Golf is open to all
Rules of Golf
Insights into setting up a golf course to host AIG Women's Open
03 Jun 25
6 mins
Lydia Ko lifting the Championship trophy and becoming the AIG Women’s Open Champion at a windswept Old Course in 2024 was a real highlight of last year’s golfing calendar. Mother nature announced her attendance at St Andrews during the Championship week, testing not only the world’s best golfers but also plans and preparations made to present the course at the final women’s major of the season.
So what does go into course set-up and Rules of Golf related planning ahead of the AIG Women’s Open in August of each year? Firstly, the planned set-up of the golf course begins years in advance working with the Championship venue. Course changes leading to new teeing areas, bunkers, green complexes and, in some cases, a full change of layout and design could be on the agenda. Work then begins around a year in advance of the Championship to select potential teeing areas as well as to decide on fairway widths, rough height and definition. It’s also important to consider areas that will need to be protected to ensure the quality of turf in those areas is of the appropriate standard. A few months out and initial plans on hole locations begin, again to allow those areas of the greens to be protected ahead of the Championship. Throughout this process, The R&A’s Agronomy and Rules of Golf teams will be in regular contact with the host club to assist in presenting the course in the best possible condition and health, and ensure the greens are at a suitable speed and firmness for the Championship.
Lilia Vu in action at the AIG Women's Open at Walton Heath.
The plan is generally for the greens to be at the desired speed and level of firmness a few days in advance of that first tee shot being struck, ideally so that the course can be presented in true summer links conditions but with the ability to adapt the course set-up to deal with any adverse weather. And adverse weather is exactly what 2024 in St Andrews had in store as a forecast for strong winds led to a change to the planned green speeds and hole locations across the Old Course to ensure the lay-out remained playable and fair throughout the duration of the Championship.
Alongside the course set-up preparations, detailed plans are put in place months in advance to ensure the Championship can operate effectively from a Rules of Golf standpoint. Firstly, as with many major golfing events, a number of temporary structures are placed on the golf course. TV towers, advertising boards, hospitality and catering units, signage and grandstands are just a few examples of temporary fixed structures which are erected for the AIG Women’s Open and these have a potential significant impact on the way the course can play. Many of these structures are classified as Temporary Immovable Obstructions (TIOs) and these have a specific set of Rules associated with them due to the fact that these are large temporary structures that are not intended to be part of the challenge of the course.
The most impactful of the special Rules relating to TIOs is the potential for players to get relief from such as structure when it is on the line of sight between their ball and the hole. This means the positioning of these structures is of paramount importance and planning is undertaken to ensure their positioning is effective from an operations perspective, while also trying to limit the number of times that a player will have interference from such a structure. A good example of this at Royal Porthcawl are TV towers at the rear of greens. The towers on some greens could interfere with lines of play for other holes on the course so they are positioned and angled in a manner to minimise this impact.
Advanced planning is also undertaken with regards to local rules for the Championship and the marking of the golf course. For example, how and where any boundaries, penalty areas, potential dropping zones and crossing points will be defined and marked, how much paint and stakes are required to carry out that marking and if local rules need to be applied. Clear local rules and course marking are imperative to ensure that players and referees alike can apply the Rules of Golf in a consistent manner and formulating a plan of how to achieve that well in advance of players arriving is vital to achieving this.
Preparations are well underway at Royal Porthcawl for the next edition of the AIG Women’s Open and we look forward to another exciting Championship this August in South Wales.