Last year’s Open was one of the best there has been for ages.
I was walking the course on the Friday for The Courier, following Rory McIlroy’s group, and it was in absolutely immaculate condition.
It was the perfect test really hard but not unfair.
On top of that the tournament got a thrilling finish and a great story in Phil Mickelson at last winning the Open.
And the sun shone! What’s not to like. I certainly really enjoyed being there and watching it on TV on the Sunday.
But, there’s no getting away from the fact that the main topic of discussion before, during and after the championship was women not being allowed to join Muirfield and the R&A.
It was a real shame, and a lot of people think the issue affected the lower than expected crowd figures.
Scotland has got the best golf courses in the world and the most knowledgeable galleries, so for the focus to be taken away from that in the most important week of the golfing year can’t be good.
So I’m really glad that the R&A have now taken the step to accept female members for the first time, if it is voted through.
Golf’s a bit like curling sometimes things take a bit longer to change than a lot of people would like. But the main thing is they are going to get there in the end.
And, also importantly, it isn’t just going to be a token gesture.
Augusta National seemed to be let off the hook when two very high profile women were co-opted into their club, but how much difference has it actually made in the long-term? It hasn’t exactly opened the flood gates.
From what I can gather, the R&A are proposing something much more significant.
There will be no limit on how many women will be allowed to become members. That’s an important principle.
It will be intriguing to see who gets voted in, and how many.
And as someone who is thrilled to get the chance to play on the Old Course, if there are any R&A members who want to propose and second me, I would be only too happy to accept!
* It was good to see Andy Murray back to good form in Miami. The quarter-final he lost to Novak Djokovic was one of those games that hinged on the odd point here and there, but basically there was nothing between them.
I think Murray had every right to be angry at the controversial point where Djokovic’s racket was clearly over the other side of the net when he volleyed it.
Only Djokovic will know if he was aware it shouldn’t have been his point. He’s the one who has to face his fellow pros in the locker room, so I hope for his sake it isn’t on his conscience.
In the grand scheme of things for Murray though, it shows that he isn’t as far away from the sort of form that would give him a chance of defending Wimbledon as some people thought.
* I have to say, it’s good to get back to tournament curling.
I know the Olympics were only a few weeks ago, but it feels like a lot longer with everything that’s been going on since.
As much as we’ve loved all the opportunities we’ve had after Sochi, we’re all ready to start playing again.
We’re in Alberta in Canada for the Grand Prairie Showdown, and there’s a strong Canadian field here, as well as a couple of international rinks.
This is our second last Grand Slam event and we want to finish the season on a high.
It makes a big difference for the next season, and there’s the small matter of the pay cheque at the end of the week!
We’ve kept things ticking over with practice over the last couple of weeks, and hopefully we can pick up where we left off in that bronze medal play-off.