Watching the British Open - Sandwich

reflog rehtona

I'm going to the Thursday and the Sunday of the British Open this year. I've never been to watch any sort of golf tournament nevermind a major, but am very excited about it.
To anybody who has been at this event or similar events before what is the best way to watch it?
The plan at the moment is to firstly get there early both days! We plan to do a good bit of walking and following on the Thursday when there will be more golfers out and smaller crowds. On the Sunday having got there early we were thinking of trying to get as close to the 18th green as we can and stay there for the day (hopefully with a big screen somewhere to keep us updated on the goings on elsewhere!).
What does anybody who has been at similar events previously think of this approach to it? Any comments and/or suggestions would be very welcome.

nocal

The layout of a particular course will often dictate some natural and very good vantage points. It can be very enjoyable to begin following a group that you are quite interested in and then when you come across a prime spot stick there for a while - there might be place where you get to see what is going on across a few holes. Then when another group that you are very interested in come along you can follow them for a bit or if there is a player in a group making a move you could follow them.
At the 18th you might only see the players on that hole and be relying on scoreboards for following what is going on.
If you have binoculars then bring them - exceptionally useful as you can follow a bit of the action from further off or checking out the score on a distant scoreboard.
For the Sunday I would start following the latter groups and hit the 18th with the player who is most in contention - but then that would be my preference.

reflog rehtona

Thanks Nocal!

Would you not find it very difficult to follow somebody who is heavily in contention on the last day? That would obviously be a great way to do it but how likely is it you would actually see anything?

moycullen14

reflog rehtona wrote: »

I'm going to the Thursday and the Sunday of the British Open this year. I've never been to watch any sort of golf tournament nevermind a major, but am very excited about it.
To anybody who has been at this event or similar events before what is the best way to watch it?
The plan at the moment is to firstly get there early both days! We plan to do a good bit of walking and following on the Thursday when there will be more golfers out and smaller crowds. On the Sunday having got there early we were thinking of trying to get as close to the 18th green as we can and stay there for the day (hopefully with a big screen somewhere to keep us updated on the goings on elsewhere!).
What does anybody who has been at similar events previously think of this approach to it? Any comments and/or suggestions would be very welcome.

I was at the last Open in Sandwich in 2003 (Ben Curtis won after Thomas Bjorn cracked up on the last few holes). You will really enjoy it, it's great fun. You've picked the right two days as Thursday is great for watching golf & the excitement on Sunday is marvellous.

First off, get there as early as possible - it's a long day but there is lots to do and see. I think the R&A are organising trains from London to Sandwich station which is about a 15 min walk from the course - probably the best way to get there - car traffic can be a pig.

Second, it is a monster of a course - not just length but it is incredibly spread out - I think it's on about 300 acres - you'd fit two more 18 holes in there - so be prepared for a lot of walking - on the plus side, it swallows up the crowd 50,000 people and it doesn't seem packed at all.

It's a good idea to vary the day a bit - spend an hour or so following someone you're interested in and then stay at a particular hole for a while - and so on. Being a links, there are great vantage points for watching. I whiled away a great hour sitting in the grandstand at the back of the 16th - which looks easy from the green - then go back and stand on the tee - a very different proposition. The long hitters - Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson et al are great gas. You really can't appreciate how far these guys hit the ball unless you're standing beside them.

Being an Open the sense of history is palpable and all around. You can see where Bjorn had his double bogey on the 16th, where Tiger lost his ball on the first hole, Harry Bradshaw's Whiskey bottle (5th hole IIRC).

I'm mad jealous - I'd love to go again - Enjoy it!

Adiaga 2

Great post moycullen.

Enjoy the event OP. Would love to go to a British Open some time. I'd say this year should see a nice rock hard, scorched earth links like we haven't seen for a few years at the Open.

nocal

reflog rehtona wrote: »

Thanks Nocal!

Would you not find it very difficult to follow somebody who is heavily in contention on the last day? That would obviously be a great way to do it but how likely is it you would actually see anything?

You might not see it all but should be able to see plenty. Having been on the Thursday you will have an idea of where to go (e.g. what side of the fairway or green to go to). Some groups will have bigger crowds than others - if there is a brit in contention or if Tiger plays then the following crowd might be massive so there could be an opportunity to follow someone else.

im invisible

Burns: Use an open faced club, the sand wedge!
Homer: ...mmmm. Open-faced club sandwich.

reflog rehtona

Thanks for the replies, some good pointers. Can't wait!!