The Open Championship

The Open Championship (sometimes, especially in the United States, colloquially referred to as the British Open, perhaps to distinguish it from the US and other national opens), is the oldest of the four major championships in men's golf. Each year the event is hosted by one of several prestigious golf clubs in Britain; however, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) administers The Open regardless of its site. It is always played on a links course.

Host courses

From 1860-1870, The Open Championship was organised by and played at Prestwick Golf Club. Since it was revived in 1872 after a lapse of one year, it has always been played at a number of courses in rotation. Initially there were three courses in the rotation, namely Prestwick, St Andrews, and Musselburgh. In 1893 Royal St George's and Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake were invited to join the rotation. Since then a handful of further clubs have been added, and a few have been dropped. The common factor in the venues for The Open is that they have always been links courses.

Related Topics:
Prestwick Golf Club - St Andrews - Musselburgh - Royal St George's - Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake - Links

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There are eight or nine courses in the current rotation:

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• St Andrews: In 1872 the "Home of Golf" became the second course to host the Open. Nowadays, it does so more often than any other course.
• Muirfield: Muirfield is a private course which was built for The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, one of the trio of clubs which ran The Open in the 1870s and 1880s. It first staged The Championship in 1892, just nine months after it had been built.
• Royal St George's: This course is in the county of Kent in Southern England. In 1894 it became the first Open venue outside Scotland.
• Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake: The home of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, which is often referred to simply as "Hoylake", joined the rotation in 1897 and hosted ten Opens up to 1967. After a 39 year absence from the rotation, it will be hosting the 2006 Open Championship.
• Royal Troon: This Scottish course has been in the rotation since 1923.
• Royal Lytham & St Annes: An English course which first hosted The Open in 1926, and entered the rotation in 1952.
• Carnoustie: Another Scottish course, Carnoustie first hosted The Open in 1931, and it rejoined the rotation in 1999 after being excluded for several decades.
• Royal Birkdale: An English course which has been in the rotation since 1954.
• Turnberry: A course in Scotland which hosted The Open in 1977, 1986 and 1994. It will not be doing so again any earlier than 2009, so it might be considered to have been dropped.

Courses which are no longer in the rotation:

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• Prestwick Golf Club: The founder club was dropped from the rotation in 1925, by which time it had hosted twenty four Opens.
• Musselburgh: Musselburgh is a public course which was used by the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. When that club built Muirfield, Musselburgh dropped out of the rotation.
• Royal Cinque Ports: This course in Kent, England hosted the Open in 1909 and 1920.
• Prince's Golf Club: This course is also in Kent. It hosted its only Open in 1932.
• Royal Portrush: The 1951 Open was staged at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, which remains the only time it has taken place outside of Great Britain.