... under Old Tom Morris in 1850s and Courses by Country.
Great courses produce great winners is an important maxim to me; if it isn’t true, then what are we all talking about here?!
Happily, it holds true. Take Harvie Ward’s British Amateur at Prestwick in 1952. He won it, with style and ease. Prestwick once again identified the best player. I say that with pride because I have lived in Southern Pines now for fourteen years. I only met him once early on through Jim Lewis before he passed in 2004 but you can’t live here without being reveled by Harvie’s exploits. Many think he was the greatest player in the world – amateur or professional - for a certain period during the 1950s. Good on Prestwick for substantiating that!
Of all the host courses of the Open Championship, St. Andrews, Prestwick and Royal St. George’s are the quirkiest. Yet, they crown stellar winners. For example, the Champion Golfer of the Year of the twenty-five Opens played at Prestwick up until 1925 comprise a who’s who! I find that very interesting. These three courses have the occasional blind tee balls and approach shots, ‘unreceptive’ greens that fall from front to back, and wicked bunkers that have become household names. At various times during their evolution, they had the benefit of having controversial aspects. I write that because controversy can test character, which is a good thing.
Look at this week’s Open venue. Everything is frank and honest, if not straightforward. The landforms are more conventional and so are the holes with perhaps nothing that stirs the soul quite like the Alps, Narrows, Sea Headrig, Himalayas or Bridge. The two clubs share kummel, great lunches and are both steeped in tradition but the golf courses could not be more different. With rare exception at Muirfield, you play between rows of hay. Meanwhile, at the home of the Open, you have a wall at the first, then a burn, later the Elysian Fields before playing south down the coastline, and finally entering a four hole finishing loop over landscape reminiscent of the moon! Bottom line: Some prefer Muirfield for its clear optics and others Prestwick for its variety. Vive la différence – how lucky are golfers to have both!
Imagine following in Old Tom Morris’s footsteps. Today’s Green Keeper is Murray Stewart and he has Prestwick pitch perfect.
Look at the texture. Canadian golf architect Rod Whitman battles along Goosedubs.
A band of rough frequently separates bunkers from fairways at other courses; not at Prestwick. The fairway contours and short grass work in unison to shunt tee balls into this pair of fairway bunkers along the left of eight. Find the sand and reaching the green some 180 yards away becomes impossible. How the golfer handles the occasional ‘unlucky’ bounces might well define the round.
Both Muirfield and Prestwick represent great golf, especially when their fescue fairways are tight and tan. At this stratosphere, I personally look for holes of a singular merit and ones that have influenced golf course architecture. Ever since 1985, I have taken various swipes at my own version of Pat Ward-Thomas world eclectic eighteen. Muirfield has always had two contenders (13 and 17) but Prestwick had more (1,3,13,15 and 17). In fact its 13th and 17th holes (both Old Tom Morris holes FYI) trumped the two corresponding holes at Muirfield. I never completed my PWT list for one reason: I wanted to stick to one hole from one course. That’s fine 99.99% of the time but not for Prestwick. I was committed to the 13th for sure ... and the 15th ... and the 17th! I never got past that roadblock. Oh well, at least I tried.
My point in sharing that yawner of a story is to emphasize that Prestwick to this day possesses holes of alarming merit. In fact, the holes might be too good. Modern architects would be lynched if they built a green like Sea Headrig or a blind green complex as severe as the Alps. Best case, they borrow design tenets from here but all copies come up short of the real thing. If you want to see something special and out of the ordinary, a pilgrimage to a place like Prestwick becomes essential. Few courses reek of originality; Prestwick is an exception, and therefore it possesses a vitality that is nearly unmatched in world golf.
Obviously, Prestwick is an exceedingly fond place to the Morris family and I would like to thank Old Tom Morris’s great, great grandson Melvyn Morrow for his perspective and wealth of information – he helped me put a lot of things in proper perspective. Also, thanks to Ben Cowan-Dewar for many of his photos that highlight Prestwick’s golfing beauty.
Ben and I post this course profile today in celebration of the 142nd edition of our favorite professional event, the Open Championship. We have posted a lot of material this week and I apologize for the frequent use of superlatives. In the case of introducing this profile, it is unavoidable. As you watch the Open, remember that it started here 153 years ago. Talk about history!
Then and now, Prestwick joins St. Andrews in setting the standard for links golf.
Best,