Musings from the Jar
August 2023
5 Things I Didn’t Know About Walton Heath
On Thursday, the world's best will descend on Walton-on-the-Hill for the 2023 instalment of The AIG Women’s Open where Ashleigh Buhai will be defending her crown, having won at Muirfield last year in a nail biting - albeit slow paced - playoff. The event is also throwing in some extra special touches: an Ellie Goulding concert on Saturday night and a reimagined fan experience. In anticipation I took to the comprehensive book about the clubs’ founding architect - Herbert Fowler, ‘Matter of Course’ by Derek Markham ably supported by revered golf historian Philip Truett - to try and learn a bit more about Walton Heath, and Fowler as a person. Here are 5 things I did not know: 1. Cosmo Bonsor was the man behind the development. A member of British high society, millionaire by virtue of the brewing industry, a member of parliament, director of the Bank of England [...]
Prestige, Potential & Porthcawl: A Dream Venue for The Open?
Words by Charlie In my opinion, last week’s Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl was the most entertaining tournament to be broadcast this year. It had everything. Perhaps I am biased: I love links golf, I love Royal Porthcawl, and I love watching the world’s best tackle conditions akin to the Winter Medal. There’s also something just very amusing about watching Padraig Harrington try to negotiate the complications of a beanie hat. (Image: Richard Martin-Roberts/Getty Images) However, juxtaposed against the sunshine and cocktails being enjoyed across the pond at TPC Twin Cities for the 3M Open, the battle on the Bristol Channel offered golf fans a far more relatable and compelling product. Nor should The Senior Open be pigeonholed by the biblical weather endured over the weekend. The wind blew on the first two days, but it was certainly not brutal the entire week. Thursday and Friday saw 30 [...]
July 2023
The Cookie Jar 12v12: Gleneagles 2023
The Cookie Jar 12 v 12 Gleneagles (Queens & Kings) Monday 4th September 36 Hole Foursomes/Fourball Match In the spirit of amateurism, Cookie Jar Golf is delighted to announce we are hosting our very own 12v12 in the style of the Walker Cup on the 4th September. On the Monday succeeding the conclusion of the 49th Walker Cup at St Andrews, we are heading to Gleneagles for 36 holes of team matchplay. We've been hoping to do a Walker Cup event for some time and now we have it for you. We will be having matches of Morning Foursomes and Afternoon Fourballs contested between two teams of 12 on the Queens and Kings courses. We'll stop for a midday interval to enjoy some much needed lubrication and Gleneagles' famous curry. It will be a day for competitive, yet sociable matchplay, with brunch, cocktails and live entertainment in the evening. [...]
The Walker Cup Mixer 2023
Those of you that closely follow our content will understand our passion for the amateur game. Indeed, many would consider the pinnacle of the amateur game to be The Walker Cup. Going for almost 100 years, and returning for its 49th edition at St Andrews in September, we have been wanting to do a Walker Cup inspired event for some time. The Home of Golf could not be a more special venue and so we are delighted to cordially invite you to our Walker Cup Mixer. Come and enjoy some live music, excellent beer and camaraderie at the Brewdog Bar on South Street in St Andrews. It's a great venue so it's sure to be a festive evening and we look forward to seeing you all there. If you wish to attend, please RSVP by completing the form below.
Brian Harman Leads: Can He Be Caught?
The 36-year-old Georgian waggler maintained his grasp on the 151st Open Championship with a steady 69 on Day 3. It was a superb reply to Jon Rahm’s morning 63, which piled on the pressure and made it clear the current Masters champion is not done yet. Asked about his response to Rahm’s statement of intent after a shaky start, Harman said: "Yeah, I mean, it would have been really easy to let the wheels start spinning and really kind of let it get out of control, but I just kind of doubled down on my routine and knew I was hitting it well, even though I hadn't hit any good shots yet.” Cameron Young moved himself into solo 2nd, with a classy round of 66, yet remains five strokes behind the inconspicuous Brian. Young, although still without a PGA Tour title, seems to be the obvious candidate to mount a [...]
The 18th at Hoylake: You’re Not Dun Yet
Understandably, much has been made by the golfing press of ‘Little Eye’, the new 17th hole here at Hoylake. Its status as a championship test has been pondered and debated, but the stats from Round 1 and 2 prove it’s not playing much above its par. It even relinquished an ace on Friday. Just a stone’s throw away from 17’s amphitheatre tee box, however, is the beginning of 18, Dun, a hole that’s spectacle has been rather overshadowed. Played as the 16th for the members, this long dog-leg Par 5 with internal out-of-bounds, seven sand traps and a colossal amphitheatre around the green will go a long way to ensuring the best champion is crowned. In the first two rounds, Dun was the only Par 5 on the course that played over par (+4). The 5th (-101) and the 15th (-92) have surrendered a host of birdies and are [...]
Talk to the Sand
The course on Day 1 made a statement to the players that they best keep their ball out of the bunkers. After plenty of build-up about the greenkeeper’s use of the hay rake, which with wider teeth can cause the ball to nestle a little further down in the sand, the players found the sand traps to be penal hazards indeed. Perhaps more noticeably challenging on Day 1, was the way in which the bunkers have been dug flat, with balls getting trapped in the corners and up against the faces. With 81 traps in total on the links, we saw plenty of players finding trouble in the sand and I found it very interesting to watch. It’s proving to be a conversation that splits opinion, amongst the pros, the media and the patrons in attendance this week, but I think it has been tremendous fun seeing the players navigate [...]
5 things From Day 1 at The Open
A wonderful start to The 151st Open Championship. Alarms were set for 5:30am to ensure we were in the grandstand in good time to watch local boy Matthew Jordan hit the opening tee shot. The group - also featuring friend of the jar Richie Ramsay, and Brandon Grace along with a strong showing from the Royal Liverpool membership to support their man - would be the one we’d follow. Here are the top 5 takeaways from the morning’s action: 1. The bunkers are no joke. The work by James Bledge and team to flatten the base of the sand and remove the bowls that you would typically expect to see in the bunkers have been replaced with a flat floor of sand. The result is one where the ball will race up to whatever edge is in its way, without consideration for the player's stance or ability to progress the [...]
Little Eye’s First 30
So much has been said about the new 17th hole here at Hoylake and the unique challenge it will pose the players this week. As Cookie Jar’s roving reporter for the day, I headed over there to see how the first 30 players took on the challenge and how they fared. After seeing Michael Kim’s tweet late last night with the Round 1 Pin Sheet attached, before I had even arrived at Little Eye, I knew that the pin was going to be tucked front right. Just as I arrived at the greenside stand, the greenkeepers were finishing cutting it in that very spot and it looked daunting. Home boy Matthew Jordan and his group that arrived first at 17, set the tone for how the first 30 would decide to tackle it on Day One. There was certainly a bit of breeze up there, nothing major, but enough to [...]
The 151st Open: Amateur Hour
With play at the 151st commencing at 6.35am tomorrow, all eyes appear to be on Rory, Scottie, Jon and the host of big names coming into the week with form and pedigree. Whilst anticipation is through the roof for seeing how the game’s elite fare around Hoylake in some rather changeable weather, less has been said of the cohort of amateurs who are not only vying for the Claret Jug, but also the Silver Medal. Competed for since 1949, the Silver Medal has seen a host of illustrious winners: Sir Michael Bonallack, José María Olazabal, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy to name but a few. Provided they complete all 72 holes, one of this year’s six amateurs will be taking it home. Much has been made of Hoylake’s historic connection to amateur winners, with Royal Liverpool members John Ball Jr. the first Englishman to win The Open [...]
