Guests of the Pod
The 151st Open: Amateur Hour
With play at the 151st commencing at 6.35am tomorrow, all eyes appear to be on Rory, Scottie, Jon and the host of big names coming into the week with form and pedigree. Whilst anticipation is through the roof for seeing how the game’s elite fare around Hoylake in some rather changeable weather, less has been said of the cohort of amateurs who are not only vying for the Claret Jug, but also the Silver Medal. Competed for since 1949, the Silver Medal has seen a host of illustrious winners: Sir Michael Bonallack, José María Olazabal, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy to name but a few. Provided they complete all 72 holes, one of this year’s six amateurs will be taking it home. Much has been made of Hoylake’s historic connection to amateur winners, with Royal Liverpool members John Ball Jr. the first Englishman to win The Open [...]
191 – 151st from Hoylake – Wednesday Practice
Sam & Tom sit down to discuss The Open from the grounds at Hoylake. Having wandered around all morning and soaked up the play and the atmosphere, we dive into course setup, conditions, how the players were playing holes and good vantage points on the course. Tomorrow the 151st Open Championship will begin and Matthew Jordan - Hoylake-hero - will be hitting the opening tee shot. We'll be joining them at 6:30am! Latest Products
The 151st Open: The Champion Bag of the Year
Before you start reading, I must warn you that I’m about to enter down a very niche and rather weird golf equipment rabbit hole, but its Open week and I’m here for it. During a brief escapade on the course during today’s practice round, the mad dashes of colour bobbing down the fairways of Royal Liverpool were offering up a stark, but welcome contrast to the menacing clouds drawing in overhead. The Open staff bags have arrived. Am I really writing this? Yes. We march on. Here at Cookie Jar Golf, we love stash, and it is a central cosmetic part of any major week. So, we have decided to critique and rank the staff bags produced for this year’s 151st Open at Hoylake. Don’t worry, this is all being done rigorously and scientifically, so there will be no questioning whatsoever of which bag earns the prestigious title of [...]
190 – 151st From Hoylake – Course Manager James Bledge
Tom sits down with course manager James Bledge on the Tuesday of The Open to discuss how the course is shaping up and the fantastic work the greens team are doing. As you will hear, things haven't exactly gone to plan with the weather, but the team have worked incredibly hard to present the course in immaculate condition for the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Latest Products
Hoylake to Hong Kong: Two Clubs Intertwined
Words by Charlie. In December of 1857, in Greenock, on the south bank of the River Clyde, a boy was born who would etch his name into the history of Hoylake and who would play a pivotal role in the transporting of the Royal and Ancient game to Asia. His name has understandably been overshadowed by the greats that line the oak-panelled walls at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, but he was a golfing pioneer, nonetheless. That bonnie lad was Gershom Stewart. The young Gershom’s stay in Scotland was to be a mere sojourn for he was moved to Merseyside, on the Wirral Peninsula early in his boyhood. It was during this period that he first picked up a set of brass-heads and wandered the linksland around the racecourse at Hoylake. From a young age, he was characterised as a ‘stranger in a foreign land’, a facet, perhaps, of [...]
189 – The Great Players of Royal Liverpool with Stephen Proctor
Tom sat down with Stephen Proctor to discuss the great players of Royal Liverpool. John Ball Jr and Harold Hilton were true legends of the club and two of only three amateurs to win the Open Championship. "And now sir, you may catch your boat" Latest Products
