to be inherited by future generations much like Sunningdale and Portrush have been left for us to enjoy over a 100 years since their creation. If handled with care it will be a special piece of golf culture despite its current nouveau image.
