By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
at Royal Aberdeen
Ahead of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, europeantour.com explores the historic Royal Aberdeen Golf Club with the help of local boy Richie Ramsay…
Founded in 1780, Royal Aberdeen is the sixth oldest golf club in the world, bested only by the likes of St Andrews (1754) and Muirfield (1744), and seeing as the earliest mention of a golf hole – in 1625 – was on the Links of Aberdeen, it is not unreasonable to conceive that the old game might well have actually begun in The Granite City.
Fast-forward to 2014, and coming in at just 6,867 yards, ‘Balgownie’ is still widely regarded as one of the best tests of links golf anywhere in the world – despite being relatively short by today’s modern standards.
Running out along the North Sea coastline and then back in again, the outward nine weaves its way through the natural dune formations while, after turning for home, the back nine returns over a flatter piece of land. With the usual protection of an often-strong wind, tight fairways, thick rough and well-protected greens, Balgownie has it all.
This week hosting its first European Tour event, Royal Aberdeen has, however, seen high level tournament golf in the shape of the Scottish Seniors Open (1993-95), the Senior Open Championship (2005) and most recently, the 2011 Walker Cup.
Having forged the foundations for his game on these famous links, two-time European Tour winner Ramsay is well-placed to comment on the brilliant challenge which Balgownie provides.
“I caddied here for many years growing up and I learned the majority of my golf on this course,” says Ramsay, who is struggling with a neck injury in the build-up to his home Open.
“It’s somewhere that’s great to come back to because I have a lot of good friends here, a lot of people that I trust and a lot of people that genuinely have helped me since I started my career and I wouldn’t be in the position I am without them.”
Overview
“I would say the setup is probably one of the best I've ever seen them on the Tour,” says Ramsay. “It's going to be extremely tough but it's going to be fair. And the toughness will really fall off the tee. You will see a lot of guys this week who will miss off the tee and who will go for shots at the greens and it'll snag and it'll pull it left, so that's where you really get into trouble.
“It will be the guy who has the all‑around game who wins and that's why it's a great golf course. It's not holing putts. It's not hitting shots close. It's not chipping. It's not mental strength. It's the full package.”
Wind
As with all great links layouts, the natural challenges of the course are as much a factor as the man-made aspects, as Ramsay attests.
“It's difficult to put a number what people will shoot around here,” Ramsay continues, “but I know that someone said to me this morning the wind's going to come out of the northwest, which is the worst possible wind for that course, because the front nine is going to play long – you're going to be hitting all the trouble coming out – and then you're going to be struggling to hold the fairways on the way back because it's off to the right.
“The scores could be good if it's calm, but it's going to play really tough for them, I think.”
Rough
“I think the rough is a little worse than it usually is because you've had that sunshine and then you get those squalls. So you get the rain and then the sun comes out and which produces some real thick parts at the bottom of the rough, whereas it's normally not as thick as that.
“I’m sure, though, if you ask a regular member they'll probably tell you the greens were twice as fast last week and the rough was twice as high and the wind was blowing 45 miles an hour.”
Perfect Preparation
It might well just be coincidence, but all four of the last Open Champions have played in the Scottish Open the week prior to the age-old tournament and Ramsay says this week’s course should provide the perfect preparation.
Ramsay says: “I think Rory said the other day if you play here and you play well then you clearly have the whole package – and that's what you need to win The Open as well. That is why we have a field like we do this week.
“There’s only one tournament that's bigger than this tournament on The European Tour, and this course is as close as you'll get to an Open course - bar 150, 200 yards that you maybe could add to it.”
Key Holes
The Eighth – 147-yard par three
“Short par three surrounded by bunkers with a long, narrow green. It’s the kind of hole that people look at it and think it’s only 147 yards and a good chance of birdie, but I think that is where you might have the greatest degree of change in the scores.
“If you hit a good shot in there, yes, you can make a two but jeeze, you can also walk off that green with a high number out of nowhere because of the way the green funnels into the bunkers. You can end up having to chip out any direction.”
The 18th – 440-yard par four
“The way the wind direction is it’s normally into off the left and it’s a long hole and the last hole of a long round. There is plenty of trouble off the tee; you really need to make a decisive tee shot.
“If you don’t do that, there isn’t many places to lay-up because it’s quite narrow in that area so you have a couple of treacherous options: One, do you chip it out or two, do you have a go at the green and risk further disaster.”
