The Genesis Scottish Open is on the horizon later this week and has become synonymous with the new Renaissance Club. In all fairness, the last two years have delivered drama.
We’ve seen Rory McIlroy make clutch birdies on holes 17 and 18 in 2023, and local hero Robert MacIntyre sink a 22-foot putt on 18 in 2024 to win by a stroke.
These electric finishes have been thrilling, but they can’t mask a simple fact: Scotland is the home of golf, rich in world-class courses with character far beyond Ren’s flat sands. This isn't Groundhog day, it is a national open.
Ironically, the Scottish Open – a Rolex Series event – was on a true tour of Scotland for decades, rotating through Gleneagles, Loch Lomond, Castle Stuart, Royal Aberdeen, Gullane, Dundonald. Now it’s locked at Renaissance and is scheduled to remain there until at least next year.
That’s a missed opportunity. Even at a site under contract, we should be pushing the event around Scotland’s treasure chest of golf.
No one can deny the recent finishes at Renaissance have been spectacular – McIlroy holding off Scotsman, MacIntyre, in 2023 with a couple of phenomenal iron shots into the closing holes. MacIntyre got his own back the following year, becoming the first Scot in 25 years to win his national open.
Would returning to some of the classic links make the Scottish Open even bigger?
Imagine the buzz if this signature warm-up to The Open was held at courses oozing history and scenery. Scotland’s links heritage is unparalleled: from the North Berwick West Links on the Firth of Forth (founded 1832, home of the famous 15th “Redan” hole), to Muirfield – Old Tom Morris’s 1891 design that hosted 16 Open Championships and where seven golfers won their first major.
Consider Dundonald Links in Ayrshire – a modern Kyle Phillips masterpiece that already “has hosted everything from Open Championship Final Qualifying to the Scottish Open” – and Carnoustie, the perennial Open venue called “one of the toughest and best links courses in the world” by Colin Montgomerie.
Each of these courses has its own character and challenges, a contrast to Ren’s relatively featureless windswept dunes.
By moving the Scottish Open to these and other classic venues, we’d tap back into the richness of Scottish golf and give fans fresh scenery each year. The timing is perfect: this tournament is the final (and shockingly the only) competitive links test before The Open, with extra Claret Jug spots on offer.
Why not sharpen the field on wildly different layouts? A firm finish at North Berwick or a windy Carnoustie could be just as compelling as Ren’s sprint to the line.
Scotland is lucky to boast so many top-tier links. It’s time the Scottish Open embraced that wealth once again. Let Renaissance Club hosts bask in the glow of past thrills, but in future let Scotland’s best courses share the stage.
A Scottish Open at Muirfield or Carnoustie or any of these gems would not only honour the heritage of the game, but truly whet the appetite for The Open that follows – elevating the event far beyond what a single venue can provide.
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