The British Open will be played this week at Royal Birkdale in Southport on the west coast of Great Britain, and I will enjoy golf’s oldest championship through coverage on the Peacock network.
For 37 years, I made the trip across the Atlantic for this wonderful event, appreciating the uniqueness of British-style golf. But the opportunities to travel to other parts of Europe, including Eastern European countries, heightened the overall experience to the utmost.
Everything from cathedrals to cultural landmarks to classic battlefields was within arm’s reach, accompanied by extraordinary dining experiences and the best local wines.
You never wanted to leave.
There is so much tradition, from the competition to the overall cultural experience, that you appreciate the unparalleled opportunity to soak in an international flavor that elevates your soul.
One of the most fulfilling experiences is enjoying a cooked breakfast to start your day. For most Brits, most of the time, there is a bap — akin to a sausage roll — or jam and toast.
Then, on the weekend, you get the full treatment: a cooked breakfast that may include cereal, kippers, bacon, eggs any way you like them, sausage, fruit, toast and coffee.
If you get that every morning, it will make your day.
Every day.
With daylight lasting from 4:40 a.m. to 9:35 p.m., you can experience a fulfilling day. When I first began making trips for golf’s oldest championship, I planned my mornings around visiting a historic site or perhaps playing a nearby golf course.
Anstruther is 10 miles from St. Andrews. Crail is 12 miles from the home of golf. Kilspindie, near Edinburgh, is not very long but is the very essence of a Scottish links course. Musselburgh is a delightful nine-hole course where Mary, Queen of Scots, played.
And then there is my favorite course not on the Open rota: North Berwick.
Located near Edinburgh, its charming layout makes you enjoy the day even if your swing needs some fine-tuning.
The small treasures are everywhere in the United Kingdom.
Play the Old Course, Muirfield, Carnoustie, Lytham and St. Annes, but find time to venture onto courses off the beaten path. Play the highly regarded courses, but reserve time for the hidden gems that warm your heart and soul and help bring you back to the golfing paradise that is the United Kingdom.
Having played all the Open courses except Portrush, I find that the fulfillment of a golfing holiday comes from playing the Open venues, but also from discovering the lesser-known courses.
Get to know the local folk, those in the villages that dot the landscape of the British Isles, and, for sure, engage a caddie and develop a rapport with him.
The first time I played St. Andrews, my caddie, Sydney Rutherford, was 82 years old. I played after lunch, and he had played 18 holes that morning.
He knew every detail of the Old Course, and although he could not see, Sydney would offer suggestions such as, “Hit it to the third steeple on the church to your right,” or “Hit it directly toward the second fence post on your left.”
Herbert Warren Wind, the esteemed golf writer for The New Yorker, once wrote after spending a summer in Scotland that to play golf there without hiring a caddie “is to deny oneself the wine of the country.”
The concept of a B&B, or bed and breakfast, originated in the United Kingdom, and it was part of my summer booking for almost 35 years — an experience I would not trade for anything today.
I got to know families, their interests and their “inside” stories. The hospitality was as genuine as you might find anywhere on earth, from the golfing experience to the warm hospitality of the people.
What I would give to enjoy that enriching experience again.
Every day there earned my vote for a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious rating.