Gullane And The Scottish Open Arrive!

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The Scotsman's Martin Dempster sets the table for the 2015 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, which kicks off Thursday at historic Gullane Golf Club on Scotland's Golf Coast. The East Lothian three-links complex hosts the Scottish Open for the first time, and though it'll take a day or two to recover from the blow of losing Rory McIlroy to dumb injury luck, plenty of star power will create enough intrigue along with the joys of big-time European Tour golf at Gullane.

Dempster writes:

The history of the Royal & Ancient game in the picturesque East Lothian village dates back to 1650. Then, it was the weavers of Dirleton and Aberlady who played there in an annual match. Now, it’s some of the world’s best golfers trying to weave their magic in one of the European Tour’s biggest events.

Gullane, of course, is no stranger to hosting top-class tournaments. It has staged Final Qualifying for the Open Championship on numerous occasions, while a whole host of leading amateur events, both for men and women, have also been fought out over this iconic chunk of golfing terrain. This, though, will be by far its biggest week in the sporting spotlight and what an exciting event is in prospect.

One of the big concerns going into the week: how will the course play? Historically, Gullane has had robust roughs since the rabbits haven't been around to keep them tidy, and in a follow up to his first story filed, Dempster reports on early rave reviews for the course and says that the fertile soils and ideal weather has sprouted native grasses a tad denser than hoped for (at least by some).

I’m surprised he didn’t comment on the rough because it is certainly on the juicy side. Not necessarily planned, though. It was actually quite light until a mixture of wet and warm weather in the past week or so changed its appearance. It’s almost waist-high in bits, in fact, though not in the areas where these boys will be hitting it.

“The rough has stiffened up over the last couple of weeks, but it looks denser than it actually is,” said tournament director Mike Stewart. “You’ve got the tall fescues, and that gives the impression of it being 
really thick. Once you are in it, though, it is more wispy than dense until you get further out into the long stuff. If you miss the fairway and are in the second cut, apart from the odd pocket here and there it’s not too bad.”

By the sounds of things, the locals will be happy that the course is going to be a tad tougher than was perhaps planned, bearing in mind that the European Tour – rightly so – don’t want players feeling as though they are being hammered into submission the week before the Open Championship.

The club's official website is worth a look and links to this flyover preview of the course:

My photos from 2012 and 2014, including Archie Baird's museum, the Old Clubhouse and The Golf Inn...