The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is just around the corner and although many of you will know all of the ins and outs of this fantastic tournament there are those who may flick on the TV over the weekend and start wondering when the likes of Tim Henman, Michael Douglas and Huey Lewis turned professional! For those of you who will be watching the golf over the weekend but are not sure how it all works here is a blow by blow account of one of the golfing highlights of the year.

168 professionals and 168 amateurs will be competing over 72 holes on the finest links courses the UK has to offer. Teams of two comprising of an amateur and a professional will play each of the three golf courses in rotation over the first three days with the final 18 holes being played on the famous St Andrews Old Course. Not everyone will be heading to the Old Course for the final day though as only the top 60 professionals and the top 20 teams will qualify for the final round.

So there are two competitions running simultaneously with the pros competing against one another for an individual prize while teams will be playing better ball golf to compile a score for the team event. Amateur men must have a certified handicap of 18 or better while the ladies involved must play off 24 or lower.

You may think the professionals would find it hard to get into “tournament mode” while in the company of amateurs and you would be right; especially when you consider some of the amateurs involved for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is one of a select few events where the pros are not the biggest names in town.

Countless celebrities have grabbed the chance to play golf with the big boys since the championship started a decade ago and this year is no different. This year’s field is certainly star studded with sports stars, actors and musicians including Sir Bobby Charlton, Hugh Grant and Tico Torres from Bon Jovi turning out to test themselves against the pros and of course three world class golf courses.

Choosing the three golf courses on which to play this exciting event must have been a tough task thanks to the sheer volume of world class links courses in Scotland. Famous names like Royal Troon, Muirfield and Turnberry all would have been popular choices with those competing but they certainly won’t be disappointed with the courses that were chosen.

One of the three courses in question is the Championship Course at Carnoustie which is widely regarded as one of the toughest golf courses in the UK, especially when the wind is sweeping over the mind boggling undulations at a rate of knots. The pros will find scoring tough here so spare a thought for the amateurs in the field who will be getting an up close look at how hard this famous Open Championship venue really is.

Next on the menu is the relatively young but equally impressive Kingsbarns which was opened to rapturous applause just over a decade ago. Here golfers will find 18 world class holes that will be sure to set their hearts racing. Designer Kyle Phillips may hail from America, but his masterpiece at Kingsbarns shows that he has an inherent understanding of links golf and In spite of its youth it is frequently mentioned in the same breath as famous names like Pebble Beach, Royal Birkdale and the Old Course. This is testament to Phillips’ creation.

Last but certainly not least is the world famous Old Course at St Andrews which, for many golfers across the world, is the absolute pinnacle when it comes to golfing experiences. Players will have to negotiate famous landmarks including the Swilcan Burn, Hell Bunker, The Road Hole and of course the Valley of Sin while playing the course that is widely recognised as the ‘home of golf’.

The chance to see celebrities negotiate (hack) their way around three of the best links courses in the world is reason enough to tune into the action when the tournament kicks off on Thursday but remember some of the world’s finest players will also be in attendance, some of whom will have brought along their family members to partner them. Big names in the field include big hitting Dustin Johnson, US Open champion Rory McIlroy and the top two players in the world Lee Westwood and Luke Donald.

Whatever transpires over the next few days were are sure to see some top quality golf and with such an impressive array of golf courses on display golfing aficionados would be mad not to try and catch some of the action.

For information on Scottish golf breaks and other UK golf tours please visit www.yourgolftravel.com or call 0800 043 6644.

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