The champion of Turnberry, Wendy Pullar, commences her final round. Not only did Wendy win yesterday, but she went back out on the course with a few of the guys for a second round in the afternoon, and played even better!
Prestwick is steeped in history. It was the original host venue for the Open Championship, in fact it hosted the first 11 opens. It is fairly short, but quite quirky and tricky. The par four 1st, pictured above, runs alongside the railway and narrows as the fairway progresses. It is a five iron from the tee.
A view to the par three 2nd hole.
Looking toward the 17th green from in front of the 2nd tee.
A view of the 2nd green from the 3rd tee.
Looking down the par five 3rd hole. It is a most interesting par five. I played it with 3iron, 6 iron and sand iron. It is a dogleg right with trouble everywhere.
This is a shot from the left of the first driving zone. The section you see here, in between the bunkers, is the second driving zone. The landing area is tiny, with a burn down the right, and the requirement to stop the ball in between the traps. Much easier to hit 3 iron back into the clearer part of the fairway. The second shot is blind, over the sleepered wall, and still needs to avoid the burn on the right. I love this hole, it is a great 3 shot par five.
Once you have negotiated the par five, there is a short par four, and then you face this, the blind par three 5th. Yes blind par three.
Michael Merrett preparing to fire his approach over the dune to the 5th green. (The red tees are for men here by the way, just in case you thought Michael was getting an advantage). The weather was poor, so there are no shots to show of the next few holes as it was raining. However, I did not use a driver here until the 7th hole.
Sharon Marks ready to launch one down the 10th hole. A par four for the men, par five for the women.
The par three 11th. The Open Championship, when played here at Prestwick, was played not for the claret jug, but for a champions belt. The rule was instigated that should anyone win three Opens in a row, then they could keep the belt. Nobody believed this could happen, however young Tommy Morris achieved this feat in 1870 resulting in a decision for the next trophy. This process was not fast, with the claret jug not being played for until 1872. Young Tommy won that for the first time as well.
The view down the par five 12th. The line was supposed to be at the church spire on the right, but I can tell you that it is not, not unless you want to play from the thick rough.
The par four 13th, which semi shares a fairway with the 16th.
Looking across to the 16th green from the 13th.
This is the short par four 14th, which heads back toward the clubhouse.
This section of the course is the original 12 holes designed by Old Tom Morris. It is short, tight, undulating, and very challenging. Here we look up the par four 15th. A blind driving area that tightens greatly at driving distance.
It then moves into this blind green approach.
This is the par four 16th. You need to have your wits about you here, as on the fairway you are in range from the drives coming off the 13th.
The view from the par four 17th. Again a very tight driving hole, that moves into a blind green approach.
This is what awaits over the rise. A seriously massive bunker in front of the green, and a green with a huge slope back to front.
The par four 18th. A very short hole, giving the opportunity for a strong finish. James Angus found this out today, driving the green and then holing the 10 foot eagle putt for a brilliant finish to his tour. Jeff Faure has always been a Prestwick fan, and that showed today with a stunning 45 points.
Part of our Prestwick experience was to have lunch in the formal member's dining room. Other Prestwick members and guests filled this table whilst we were there. The Prestwick member who sat next to Wendy Pullar told her that this was the first time that he had seen a female seated at the table, not even his wife has been in here!
Our final day champion, Alan Pritchard, pictured with what he believes should be his trophies after his 32 points today.
Members of the tour will now all depart for home, after what has been a wonderful 2 weeks of camaraderie, and new experiences.
A big thank you to Greg Gilson at Global Golf for his work in helping organise the tour for us.
Also to Ian Rodger, our coach driver for the tour. Ian was a magnificent driver, always smiling, always willing to help, and above all, a really good man. Thanks Ian.
I would also like to thank our participants:
Michael 'The Chairman' Merrett
Sharon 'Bo Peep' Marks
Jeff 'Mr Smooth' Faure
Nola 'Trump' Faure
Reg 'The Burglar' Hanson
Robyn 'The Analyst' Hanson
Alan 'Lefty' Pritchard
Karen 'Snickers' Pritchard
James 'The Bull' Angus
'Lady' Helen Angus
John 'The Scud' Hay
Kim 'Chanel' Hay
Wendy 'AC/DC' Pullar
Jim 'The Mechanic' Mitchell
Patrick 'Burnie, The Conservationist, or The Irishman' Carlisle.
Thank you all for allowing me to wander along with you for the past few weeks, it has been amazing.
'Scoobie' signing off.
