OPEN…AND CLOSED
Traveling compatriots Tim and Randy suddenly appeared at the Manchester Airport on Tuesday (sans golfing clubs), as their respective airlines had managed to leave both sets on the tarmac…somewhere. Randy would have his delivered later, but Timmy would have to wait a few days for British Airways to follow his air tag. In the mean time, the threesome took the trip up the Royal Berkshire for a practice round at The Open. Sighting a few golfers (but playing none of their own) proved to be somewhat dull so the threesome found Captain Steeeve, a British TD friend (below) to who invited them up to his club, Northshore at Blackpool where the foursome began a golfing experience that would last for three days.
THIS STEEEVE-VENTURE WOULD TAKE THEM ON TO INCLUDE…
… a trek down to Royal St. David’s in Wales where a serious drought was being experienced. This however, is links golf and, assuming one finds a/the/even adjacent fairway, the ball can run for miles.
There are several steps toward achieving a “Royal” designation in the UK. Some clubs and courses have gone through the process, and some have chosen not to take this circuitous route toward infamy. The designation is formally bestowed on the club by the reigning monarch, typically after an invitation from the club to said monarch to experience its “wonderfulness,” thereby establishing a connection to a member of the Royal Family as patron of the Club. The strict standards include only “institutions of eminence, long standing and secure financial position, and devoted to national charitable and scientific objects” (i.e., TD’s most recent lost golf ball). Final approval is at the “absolute final say of the Monarch”. There are currently 35 golf clubs in the UK that bear the Royal Designation. The last to be so designation was Royal Troon, designated by Queen Elizabeth in 1978 to celebrate it centenary (that means 100 year anniversary). There is also talk of a new TD-Royal designation currently under review.
Can you name this tree? It bites!