The Open / Paul Krishnamurty / 08 July 2010 /

Strong winds are a must if we are to see a classic Open at St Andrews - otherwise drama could be noticeable by its absence, says Paul Krishnamurty

Of all the debates that will rage before, during and after the Open Championship, it is a stone cold certainty that one will concern the suitability of St Andrews as a modern-day major venue. Quite simply, no course divides purists and punters than the 'Home of Golf' itself.

Each group is of course coming from different standpoints. Purists love this unique place for its traditions and rich history. For the fact that it nearly always produces a champion from the game's pinnacle. A fair point given that the last seven Opens at St Andrews have been won by Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus (two times each), Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and just one wildcard in John Daly. Players are rarely inclined to criticise such a revered venue, let alone question whether it should be the only course on the Open rota to host two championships per decade.

We punters are, I'm afraid, less interested in all that, and primarily concerned with picking winners. For Betfair's in-running trading community, our ideal result is one where the lead changes hands several times over the weekend. Recent history does not bode well. The two dullest majors of this century were the two at this course, both won by Tiger Woods, by an aggregate of 13 shots. First time around, Woods didn't even find a bunker in four days, such was his ability to plot his way around with irons, minimising any risk.

Therein lies the problem. This course has not withstood the advance of technology. With hardly any rough to speak of on most holes, there is little more to it than avoiding the bunkers and employing your short-game prowess. Many players will barely use their driver all week. Especially if conditions are calm, sections of this course are no more than pitch and putt. The first hole is barely worthy of a professional event, with everyone laying up before the burn, leaving the same short pitch.

St Andrews' 18th hole is equally weak. For my money, the final hole of any major venue should have realistic potential of a double bogey. Here unless a player three-putts or falls foul of the 'Valley of Sin', birdie or par is almost certain. In fact there are a number of holes where two-shot swings are rare. Most of the scoring opportunities arrive on the same few holes - the par-5s and several short, sometimes driveable par-4s, making in-running trends very predictable. Players tend to build their score over the first 12 holes, after which par is respectable.

The one antidote to all of that negativity is the infamous Road Hole, the 17th, genuinely one of the world's greats, where any number between 3 and 10 are plausible. It is the one hole which could turn the final round leaderboard on its head. However, changes to this masterpiece could finally turn the pundits against St Andrews next week. The debate is already raging over why the R&A would so crudely trip up the course's signature hole, with the authorities distinctly lacking allies.

It certainly does seem bizarre that they should choose the 17th, of all holes, to tinker with. As suggested above, there are numerous other changes required to bring the course into line with modern technology. All this seems likely to achieve nothing except making an already brutal hole even more difficult, and perhaps less unpredictably so.

In fairness, these criticisms are avoiding the central point, which is that pretty much all Open venues are reliant on windy conditions nowadays. St Andrews is just more so than the rest. A key feature of those two Tiger-strolls was the absence of strong winds, depriving the course of it's teeth.

Looking back a little further, to the pre-Tiger era, the 1995 Open was played in very harsh conditions, and that produced a cracker. That year, the lead did change hand on numerous occasions before John Daly defeated Constantino Rocca in a play-off. The one thing that should unite both purists, who want to see the course at it's best, and punters, who want a volatile leaderboard, is a desire to see the weather turn bad in Scotland next week.

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