For ready as long as anyone can remember, Championship It has given the umbrella a luxury that they will find in little, if there are, other golf tournaments: a resident of residents in every group that removes the bunker’s burden from Loopers and places it in a fleet of volunteers captured by the British and International Greenkeepers Association (Bigga).
Count Paul Tesor among the many velvet who approved the program.
Tesor, who was in the webb Simpson bag for many years before the latest stints with Cameron Young and Tom kimHe withdrew for Rackers when he was tied up for Simpson in the last open championship in Royal Portrush in 2019.
“My favorite choice every year is for local players to catch bunkers for each group,” Tesori Tweet at that time. “It speeds up playing and helping us keep older boys moving faster.”
Even young boys, because regardless of your physical condition, becoming a bunker in link courses-especially getting the pot bunker-is nothing less than a form of art. Volunteer Rackers, most of whom were supervisors in the entire UK courses, were remembered for this open at Royal Troon last year, when Conor Finlay, who is the R&A rules manager, and Gary Ross, the Deputy Manager of the Troon course, developed a clinic that came for the group.
“Ideally,” said Finlay toward the start of the master class (which you can see here), “When we are in a street bunker, we are looking for lines to go down the game line, just below the hole line, and the Greenside bunkers would look for your Rake line just to go to the center of green.”
The demonstration continued for another 10 minutes, with ross down in the bunker using a wooden robbery with enviable skills.
This year, however, R&D has changed the course and handed over to the tasks of returning to the cadites. Asked about policy change in Open on Wednesday, New Chief of R&A Mark Darbon provided little details.
“It’s a change for us, but we think a good one,” he said.
But why Change?
“A number of factors,” he said. “We just think it’s a good model for us here in Portrush.”
Jim Croxton, who is Bigga’s chief executive, was the next.
When it was reached by Golf.com on Wednesday, Croxton said by email, “R&A informed us in 2024 that they intended to return to the traditional cadet championship practice that captures bunkers effectively from the 2025 championship. Of course we respect that decision.”
Croxton added: “With the growth of green holding teams in the country, as well as the R&A that offers high -class agronomy support, the demand for the additional aid team has been reduced; in recent years this team was responsible for getting matches.”
Croxton said the decision could also have been motivated by R&A’s desire to “reduce the number of people” within ropes “with groups to improve the experience of spectator and TV.
