I always watch The Open Championship with particular interest.
The oldest of the four major golf events has intersected my life on a number of occasions.
In 1966, as a rising high school junior carrying a 2 handicap, I spent two weeks at the Queen’s Head Hotel in Gullane, Scotland, playing practice rounds and occasional money games with pros and amateurs trying to qualify for the Open, to be held at nearby Muirfield.
I got to know all three Gullane Golf Club courses, but in particular the remarkable Gullane No. 1, then the qualifying venue for the Open at Muirfield.
Weeks later, Jack Nicklaus secured the first of his three Opens, besting Doug Sanders and Welshman Dave Thomas by one shot.
Years later, I got to know Sanders quite well and visited several times at his home in Houston, Texas. Doug confided in me that, on the 17th hole of the final round, he succumbed to the pressure of the moment and took a hit of liquor from a mini-bottle concealed in a sleeve of balls.
Nicklaus two-putted for bride on the penultimate hole. Playing one pairing ahead of Nicklaus, Sanders found the rough to the right with his tee shot, crossed the fairway into the left rough with his second and two-putted from the back fringe for par.
That was the difference in one of Sanders’ four second-place finishes in majors, the most notorious of which was the playoff loss to Nicklaus at St. Andrews in 1970, after Sanders missed a 30-inch putt on the 72nd hole to fall into a tie with the Golden Bear.
In 2000, my wife Lee and I attended the Open at St. Andrews, where Tiger Woods claimed the Claret Jug for the first time. During Saturday’s third round, we sat behind the wall next to the TV camera position and watched every pairing play the Road Hole.
On Sunday we followed Tiger, who in 2000 was at the absolute pinnacle of his game. With the victory, he became the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam.
The Open was also the second leg of the “Tiger Slam,” culminating in the 2001 Masters, after which Woods held all four major championship trophies.
When The Open returns to Royal Troon next year, it will have special meaning, as many of my Scottish forebears called Ayr their home. We hope to be there for the championship.
In our travels, we have played most of the famous courses in Scotland—from Dornoch to Nairn to Aberdeen to Cruden Bay and Prestwick. But there’s one course in particular I’m eager to play, in part because of tis unique history and relationship to Ben Hogan’s only trip to The Open.
That course is Panmure Golf Club.
Hogan only played in one Open Championship, but he left an indelible mark on Scotland’s east coast because of how he won the game’s oldest major and how he prepared for it.
The Hawk famously captured the 1953 Open at Carnoustie Golf Links by shooting a final-round 68 while battling the flu. He topped four men by four shots in his lone voyage to Scotland, which came four years after an automobile accident that nearly killed him.
The lovely 13th hole at Panmure Golf Club.
(Photo courtesy of Panmure Golf Club)
That journey, however, began two weeks earlier when Hogan, accompanied only by his caddy, Cecil Timms, arrived at Panmure Golf Club to acclimate to the terrain of links golf and to acquaint himself with the smaller 1.62-inch British ball that was used at the time.
Hogan was the only participant in the Open given the privilege of playing at Panmure Golf Club. Panmure, at that time, was an extremely private Club, and Hogan was able to practice away from the prying eyes of the public and the press.
Legend has it that Hogan studied Macdonald Smith’s swing intently to improve his own. Macdonald Smith and his family started life in Barry, Carnoustie, before emigrating to America in 1908. Smith is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time who never won a major championship. When he returned to Panmure in 1931 to qualify for the first Open Championship at Carnoustie, Smith set a new course record of 70.
Panmure is a historic Scottish club, only 1.5 miles from Carnoustie Golf Links and a 45-minute drive from St. Andrews. It was founded in 1845 by a collection of 17 gentlemen and the Club’s name and shell logo come from the close connection with the Maule Ramsay family. The Rt. Hon Earl of Dalhousie remains the Club’s honorary president and King George VI accepted honorary membership of the Club in 1930.
Panmure is the world’s 21st oldest golf club and moved to its current site in Barry in 1899. The original layout was designed by Old Tom Morris and constructed by R. Duff of Edinburgh, who also built the New Course at St Andrews and Muirfield. Many of the original holes remain.
Five-time Open champion James Braid gave suggestions for modifications in the 1920s and those were among the most significant changes over the past century.
Some of the charming characteristics include holes designed by these greats: Braid’s par-3, 180-yard 9th hole, with its undulating green protected by large bunkers and dunes and Old Tom’s par-4, 396-yard 12th hole which requires an accurate approach shot to carry the Buddon Burn guarding the front of the green.
Today the course measures 6,551 yards, plays to a par 70 and combines the best elements of links and heathland, with tight fairways, challenging carries and undulating greens. True to links golf, holes mostly play firm and fast and the rolling fairways wind through dunes and pine trees, leading to greens that are protected by proper Scottish bunkers.
Hogan would never play in the Open again, but his legacy at Panmure remains. The sixth hole, a 414-yard par 4 and the No. 1 handicap hole, was Hogan’s favorite hole and is named after the great man. He suggested to the club that a strategically placed pot bunker should be built to the front and right of the green. It was and it is still known as Hogan’s bunker.
The other legendary story from Hogan’s Panmure experience came on the par-4, 401-yard 17th hole. Hogan liked the green and spent much time putting there but he wanted it to run quicker than it did. So he asked William Falconer, the head greenkeeper, if the mower could shave the green a tad tighter. Falconer said it was possible but pointed to the mower and mentioned that Hogan was free to do it himself. He did, and word is that he later returned the mower to Falconer in pristine condition after insisting on cleaning it first.
The demanding sixth hole at Panmure was Hogan’s favorite.
(Photo courtesy of Panmure Golf Club)
Panmure has hosted many prestigious championships over the years, ranging from national amateur tournaments to final qualifying for The Open Championship. Recently, the club has hosted regional qualifying for The Open, the R&A Girls Amateur Championship, final qualifying for the AIG Women’s Open and the stroke play qualifying for the R&A Boys Amateur Championship.
The colorfully clad Sanders advanced through qualifying at Panmure in 1970 before losing to Jack Nicklaus in the 18-hole playoff mentioned above. Nicklaus shot even-par 72 to clip Sanders by one and earn his second of three Opens. Gary Player, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle and Padraig Harrington are a few Open champions who have played at Panmure over the years.
The Club’s iconic clubhouse is one of the finest old golf buildings in Scotland and was modelled, both architecturally and spiritually on Royal Calcultta Golf Club. It offers three uniquely charming lounges, perfect for a post round beverage.
Hogan never returned to Scotland, and the victory at Carnoustie marked the last major that he’d ever win. The Scots still refer to him as the “Wee Ice Mon” because of his steely demeanor, determination, and ability to perform best under pressure. The Open victory, combined with his presence at Panmure the preceding weeks, were enough for Hogan to remain a legend in the area forever.
Panmure remains a private member’s club, but it welcomes visitors who wish to experience the authentic, classic links. The club’s website is here: https://www.panmuregolfclub.co.uk.