The wind was fierce at the Old Course in St Andrews.
This week, top female golfers are facing tough conditions as they compete in the AIG Women’s Open. The strong winds are making it a real challenge out there.
With gusts reaching 45mph, there’s a risk of golf balls moving on the greens, which could halt play . To prevent this, R&A officials decided to keep the greens a bit longer to avoid such issues.
Georgia Hall praised this decision after her first round. “I was a bit worried a few times but I think the R&A are very clever with letting the greens be a bit slower so the balls weren’t rolling,” she said. “I think if they cut them to a certain length, we would have to stop. So credit to the R&A for that.”
Weather Challenges and Adjustments:
On Wednesday, Slumbers shared their strategy due to the weather: “We have slowed the golf course down quite a bit,” he explained before the tournament began. They raised the height of cut on greens and added water to help growth. This way, they can place pins strategically to protect playability.
“The good news is the wind is forecast all four days from pretty much the same direction,” Slumbers continued. He hopes it doesn’t get too windy like in 2015 when balls moved on holes 11, 12, and 13 due to exposed greens.
Fans might find these adjustments interesting as they show how much thought goes into ensuring fair play despite tough conditions.
Slumbers also mentioned that new rules since 2019 help because once a ball is marked on green, its position is fixed even if it moves later due to wind. However, they will monitor weather closely and may speed up greens if winds die down: “We can speed them up quite quickly,” he noted.
Another unusual sight at St Andrews this year is split tees usage because of less daylight available post-Olympics return. “So we start later and finish earlier than usual,” Slumbers explained about why split tees were necessary given current light conditions through Sunday.
What do you think about these changes?
