From Todays Scotsman :
Loch Lomond aims to develop feel of a links course
MIKE AITKEN
WHILE an increased prize fund of £2.4 million - the winner will take home a cheque for £400,000 - and a field expected to include three of the world’s top five in Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson are sure to enhance the latest staging of the Barclays Scottish Open from 7-10 July, organisers have also revealed long-term plans to turn Loch Lomond into more of a links-style course befitting the home of Scotland’s national championship.
Even Loch Lomond’s most ardent admirers would have to concede the texture of the course built on soggy ground is more like warm butter than frozen yoghurt. However, after years of sanding the fairways, work started last November on a new drainage system costing £750,000 which it’s hoped will switch the emphasis at Tom Weiskopf’s masterpiece from an American-style target golf course to a firmer and faster layout in the tradition of the Scottish linksland.
Ken Siems, the course superintendent at Loch Lomond, said yesterday: "Our biggest issue here is drainage and this year we’ve put in around 12,000 metres of drains, which are part of a 100,000 metres programme we’re looking to install over the next three years.
"We’re also still carrying out sanding work and eventually hope that Loch Lomond will almost play like a links. The only way we can do that here is with sand and drainage.
"If you don’t have excellent drainage then Mother Nature controls what you can do. Our aim is to control Mother Nature. In my opinion, most top parkland golf courses around the world now want firm and fast fairways. Here, we have to work harder to achieve that. Our goal is to have Loch Lomond play more like Dundonald. We believe it’s achievable, but will take time and a lot of money."
The latest programme of improvements at Loch Lomond are intriguing because there has been much speculation in recent years about switching the tournament in the week before the Open to the links owned by the club at Dundonald. However, if Loch Lomond itself plays more like a links would there be the same debate over switching venues?
The contract with Barclays Capital to sponsor the Scottish Open has another year to run after this summer and if a change in site is going to be considered, it won’t happen until 2007 at the earliest.
In the meantime, Keith Williams, the chief executive of Loch Lomond, has revealed that talks with the sponsors to discover if they wish to continue as backers of the championship will start this year.
"We hope to have discussions soon with Barclays about the future of the event," said Williams. "What we want to avoid is getting to next year’s event and finding we don’t have any time to deal with this important issue. Our understanding is that Barclays are also keen to start negotiations."
More immediately, as far as Loch Lomond is concerned, the world’s best players will notice a change at the par-3 eighth hole, where the green has been softened and extended to increase the number of pin positions. The key improvement in 2005, though, is on the 18th. A new championship tee has been built on this demanding closing hole which increases the length from 525 yards to 555. Perhaps more significant than added distance is a change in the angle of the tee, which means the player will now line up more towards the water.
As for the prize fund, there’s another £200,000 in the pot compared to last year and the winner’s reward rises by £33,340. Given the favourable dollar exchange rate, the Scottish Open is now approaching the $5 million mark on offer at the leading US Tour events.