2015 Open Championship: Prepare yourself with some of these great reads from around the internet

Need some more reading material for your Open Championship preparation? Check out these great articles from around the world wide web.

Unfortunately, golf doesn’t feature in newspapers as much as it used to but it doesn’t mean there is any less to read. In fact I’d argue there more quality golf writing at your fingertips than ever before – you just have to know where to find it.

In the build up to any major golf championship, there is some wonderful stuff to read on the internet. And with an Open Championship looming large at St Andrews this week, there are a few superb articles you simply must read. Here are our picks.

The PGA of Australia have a great walk-through of each hole of the Old Course, as written by “resident Scotsman and Rules Official, Graeme “Scotty” Scott”. The strategy of each hole is described and intertwined with some of the fascinating course history. On the 15th hole:

As a point of interest, in 1885 the Sutherland bunker, which stands guardian over the fairway, was filled in by the Committee of the time. The golfers of the town were, to say the least, not happy with this tinkering with their heritage. As the sun rose on the third day Sutherland bunker was found to have been miraculously restored. Suffice to say, it was not refilled.

Mike Clayton’s thoughts on golf course design are always worth listening to and his piece at Golf Australia on the ‘fairness’ of golf courses is a must read.

The most important lesson of the Old Course is surely the game isn’t fair and it’s why it is not only the most important course in the game but arguably its best. And, if it’s not the best it’s at least in the final.

Golf Australia Magazine’s Brendan James features a unique walk-through of the Old Course highlighting some of the great moments in Open Championship history on each hole and don’t miss Geoff Ogilvy’s article on his love of St Andrews.

But the biggest impression I had was how far away from the town you could get while playing the Old Course. It’s so cool looking up to see the buildings getting bigger after every hole on the back nine. I was sad when we got to the 16th green knowing the round was almost over.

Here is one from the United States and a similar article I’ve considered writing for some time. Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan has writting a piece titled – “Americans: It’s okay to call this major “The British Open,” and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise“. While I don’t quite agree with it all, it’s a fun, sacrilegious read and Ryan clearly isn’t as afraid of offending The Scots as I am. I’ve seen Braveheart.

Can you imagine the chaos if we did call it “The Open”?

American 1: Will you come with me to The Open this year?
American 2: Sure. Which one?
(American 1 is too busy texting to pay attention, and forgets to reply.)
(American 2 wrongly assumes he means the U.S. Open, flies to Chambers Bay in June and dies by falling in one of the potholes on the greens.)

And lastly if you’re looking for a sound preview and prediction for how each of the 15 Australians will fair this week, look no further than Bruce Young’s comments. Bruce knows his golf -he reviews each of the Aussies in the field over at iseekgolf.com, and chats more about The Open to Rod Morri in GolfLink’s Open Championship video preview.