OPEN GOLF: Famous quotes on the course

“It has beautiful turf, but not much else of beauty. It is a beast, but a just beast.”
Bernard Darwin

“The winner, Severiano Ballesteros, chose not to use the course, but preferred his own, which mainly consisted of hay fields, car parks, grandstands, dropping zones and even ladies’ clothing.”
Colin Maclaine, chairman of the championship committee, 1979

“He must have left a hole out.”
Hale Irwin after Seve played the last five holes in 16 shots

“Lytham doesn’t strike me as a great course. A worthy venue for major competitions, yes; a layout that can make the best players in the world sweat, yes; but, paradoxically not a great course.”
James W. Finnegan, author of All Courses Great and Small

“In 1963 aged 23, I was on the brink of winning my first Open when my youthful inexperience, combined with the fiendishly difficult last four holes, denied me that chance. I greatly admire the way it tests the complete game.”
Jack Nicklaus