Martin Dempster: Muirfield remains a gem

SO MANY questions but no-one to answer them. In a break with tradition, the R&A did not hold a press conference yesterday morning to pick over the bones of its flagship event, with no reason being offered for what effectively was a drawbridge being raised.

Empty shelves in the official merchandising tent. Picture: Ian Rutherford

“We look forward to seeing you at Royal Liverpool from 13-20 July 2014,” was the sign-off in a short bulletin issued on Sunday night, meaning there was no opportunity for chief executive Peter Dawson and championship chairman Jim McArthur to be grilled on matters arising from the event’s 142nd staging.

Perhaps they did not want to face another round of questioning over Muirfield’s men-only policy and, in fairness, that would be understandable. Dawson, after all, discussed that at length on the eve of the championship, having already held a round table briefing with a large group of British-based golf writers on the matter in the build-up to the event.

Hiding, of course, will not make the thorny issue go away and, until the Royal & Ancient Golf Club itself brings down its own male-only barriers, the Open Championship organisers are simply in no position to use strong-arm tactics on Muirfield, Royal Troon or Royal St George’s.

They probably wouldn’t, in any case, because what some people seem to be forgetting in all of this controversy is that, taking Muirfield, for example, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers could easily respond by saying they don’t want to stage the event again.

“The press are giving us a kicking for everything,” muttered one member in front of the iconic clubhouse last week and, though he and his colleagues are clearly made of thick skin, there is a growing feeling that Muirfield needs the Open these days like a hole in the head.

But, while seeing it fall off the rota would be greeted with loud cheers by some, it would be a travesty if Phil Mickelson’s dramatic victory on Sunday was the last Claret Jug joust to be held over the East Lothian links.

For starters, the course showed yet again that, over four days, it has a knack of bringing the cream to the top, the leaderboard from start to finish last week looking like a Who’s Who in golf and the winner certainly fitting the bill in terms of having the same class and credentials as all the other past champions there.

While the fairways were bouncy, the rough thick in spots and the greens became scary on the first afternoon, it was a test the players both relished and enjoyed, in many cases more than any of those eight other historic courses on the event’s rota.

As the host area, East Lothian also ticked all the boxes, with North Berwick and Gullane, in particular, experiencing the unique buzz of an Open Championship as players strolled through the streets and mingled with fans in restaurants (the Gullane Fry in some cases!).

Taken purely at face value, it will be viewed as disappointing by the R&A, no doubt, that a total attendance for the week of 142,036 was around 18,000 down on the event’s last visit to Muirfield in 2002.

Apart from 2010 at St Andrews, where the crowds are traditionally enormous, however, this was the first Open to be staged in Scotland since the recession hit and there’s no doubt that a daily ticket price of £75 would have been off-putting for some.

Is that too expensive? Certainly not if you go for the full day and make the most of a rare chance to see the best golfers on the planet – 74 of the world’s top 75 were in last week’s field – competing on British soil and definitely not if you compare it to Bournemouth football fans having to cough up £60 to watch a pre-season friendly against Real Madrid at the weekend.

Compared to The Masters, it is a far more expensive day out for fans when they are at an Open venue in terms of food and merchandise but, on the other hand, what people paid at Muirfield for bacon rolls or a pint of beer (both around £4, I believe) is on par with an event like T in The Park.

Though a factor, the dramatic attendance drop – it was almost 40,000 down on Lytham 12 months ago – can’t purely be attributed to the fact there was no concession for senior citizens last week.

That had already been withdrawn last year and it was interesting to hear a long-serving professional at one Lothians club voicing strong support over that particular development.

What was concerning, especially if the crowds were lower than had been anticipated and the R&A had estimated between 160,000-170,000 on the back of strong advance ticket sales, was the sight of shelves in the merchandise tent lying bare just before midday on Sunday as many spectators were arriving at the course for the first time in the week.

Normally, a matter like that would have been addressed by Dawson or a member of his championship team in their post-event briefing. That they decided to go to ground on this occasion was a mistake and one, hopefully, they will address before too long to give a splendid event the proper closure it deserves.