I joined a Facebook group not long ago where disgruntled residents of my hometown Dover digress about things they see in the area that get under their skin.
Most are entertaining, some are hysterical. My favourites are pictures from then and now, like a crumpled parchment showing the market square from ‘circa 1972’, or something of that nature. How the same place in 2024 can look so different is just fascinating to me.
I was reminded of my fondness for these images at the Genesis Scottish Open this week, an event that is equally as unrecognisable now compared to what it was in 1972 when it was first held at Downfield Golf Club in Dundee.
The tournament has a messy past. Make sure you don’t spend time looking for snaps of it in the years between 1973 and 1986, because there was no tournament. It was brought back to Haggs Castle where David Feherty won, beating Christie O’Connor Jnr and Ian Baker-Finch in a playoff.
Even when Welshman and former Masters champion Ian Woosnam won the event for the third time in 1996, it had no sponsor. Renaissance Club in East Lothian is the 11th venue that has been used for the tournament, joining the role of honour with its neighbouring Gullane.
Gleneagles held eight consecutive renewals and Loch Lomond held 15. While it isn’t uncommon for the Scottish Open to find a lasting home, the Renaissance is now in year six as tournament custodian and the feeling is the players and the tour have never been happier.
The only major with a mainstay course is the Masters which celebrated its 88th anniversary with Augusta National earlier this year. Has the Scottish Open found its Augusta with a permanent home parallel to the Firth of Forth?
Renaissance Club has copped some criticism since 2019, the year we saw Austrian Bernd Wiesberger navigate four rounds in 22-under-par, a score not usually associated with the difficulties that this type of terrain produces.
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But Xander Schauffele, now a major champion, won on seven-under in 2022 and Rory McIlroy braved the elements in 2023 to steal victory from home favourite Bob MacIntyre on 15-under. The winning score is ultimately a victim of a beatdown if there is no wind or rain to defend it.
The venue is still in its infancy. Founded in 2008 by ‘Mr Renaissance’ Jerry Savadi and designed by Tom Doak, there is room for improvement and development but additionally, it ticks many boxes for the players and fans with its vast facilities and accommodation.
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“First and foremost, it’s about the tournament and the players and the golf course is extremely good for the tournament and the players really do like coming back,” Rory Colville, the DP World Tour’s Head of Championships told NCG.
“The off-course experience or the players is outstanding in terms of the accommodation and the practice facilities, and so, it’s become a real firm fixture in a lot of the top players’ calendars the week before The Open, the golf course gives them great preparation for The Open and so from a player point of view, it’s outstanding.
“From an event point of view, the strategy is to find a home to help grow the event and the proximity to Edinburgh is really important and being able to take six years now to fine-tune the event to give the best experience for fans and partners, but particularly for fans has been really important and very successful.”
The Renaissance Club: Scotland’s Open falls in perfect part of the schedule
It is mightily important that the event is plotted on the DP World Tour schedule in the week before The Open. These dates attract the players, harness the crowd’s anticipation for the UK’s major and the familiarity with a lasting host venue is hugely beneficial for players to plan their travels. ‘We’re heading to Renaissance, then how do we get to Troon/Portrush/Birkdale?’
The proximity of this course to other outstanding links venues like Gullane, North Berwick and Muirfield does much to whet the appetite of the players and fans too, in the lead-up to this year’s Open which is at Royal Troon on Scotland’s west coast.
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth took a visit to North Berwick in the week, taking in the sights and sounds of the country that houses the sport, and the type of course which is often described as its purest form.
The Scottish Open hasn’t been a stranger to a longstanding title sponsor either. There was Barclays, then Aberdeen Asset Management but much like the affiliation with Renaissance, there is something about the bond with Genesis, the nine-year-old breakaway car company which became the title sponsor in 2022, that feels like a natural fit.
“The audience who both follow golf, and professional golf and who participate in recreational golf are a very good fit with our Genesis customers,” said Genesis Brand Advisor Graeme Russell, speaking to why the company has invested so keenly into the sport.
“In our home market in Korea where we have a significant leading market share, it’s a really great fit because the uptake of golf, the following of golf in Korea is significant.
“It’s very much one of the fastest growing, emerging countries on the global golf landscape, so in the home market, golf was a great fit and as a platform to introduce yourself to new markets, starting with the USA and more recently, Europe and the UK.
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“It’s just a very good fit for a premium luxury car brand. I think also you have a lot of internal support as well for golf, there’s a belief that it has the right values, and it fits with the aspirations for Genesis and the hospitality.”
As well as sponsoring the first co-sanctioned event between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, Genesis is all in on the Genesis Invitational (unsurprisingly), Tiger’s tournament you might call it, perched in the hills of Los Angeles at Riviera Country Club and held in the early stages of the PGA Tour season.
Woods and the TGR Foundation host this elevated event on the US circuit. The 15-time major champion used the week in February this year to launch Sun Day Red, his new clothing brand having split with Nike.
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“That’s something that’s very important for us to support as an initiative, both the tournament itself but also several charitable initiatives including donating to the TGR foundation and other charities, such as the first tee,” Russell added.
“This’ll be the eighth year of association with the tournament and something that the organisation is very proud of. Fantastic course, great players, and when Tiger plays, he has obviously had injuries, but when he plays, the whole atmosphere, the number of spectators – everything just lifts and it’s a really great event.”
As I alluded to earlier, the Genesis Scottish Open has transformed. The infrastructure, the fan engagement and the players that commit to competing, plus the location and sentiment of links golf, add up to a tournament that finds itself in an intriguing gap between your run-of-mill tour events and a major.
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McIlroy, Schauffele, Thomas, Fleetwood, Clark, Matsuyama, Spieth, Aberg, MacIntyre – just some of the names choosing to park up at Cowden Hill Drive this week.
The efforts to elevate this event on the east coast of Scotland are epitomised by the 6th hole and the ‘Sixth Hole Stadium Experience’. Grandstands surround this short par-3 and as well as experiencing the best players carve wedges around the pin, fans also have the chance to win a luxury trip abroad.
Those who register in the tent next to the hole are paired with a player, and if said player makes a hole-in-one, that fan earns a VIP experience for two to the Genesis Championship in Korea.
“I’d say particularly with this tournament, both of those are the top priority for Genesis (fans and players), they’re also the top priority for Rolex series events and for us as a tour,” Colville added.
“Making sure the players have a first-class experience is really critical to us, and as we look to grow our fanbase making sure the fans enjoy their day at the golf is really important.”
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What do you make of the Renaissance Club and the status of the Genesis Scottish Open? Have you played a the Renaissance Club yet? Tell us on X!
Genesis is the title sponsor of the Genesis Scottish Open, the first ever co-sanctioned event by DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. For more information visit www.genesis.com
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