All aboard the Kintyre Express for Turnberry

A WEEK AT THE OPEN: PAUL GALLAGHERhis debut experience as reporter and spectator at the world's biggest golf tournament

Monday, July 13th

THE 12th of July marches across the North aren’t the same as they used to be – just not the same bite to them – but they are still a right royal pain in the backside to navigate around, especially when in a hurry to make the last ferry from Larne to Troon, consumed by the exciting prospect of a week spent at golf’s greatest festival, otherwise known as the British Open Championship (I don’t get out much, can you tell?)

Judging by the number of similarly-attired punters and golf conversations among our travel companions a large Irish contingent had also made a similar pilgrimage to Turnberry to watch their idols of the fairways. The P&O crossing was smooth and relaxing and the biggest advantage upon docking at Troon rather than Stranraer or Cairnryan was the five-minute drive, as opposed to 90 minutes, to the Old Loans Inn, our base, just the other side Troon.

After a handful of Peroni beers, this golf punter didn’t take too much rocking when the head hit the pillow. It meant waking the next morning refreshed and ready for the reconnaissance mission to Turnberry.

Tuesday, July 14th

Troon is 25.3 miles from Turnberry and it quickly became clear this was going to be a one road in, one road out operation, with 30mph speed restrictions pretty much all the way. Judging by the number of traffic cones and single lane restrictions it was set up for a nightmare later in the week.

Thankfully, traffic this day was light and we found our way with little problem or delay. Having parked directly below the famous Turnberry hotel, the first task was to register at the media centre. The press tent was massive, though I was reliably informed the number of travelling journalists from overseas was well down due to the economic times. It was row upon row of desks – each with power supply and broadband connection – and elevated radio booths at the rear all pointing to the TV screens and mammoth scoreboard awash with different coloured digits to indicate each and every scorecard. Behind their laptops, the hundreds of hacks were like bees in a hive, chickens in a coop, relaying their slant to every corner of the globe.

The most talked about press conference of the day was undoubtedly Sandy Lyle’s botched attempt to “nip in the bud” his spat with fellow Scot Colin Montgomerie. “He just fuelled the fire, dug a deeper hole for himself,” were some of the apt comments afterwards. Interesting chat with David Duval and an Open Diary piece were the main work undertakings.

Wednesday, July 15th

Wednesday was a down day for like any finely-tuned athlete, there is no point risking burnout before the start line. That’s why we unpacked the golf clubs for a round of our own.

With very limited spaces on timesheets across Ayrshire we were fortunate to get a tee time at Belleisle Golf Club just outside Ayr. This James Braid-designed public course is touted as one of the finest municipal courses in Scotland.With green fees of £27 (€31.36) it also represented good value. The course wasn’t too taxing (6,665 yards) and although enveloped by large, mature pines the parkland was largely wide open with greens set at a moderate pace with good surfaces.

The only British Open action we tapped into was the BBC’s late evening preview show. Naturally enough, the defending champion, Pádraig Harrington, featured heavily, with numerous shots that took in the famous lighthouse and Ailsa Craig landmarks.

The preview also afforded the chance to finalise bets.With Harrington a seemingly unknown quantity, the rule-with-the-heart bet meant €10 on our Irish major champion (31/1). €10 each-way was accepted on Camilo Villegas (74/1) and a late entry in Lee Westwood at (40/1). Still fancied Woods but not his 5/2 price.

Thursday, July 16th

We’re nothing if not organised here at “Punter HQ”, so in anticipation of a great opening day we took the best method of transport available – the Kintyre Express from Troon Marina straight to the Turnberry doorstep, and not a traffic jam in sight. This 30-minute trip on the 12-seater rib-boat turned out to be one of the highlights of the week.

Another balmy morning and the waters were like a mill pond leaving Troon Harbour. As we hugged the rugged coastline south, our skipperWilson pointed out Culzean Castle, perched on the edge of the clifftops, one of Scotland’s finest castles where Churchill and Roosevelt apparently met during the second WorldWar. After berthing at Meddan village the short transfer to Turnberry heightened the anticipation. The waiting, for competitor and onlooker, was finally over. All morning spectators spilled into the venue before snaking their way round the undulating links. The day’s main focus was Rory McIlroy who had a roller coaster opening 69.

Bumped into Rory’s dad Gerry along the way and he was full of craic, as ever. In the uncharacteristic sun-drenched conditions, a considerable number of “farmer’s tans” were certain to require attention the following day. Poor time management left the return journey home a precarious one.

Our group had to be at Meddan harbour by 7pm, but Rory only got off the course after 6.30pm. Not enough time for this novice to get interview then turn around a 600-word piece. Instructions were sent ahead for the Kintyre Express to leave while “Trigger” here and the better half would get a taxi. By chance we asked the taxi driver to pass by Meddan harbour and as luck would have it, Wilson had waited and our nightmare road journey transformed into the perfect retreat, for as the sun began to set beyond Arran the skipper produced a traditional Scottish Quaich from which we sampled a “wee dram” from the outer Islands.

Friday, July 17th

As predicted, the road trip to Turnberry was a nightmare.What should have taken little over 30 minutes dragged out for one hour 40 minutes. Travelling over the final brow and on to the descent nto Turnberry offered a stunning panorama of this corner of Ayrshire. Miles of coastline to Girvan and beyond, the Ailsa Craig, Arran, the infamous ighthouse plus Turnberry hotel all came into view.

The enormous field-cum-car park to the right also appeared. The sheer volume of cars brought home the scale of this event. It’s a huge operation in every sense.

It was time to get a proper feel for the tented village and it turned out to be a little disappointing. Situated on considerable acreage, it felt more like an avenue/runway than a contained community and therefore lacked atmosphere. Aside from the gathering at the large screen there was no real hub or focal point.

On the plus side the food and drink choice was ample, reasonably priced and consumable – which is a real bonus at these things. (cheeseburger and chips £7.45 (¤8.65), fish and chips £7 (¤8.13), pint of beer £3.80 (¤4.40). A quick visit to the Bollinger tent gave absolutely no indication of a credit crunch as bottles of bubbly, starting at £75 (¤87), were consumed like they were going out of fashion. Curiously, the Junior Golf Academy was next door: ingenious, drop the kids off then nip next door for a tipple.

Saturday, July 18th

We began with a round on another municipal course, Fullarton (£19/€22), the shortest of Troon’s three public courses (£52/¤62) for a three-course pass), all three lined up in parallel, like a drag race.

With no deadlines today, the remainder of the afternoon was dedicated to the high stool, seat-belt firmly fastened and pint in hand.

Taking in a British Open through the BBC’s blanket coverage and traversing the actual terrain have their pros and cons. On the telly you don’t miss a thing and but you miss out on the on-course interaction, the sound of perfectly struck irons, the cheers, the undulations, the smells from the burger vans and the compelling live atmosphere.

On the downside it’s easy to become disjointed from the rest of the action, but that’s where the official on-course radios become essential.

Saturday is referred to as moving day and it was absorbing to watch the chief protagonists jockeying for position asWatson, the Kansas City Kid, continued slinging with the young guns. Remarkable stuff.

Sunday, July 19th

It threatened to be the greatest story of them all but in the end we were all left with the unanswered question of why did it not happen? Forget the world number one TW, this year’s Open was all about another TW, the 59-year-old Tom Watson, who almost rewrote the history books to give us all the fairytale ending we all craved.

The five-time champion was never passed in regulation play, but like a finely-tuned F1 car, he was only carrying enough fuel for 72 holes. By the play-off his 59-year-old tank was empty and again we asked why couldn’t you have just finished it off in your own time Tom? Instead the unflappable Stewart Cink was cast in the role of villain and admirably got the job done asWatson quickly looked all of his 59 years.

There was nothing left, the legs were gone and the crowds completely deflated.

Earlier, went to the driving range to see Darren Clarke warm up – still one of the best places to see these guys hit balls – before moving to the first to watch Rory McIlroy tee-off.

Followed Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell for a time but the double-barrelled Irish challenge fired blanks.

After the infamous 1977 “Duel in the Sun” betweenWatson and Nicklaus it was said to be “one man’s title, but two men’s championship”.

The same could be said again. Turnberry 2009 will go down as one of the best British Opens of all time, so why do I still feel short-changed?