ALTHOUGH Muirfield is one of only two of the nine venues on the Open championship rota yet to face significant revisions – Royal Troon is the other odd links out – the East Lothian course is more likely to be tweaked for the 2013 Open rather than undergo alterations of a more substantial nature.
When the Open was first held at Muirfield in 1892 – just a matter of months after it was built the previous year – the links was not greeted with either instant or universal acclaim. Indeed, so severe was some of the early criticism that Muirfield w
as 600 yards longer by the time Harry Vardon won the next championship held in Gullane four years later.
More changes followed in the 20th century after Muirfield was stretched to 6,425 yards for the Open of 1912. By this stage, the links was well on the way to acquiring the classic status of one of the game's great seaside courses. In 2002 it measured 7,034 yards and played to a par of 71.
Blessed with relatively flat fairways, for a links, and clear views of greens and hazards, Muirfield is always praised as the fairest of all the courses on the Open rota. Many regard the links as the best golf course in the world: and since you don't draw a moustache on the Mona Lisa, any changes for the return of the championship in four years time will require deliberation.
As R&A chief executive Peter Dawson explained, a balance always needs to be struck between preserving the integrity of a historic lay-out and ensuring the test is robust enough to challenge the world's best players.
"We've been in the practise of updating and upgrading the Open venues as we move along," he said. "Today's professionals are bigger, stronger, fitter, have more technology at their command, and it's very important that we keep our great links courses relevant to the modern day professional. We've been doing that at every Open venue. There are only two more to be looked at, at Muirfield and at Troon."
According to R&A director of championships, David Hill, informal talks have already taken place between the organisers of the Open and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers about possible revisions.
"Peter has already been down for meetings a few times, with a mind to possibly tweaking a few things," said Hill. "But we're talking about a tweak, rather than anything more dramatic. Muirfield stands up to the test pretty well. It's such a good golf course."
It's expected that new tees and bunkering would be the extent of any changes to the links, bearing in mind that hitting distances have not greatly increased since 2002. Moreover, Ernie Els' winning 72-hole total of 278, six under par, at the 131st Open, indicates there's no pressing need for the more radical changes recently undertaken at Hoylake and Turnberry.
A cartoon once hung in the clubhouse which proclaimed 'Muirfield welcomes careful drivers'. The joke, which dates back to the 1966 Open, was accurate as well as wry. Just think of Sergio Garcia at the 1998 Amateur or Els, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Gary Player and Henry Cotton in the Opens held over Muirfield since 1948. All were shrewd off the tee. A test of shot-making rather than sledgehammer force, Muirfield also rewarded Nick Faldo with a brace of Claret Jugs in 1987 and 1992.
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, whose history dates back to 1744, have long enjoyed a close link with the famous championships organised by the R&A, as well as many compelling match play events. The Open has been played on the links 15 times, the Walker Cup twice, the Curtis Cup in 1984 and the Ryder Cup in 1973.
Speculation the Honourable Company, the world's oldest club, was in no rush to host another Open was wide of the mark according to Hill. "I think they take great pride in hosting an Open every ten years," he said. "We've had a couple of meetings with them over the past year and everyone was happy (about the return of the Open]."
