Rules Education

Rules from the Old Course

The R&A

17 Jul 20

3m read

In celebration of The Open For The Ages, The R&A is showing a special ‘Rules from the Old Course’ episode today to highlight iconic Championship moments over the historic links.

Grant Moir, Director – Rules at The R&A, is joined by Sky Sports golf presenter Nick Dougherty to feature notable Rules situations from The Open in St Andrews and how golfers can learn from them. Rules featured include Tom Watson’s challenge at the wall on the Road Hole in 1984, double green trouble for Jack Nicklaus in 1990 and Padraig Harrington’s lost ball in the final round of 2015. The suspension of play during the high winds of The Open in 2015 is also featured, as Moir and Dougherty guide viewers through the various situations, how the Rules were implemented and how some Rules changed during modernisation in 2019 to make them simpler and easier.

Rules education

The special screening, available on The R&A’s YouTube channel, builds on Moir’s popular ‘Rules from the Garden’ series for #GolfAtHome during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Even if you think you know the Rules you can always brush up on them, especially when it involves the greats of the game on the wonderful Old Course in the oldest championship – The Open,” said Dougherty, a former winner at St Andrews in the 2007 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Highlighting Rules education, Moir added, “We had our modernisation initiative that came to fruition in 2019 and with that we wanted to make the Rules easier to understand and apply. Beginners, club golfers and elite players can all benefit from a sound knowledge of the basics of the Rules.” Don't miss ‘Rules from the Old Course’ by subscribing to The R&A’s YouTube.

Open celebration

Dougherty is one of the commentators who feature in this week’s The Open For The Ages, an exclusive celebration featuring the greatest Champions of the last 50 years. After The 149th Open was pushed back to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The R&A was eager to offer fans the chance to engage with a special celebration of The Open during the week the Championship was scheduled to be held in 2020. The innovative project began on Thursday and culminates in a three-hour broadcast production on Sunday that will show many of the best players battling it out for the Claret Jug at St Andrews. Real footage from past Championships at the Old Course has been expertly edited and woven together with modern graphics and new commentary to produce a compelling narrative, designed to recreate the drama of an Open final round. The unique event gives fans the opportunity to experience the likes of Nicklaus, Watson, Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo, Rory McIlroy and more all contending together at the Home of Golf for the first time. The broadcast – supported by HSBC and NTT DATA, both Official Patrons of The Open – will be made available via TV, digital and social media channels from 11am to 2pm BST on Sunday (19 July), the day The 149th Open was originally scheduled to conclude at Royal St George’s. View The Open For The Ages.

Rules Education