Time to walk the Open tightrope at Troon

Just ask the players. The Open Championship test is like no other because unlike the one-dimensional bomb-and-putt target golf they play for the rest of the year, links courses offer so much variety, and they demand so much more from a player’s arsenal, like the forgotten skills of imagination and shot creativity.

Where else does nature have such a profound impact on your prospects? Where else is the time of your draw so critical? Where else can you play an almost unreachable par four one day only to drive it the next? Where else must the players truly appreciate the bounce of a ball, the swirling wind or the fact that keeping the ball along the ground may be your best option?

From a player’s perspective, it is hard to process all of this information so quickly. It’s hard to trust yourself when there are no visible targets, like trees to line up off. It’s hard to judge the impact of a cross wind especially when you have to start a ball over unplayable gorse bushes or penal pot bunkers and trust that the wind will play its part. And then there is just the pure unfairness of it all — the perfectly hit shot that catches a gust of wind and makes you look like a complete novice.