View from the secretary’s office

Yesterday was your humble correspondent’s annual visit to the best office there is in sport, maybe the whole world. The R&A secretary’s office in the clubhouse at St Andrews is a dream to call your workplace. Spectacular views down the first and 18th fairways and over the West Sands, light, airy, packed with golf memorabilia.

I’ve often wondered how I could secrete on my person the huge plan of the Old Course drawn by Dr Alistair Mackenzie, the designer of Augusta and Cypress Point, which hangs above Martin Slumbers’ desk, and somehow get safely out of the premises undetected.

Slumbers has changed a couple of things since taking over from Peter Dawson, taking down a horrible widescreen TV and replacing it with a large picture of Severiano Ballesteros.

There are two portraits of the great man now in the office which gives you an idea of the chief executive’s favourite player.

Anyway we were there for the annual quizzing of Slumbers on all matters pertaining to golf. There were two announcements – R&A honorary memberships for the distinguished amateur player and administrator Bridget Jackson and double Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, and confirmation that Royal St George’s will host the 2020 Open. Which means... St Andrews will host the 150th Open, Muirfield will get back on the rota if it votes to admit women, and there doesn’t appear to be a date for Turnberry.

Regular T2G readers will know this formation as I’ve long flagged it up. Slumbers declined to make an official announcement on 2021 yet but it will definitely be the Old Course.

2022 would seem likely to be Lytham, and if the new Muirfield vote this month goes the way all expect it to, Slumbers indicated that the Honourable Company would jump straight back on the rota immediately, probably in the same spot it left, ie 2023.

In 2024 Hoylake, one of the R&A’s best attended and most lucrative venues, is due and should not miss its turn. So we’re finding it hard to fit in Turnberry, certainly not within President Trump’s first term in office.

Slumbers said the R&A’s position had not changed one iota since last year, despite Trump’s remarkable election victory.

However he made the stipulation that “it’s very important that we’re clear about what our business is, which is making sure that the Open Championship is one of the world’s greatest sporting events and staying out of politics”.

Given that Trump is all about politics right now, that surely means the R&A still have no intention of going anywhere near him with the Open. Pace of play: top names must be role models

Asked to address Jason Day’s January press conference when he was still world No 1 and indicated he planned to play even slower than he already does, Slumbers was about as unequivocal as he gets – which isn’t usually very much.

“The top pros are fantastic role models for young people. They’re healthy, they’re fit, they’re strong, they’ve got unbelievable skills, but part of that role model is pace of play, and there is no doubt that younger generations take a steer from it.

“I would just encourage the Tour pros to realise that part of being a role model is pace, and it’s not helpful to growing the amateur game when the youngsters are slowing down.”

The R&A will instigate “ready to play” rules in the strokeplay element of the Amateur Championship this year; it may trickle up to the pro game yet. Other rules issues: the R&A are moving in on “lining up”

This practice of having caddies provide a player with direction, prevalent on the ladies’ tours, seems to be on borrowed time, although it won’t go in the next rules revision.

However, Slumbers revealed “an increased emphasis on the words skill and judgment” is in the new rules book designed as a framework to address this practice in future. Sometimes you can’t avoid politics...

The weak pound as a result of Brexit severely restricts the R&A’s options to keep pace with prize-money levels in the other majors – if they stick to counting the cash in sterling.

The result is prize money for the event could be totalled in US dollars. “It’s a significant issue” admitted Slumbers.

We’re finding it harder to fit Turnberry in, certainly not in President Trump’s first term of office

Distance hitting: the R&A are sticking to their guns

Last week’s report on distance hitting across seven tours is “not speculative but actual data” from 40,000 shots, said Slumbers.

Therefore the perception of many that these figures are conveniently compiled for governing bodies seeking to avoid a legal scrap with equipment manufacturers is “wrong”, he said.

He believes the data is accurate and that distance hitting has “plateaued” but admits this is “a polarising issue”.

It’s certainly not going to go away.

Picture: Getty Images. R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers wants to keep politics out of the Open Championship.