I hope you’ve got your kilts and bagpipes ready because we’re going to Scotland. The PGA Tour is in the UK for two weeks, as we visit the Renaissance Club for the Scottish Open this week before crossing the Irish Sea for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. It’s a chance for players to get used to the unique demands of links golf and haggis before they chase a major, so let’s break it down.
Links golf loves to test not just your swing, but your brain. It’s all about playing to the demands of the course, and this course is a modern interpretation of a classic style of course design.
Renaissance Club leans into the old school design principles of its historic neighbors: Muirfield and North Berwick. It employs many of the classic design principles of links, with slopes everywhere you look, huge, undulating greens, and bunkers designed to alter your approach to every shot. Especially the pot bunkers.
Shots will be forced along the ground to avoid the wind and take advantage of the contours this week, and it’s set to be a strategic minefield for the competitors. Scores have historically varied here, but last year’s winning total was -18.
We’ll take a look at three holes this week:
Why not start with the opener? The first hole features a rare tree on a links course, and this one exists to mess with your angles. A drive too far left is blocked out by trees, and the second shot needs a good look in to take advantage of a green complex featuring an embankment left that players can work balls off of if they have the proper line, coming in from the right.
3 is a par 5 with even more trees. I told you this was a modern take on links. It doglegs right around a stand of pines, daring players to go over the top or cut it around them for a chance to hit the green in two. Just make you avoid the pot bunker if you go long.
Finally, 10 is a spectacular par 5 along the coastline of the Firth of Forth, with bunkers and dunes lining the fairway for any misses. In a departure from traditional links philosophy, there are no bunkers anywhere near the green, but steep drop-offs and slopes around it make it a difficult up-and-down regardless.
Big time field, big time players. Here are some guys to keep an eye on this week.
I had to put a Scot on the list, and why not the defending champ here who’s in great form? MacIntyre would love few things more than another win at Renaissance Club, but a win at Portrush next week is one of them.
Vibes: Braveheart
Scottie’s back and looks to build some momentum as he chases his second major of the year. He’s historically done pretty well on links courses, so that doesn’t hurt either.
Vibes: 9.99/10
Rory might be finding form again after a top 10 at the Travelers, and with the Open in his homeland of Northern Ireland again next week, it’s as good a time as any.
Vibes: 7.5/10
Xander’s the defending Open champ. His game has been Hot n Cold, to quote the great Katy Perry, but he’s still the guy who won two majors last year, and he’s always a threat.
Vibes: 7/10
Collin somehow hasn’t won an event since the Zozo in 2023, but he’s got a pretty good history on links courses, and he’s generally played solid golf this year. I would not be surprised to see him on the front page of the leaderboard at all.
Vibes: 8/10
Hall is the second-best putter on Tour (trailing only Sam Burns, who’s also here this week), and he’s been strong in approach and wedge play. That’s a good combo to have for the Englishman in solid form heading into this week.
I love watching links golf because it just gives you such a different experience than what we’re all used to on parkland layouts. It’s all about creativity and outthinking the course, which just makes it that much more interesting for golf obsessives like me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I will this week, and see you next week for the final major of the year.
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