Scottish Open - Changes being made at the Castle Stuart golf course
One of the most exciting events in the European Tour, the Scottish Open, is about to start. This time, it is going to be a bit different as a few chances are being made in the venue, the Castle Stuart.
The changes are being made in the venue of the Scottish Open in order to toughen it up. In the last year’s Scottish Open, the four-day-event had to be reduced to three days. This was due to the severe weather conditions at the Castle Stuart.
Last year, the weather conditions caused a land slide on the fairway of the first hole and flooded several fairways, greens and the practice area.
The conditions got so worse that some of the courtesy cars given to the players started floating.
For this year’s Open, more than £70,000 has been spent on the Castle Stuart to make sure such incidents can be avoided. This year the drainage at the course has been largely improved.
Another big change in the Open made this year is that the title sponsor has been changed. Last year, it was Barclay’s and this year the title sponsor is Aberdeen Asset Management.
The Tournament Director Peter Adams said that they are happy with the support they received from the locals. He also said that the event is taking place in a friendly environment and this is the way it is supposed to take place.
Castle Stuart’s director of golf Stuart McColm also commented on the topic, he said, “The support we received last year from all sectors was a revelation”.
“I think there probably was wee bit hesitancy on behalf of the European Tour about coming to the Highlands, but we sold them on the community spirit and that shone through. Everyone got behind it”.
“We had people phoning up asking what they could do to help and we had an army of volunteers helping us out. I think that showed just how important it is for the community up here to have an event of this stature,” he added.
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