The Open Championship Was a Real Eye Opener

We all love to watch the Major Golf Tournaments for the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Of the 4 Majors, The Open Championship at Royal Troon is by far the most challenging because of those crazy pot bunkers, wild greens, the spiny gorse bushes, the ocean winds, cold fog & rain and that out of bounds railway track on the 11th hole.

What can we learn from the 2024 event to improve our games? Avoid the major golf courses in Great Britain? They are a challenge for the pros so you just may not enjoy playing there. Playing the forward tees will help but that won’t get you out of trouble.

World Class Golfers Missed the Cut
It is amazing how many top golfers missed the cut at +6. Seeing the names of the rejects will reinforce how hard this course was: Bryson DeChambeau (+9) Rory McIlroy (+11 with only 3 birdies and 10 bogeys or worse after 2 rounds), Tiger Woods (+14), Wyndham Clark (+16). Ernie Els and John Daly each dropped out after their first rounds shooting 82.

Golf Tips
I could not believe how Rory and Tiger both hit a booming slice OB on the #11 railway hole. So many other pros make the same disastrous slice. These are pros and they know how to hit a slice and how NOT to hit a slice especially in a heavy wind. How could this possibly happen? Guess that explains why all golfer have occasional surprising slices.

Could it be nerves? I don’t think so as they were on their eleventh hole.
Could it be the wind? It certainly made the slice worse, but their swing caused the slice.
Swinging hard for distance was the cause: They were both hitting 300+ yard drives so they had to make a 100% swing. Let that be a lesson to all of us. The harder we swing, the easier it is to leave our club face open and pound a screaming slice. [Rory hit a duck hook for his provisional and Tiger hit a beautiful straight recovery shot.]

Don’t get greedy in bunkers, especially pot bunkers. Take your penalty gracefully. Always take enough club to get out of the bunker or even hit out sideways if you don’t feel you can clear the front lip. NOTE: A new PGA rule allows the option to remove a ball plugged in a bunker lip and place it on the line of entry outside of the bunker with a single stroke penalty.

Golf Magazine used this image to show an impossible shot escaping a very deep pot bunker.

Practice with GOLFSTR+ to improve your straight shots if you plan to take on Royal Troon or any of the other wonderful courses in Britain or Ireland. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com