Quite a few overseas golfers who have already qualified for the Open Championship take the chance to practise on links the week before the Open, but not in competition. This was how Tom Watson came to bring our attention to Ballybunion and Royal Dornoch. They want comparative peace, away from the media if possible. They will probably tolerate a few 'sporting' holes and the odd blind shot and probably don't care if the course is 6,300 or 7,500 yards as long as they get to adapt their game to links conditions.
Those natives and overseas players who have not already qualified will play in the Scottish Open wherever it is held simply as a last chance to qualify for next week's Open. But they wouldn't want quirk, sportiness, blindness or anything which might prejudice their outside chance of qualifying.
The rest of the field is there either to make money (hopefully), to gain Ryder Cup points, or because their sponsors require them to be there.
Not every professional golfer likely to participate in a Scottish Open has his own private jet. Those who sleep overnight in their camper van are not going to relish the road journey up to Dornoch or Castle Stewart if next week the Open is at Sandwich.
Assuming that potential spectators would make the journey north from the main centres of population, through the highlands to the likes of Dornoch, how is the hotel and road infrastructure for crowds of the size usually associated with the Scottish Open? How many spectators from the other UK countries and Europe in general attend at Loch Lomond because it is comparatively accessible from Glasgow, its airport and the motorway network?
It has been said that Southerness was originally intended to play at around 7,000 yards. Perhaps a few new tees could be inserted. But, please don't! That's such a gloriously remote place it would be a shame to spoil it.