Published: July 15, 2009 10:58 pm         

Loran Smith: Turnberry set Watson on path of golf glory

TURNBERRY, Scotland — Every venue of the British Open has a landmark of some distinction, but none is more enduring than the Turnberry lighthouse, which stands on the edge of the golf course.

Anyone playing the course usually has a photograph made with the old lighthouse in the background.�The lighthouse was built on the ruins of Turnberry Castle, which dates back to the time when the antipathy between Scotland and England was as intense as it is today between the Shiites and the Sunnis.

There is a two-story keeper’s house, and a black lantern sits atop the white masonry tower.�Built in 1873, the tower’s lights warned ships away from the Bristol Rock off shore.

Near the 10th hole, the lighthouse is one of the most famous in the United Kingdom, owing, perhaps, to the prominence of the Turnberry golf course and the playing there of the Open championship.

The golf course has been slammed by some golf critics as being too easy.�The best evidence to support that view was the 1977 Open at Turnberry when Tom Watson scored 65-65 the last two rounds to defeat Jack Nicklaus, who posted 65-66.

Turnberry’s yardage is 7,204 and plays to a par of 70.�The scorecard reflects an assortment of Scottish names, like Ailsa Craig, No. 1, in reference to the big volcanic rock, just off shore; Bruce Castle, No. 9, for Robert the Bruce, onetime king of Scotland; and No. 18, Duel in the Sun.�This, of course, refers to the aforementioned epic Watson-Nicklaus scrimmage for the Open championship.�Other holes with curious and interesting names are: “Fin Me Oot,” No. 5; “Roon the Ben,” No. 7; “Tickly Tap,” No. 13; and “Risk-An-Hope,” No. 14.

The longest hole (559 yards), No. 17, is named “Lang Whan,” and the shortest, No. 6, is named “Tappie Toorie.”�Every hole on every major course in Scotland has a name, which is part of the charm of playing the game where it all began.

While the Ailsa course, where the 2009 Open takes place, was established in 1906, it wasn’t until it was redesigned between 1949 and 1951 by Mackenzie Ross that its importance and widespread appeal took root.

There are three courses at Turnberry.�In addition to the Ailsa course, there are the Arran and the Kintyre layouts, which, with the five-star Turnberry Hotel, make a visit to the Ayshire coast a popular destination for the serious golfer.�During World War II, Turnberry was used as an airfield and was headed toward extinction until the foresight and vision of Mackenzie Ross gave it a new direction and purpose.

Just as Ross saved Turnberry from extinction, Turnberry set Tom Watson on a path toward major golf-championship glory. Watson endured the choker’s image when his game collapsed at Winged Foot in 1979 and at Medinah a year later.�He finally won his first major at Carnoustie in 1975, defeating Jack Newton in a playoff.�It was at Turnberry, however, that Watson proved he could compete with the best when he defeated Nicklaus there in 1977.

It took a 60-foot birdie putt at No. 15 to spur Watson to victory, from which he sprang for a total of eight major titles.�He won the Open championship five times.

When Watson stood up to Nicklaus at Turnberry 32 years ago his career began to take off.

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