Caddie's Role:  It's the end of an era of Britishness. The end of a custom as traditional as Pimms at the Henley Regatta and strawberries and cream at Wimbledon. The British Open Championship qualifier still exists but not as we have come to know and love it.

Until three years ago the qualification for the Open was held on the Sunday and Monday before the championship itself. It was held on four courses in the environs of the main venue. There were regional qualifiers to gain entrance to the final qualifier. It was a unique event within an event.

With modern tournaments, access and control are paramount. The public are kept at a "safe" distance from the stars. In the Open qualifiers there was no security, no ropes to herd the spectators. It was assumed the type of people who come to watch a qualifier knew the etiquette of the game; they needed no guidelines. You could watch, free of charge, your local pro possibly compete against a former major champion for a slot in the main event.

On Sunday last 384 aspirants battled for 14 places at Troon. There used to be four times that many places to play for a couple of days before the championship proper. The problem this year is that the quality of the qualifiers is, without any disrespect, not up to that of other years.

In an attempt to get the best players in the world into the Open and in recognition of the global nature of sport, the R&A have started a much-talked-about worldwide qualifying system. This seems to be changing every year in a genuine attempt to come up with a good and fair system.

The main problem in a game with ample opportunities for tour-card holders worldwide is that the effort of trying to gain a spot in a major event played on another continent is quite frankly (to those with no sense of history) not worth the effort. In a qualifier designed to get more of the top American pros into the Open, played a couple of weeks back in the States, not much more than half of the available places were taken up. A compliment to the US Tour or proof of the complacency of the spoilt American Tour player in the context of the oldest major in history? Either way the competition for the coveted claret jug may not be attracting the best field possible.

Instead of watching Ian Woosnam or Jose Maria Olazabal up close on a neighbouring qualifying course as they attempt to gain access to the biggest golf show on earth with its massive infrastructure looming large on the Troon horizon (whispering tantalisingly on the summer breeze, "See what you could have won"), you now may get to watch the likes of James Conteh, the son of former world boxing champion John and an accomplished golfer but not up to the standard aficionados have grown accustomed to watching in the run-up to the Open.

It may well be the end of an era but it does not detract from an event that will have the best players in the world competing under the most intense conditions the sport can offer. There is no doubt about the quality at the top; the only disappointment is the field is not maybe as deep as it should be.

Despite its over-priced and under-flavoured sandwiches, its virtually non-existent facilities for us porters, its inconvenient car-parking, its grossly over-priced rooms and board, its shortage of dining opportunities, the British Open still is arguably the best of the four majors.

As a spectator, if you decide the BBC's excellent television coverage is not enough, you can jump on a train or plane and head for the Ayrshire coast to watch the event live. I don't know of anyone who has been refused entry to the Open. You can pay at the gate and watch the best players in the world play under the most competitive conditions.

This is unique to the British Open. All tickets for the other three majors are pre-sold and you would have to pay a premium to a tout to gain access if you just pitched up at the course without a ticket. But at Troon public access is guaranteed - £40 a day to watch the best players in the world sounds like good value to me.

Long may the quirky traditions of the oldest major in golf continue. The toffs in totally inappropriate dress that congregate in the Bollinger pavilion annually to observe very much from the periphery a game that undoubtedly has moved to an era they would prefer to ignore; the more earthy greenkeepers who arrive from far and wide to prepare the course and act as bunker rakers for us appreciative caddies; the members of distant golf clubs that wear their navy blazers and grey flannels come rain or shine and act as marshals to direct the huge galleries - all idiosyncratically play their traditional roles at the championship.

Many hardened Open-goers will be bitterly disappointed at the depletion of a rich tradition of qualifying that has robbed them of the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of their golfing idols.

The game, due to its global success, has moved on and the R&A, under the progressive direction of Peter Dawson as secretary, have recognised this. They are searching for an inclusive and fairer way to get the best field at arguably the greatest major. Indeed, considering all the relevant factors, it is a wonder the qualifying tradition lasted as long as it did.

At least the admirable tradition of impeccable behaviour from the Open crowds will surely continue. I consider it highly unlikely the knowledgeable and historically minded Open spectators would ever resort to the heckling some of their counterparts Stateside have adopted of late.

Let us hope the Bolly and Pimms pavilions in the tented village don't give way to some trendy theme bar in an effort by the R&A to embrace modernity. Long may the tradition continue.