Should a sexist institution like St Georges host the Open ?

First topic message reminder :

Bearing in mind that the Open is the pinnacle event in the British golfing calendar, should it be awarded to a club that will not permit half the British population as a member ? OK, it probably wont even consider 99.9% of the population but if you are a woman it's not even up for debate. I believe someone high up at the R&A was recently asked this question and his answer was it wasn't up to the R&A to influence social engineering. What a wonderfully enlightened man he must have been.....
So for me I can accept that they have a right to be a male only institution, however I'd equally have to say that such an institution should not be considered fitting to host the Open.
I thought Id post this thread after freading an article by Matthew Syed in this mornings Times by the way...not a Guardian in sight....

I believe attendances for the Ryder Cup are around 200,000 - very similar to The Open

I also believe that the Ryder Cup was held in a country that was booming economically and is just another European country. Ireland will not be hosting The Open so this is a moot point and it would now struggle to host such an event anyway as that infrastructure has got worse since the Ryder Cup.

leinsterbaby wrote:The open should be held in Northern Ireland again due to the amount of talent from NI plus there are some excellent courses there.

Only if they allow women members

"The infrastructure has got worse" Has it really? Can you please provide the source for this incredible fact.

Economy has little relevance in hosting this sporting event. That and infrastructure are both just lame excuses to hide the fact that the open is a fairly snobby organisation and until a champ comes along like Rory Mcilroy NI golf doesnt even feature in the mind of British golf. In any case NI is supposedly part of Britain so infrastructure their should be no problem as Britains economy is so strong.

leinsterbaby wrote:"The infrastructure has got worse" Has it really? Can you please provide the source for this incredible fact.

Economy has little relevance in hosting this sporting event. That and infrastructure are both just lame excuses to hide the fact that the open is a fairly snobby organisation and until a champ comes along like Rory Mcilroy NI golf doesnt even feature in the mind of British golf. In any case NI is supposedly part of Britain so infrastructure their should be no problem as Britains economy is so strong.

I watched Rory recently in an interview where he was asked about the Open visiting NI. He said it would be great, but would be years away due to infrastructure. New roads would need building first and foremost, with some hotels, in the area. The club would need to be able to buy up some adjoining land so car parking, the village complex, practice areas and plenty more needs doing as well. This is out of Rory's mouth I'm afraid and recently as he was interviewed at Wimbledon about it.

"Economy and infrastructure are both just lame excuses"

Yes neither are important at all!!

South Africa have successfully hosted both the football world cup and rugby WC despite having a weak economy. In any case like I say it's a very poor excuse because NI being part of Britain has the same economic status as England does it not? Or is it that it is only part of Britain when it has a major winner but not when bidding for the Open?

leinsterbaby wrote:"The infrastructure has got worse" Has it really? Can you please provide the source for this incredible fact.

Economy has little relevance in hosting this sporting event. That and infrastructure are both just lame excuses to hide the fact that the open is a fairly snobby organisation and until a champ comes along like Rory Mcilroy NI golf doesnt even feature in the mind of British golf. In any case NI is supposedly part of Britain so infrastructure their should be no problem as Britains economy is so strong.

Firstly, your point and mine was regarding Ireland which is not part of Britain so would be as likely as any other European country in its ineligibility to host The Open. My source on Ireland is a couple of friends that lived there for 5 years while it was booming. They both worked in the construction industry building roads across Ireland and lost their jobs because the cash ran out and they had to literally stop their projects half way through, leaving roads that just stopped and led to nowhere. They then left Ireland because pubs/restaurants/hotels were closing left right and centre as the Euro strengthened enough that people could not afford to go out. Add this to the 50% drop in their house prices making everyone financially crippled and I'd say that the economic conditions are not suitable for a big event like The Open. Again, this is a moot point because Ireland has nothing to do with Britain.

Secondly, if the British economy is so strong, in your opinion, then are British tax payers expected to fork out to improve the infrastructure in Northern Ireland for a 4 day event leaving it largely unused afterwards? This is particularly unlikely given that the British economy is actually on its knees and there are plenty of venues already capable of hosting The Open without tax payer money.

leinsterbaby wrote:South Africa have successfully hosted both the football world cup and rugby WC despite having a weak economy. In any case like I say it's a very poor excuse because NI being part of Britain has the same economic status as England does it not? Or is it that it is only part of Britain when it has a major winner but not when bidding for the Open?

I'm not sure that you have any idea whatsoever what the state of the British/English economy is in at all?!? South Africa did successfully host both World Cups but it came at a huge cost to them that has left them with lost of stadiums that are completely unused. As another example, the Greeks are still paying for the last Olympics that they held in 2004 but then I suppose you assume that they also have a strong economy because they are a part of Europe?

If you're so keen to enjoy being part of Britain why don't you just get yourself over to Lytham next year? Simple!

sharrison01 wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:South Africa have successfully hosted both the football world cup and rugby WC despite having a weak economy. In any case like I say it's a very poor excuse because NI being part of Britain has the same economic status as England does it not? Or is it that it is only part of Britain when it has a major winner but not when bidding for the Open?

I'm not sure that you have any idea whatsoever what the state of the British/English economy is in at all?!? South Africa did successfully host both World Cups but it came at a huge cost to them that has left them with lost of stadiums that are completely unused. As another example, the Greeks are still paying for the last Olympics that they held in 2004 but then I suppose you assume that they also have a strong economy because they are a part of Europe?

The state of the British economy is not relevant because of it can be held in England it can be held in NI because they are both the same country. It's a cop out. The open has been held in NI before there is absolutely no reason why it can't be held there again.

The reason is that the last time The Open was held in Northern Ireland there was one man and his dog watching it. Now, there will be a couple of hundred thousand people attending, most from outside of Northern Ireland, and they will need hotels to stay in, places to eat and a way to travel about. This would then require an improved transport system, which would be good long term for Northern Ireland but would come at the cost of British tax payers - something that we have already established will not happen because the British economy is already on it's knees. It would also require more hotels and restaurants to be built that would come at a large cost and then sit there like South African football stadiums afterwards because there is just not the demand for tourism to make it sustainable.

sharrison01 wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:"The infrastructure has got worse" Has it really? Can you please provide the source for this incredible fact.

Economy has little relevance in hosting this sporting event. That and infrastructure are both just lame excuses to hide the fact that the open is a fairly snobby organisation and until a champ comes along like Rory Mcilroy NI golf doesnt even feature in the mind of British golf. In any case NI is supposedly part of Britain so infrastructure their should be no problem as Britains economy is so strong.

Firstly, your point and mine was regarding Ireland which is not part of Britain so would be as likely as any other European country in its ineligibility to host The Open. My source on Ireland is a couple of friends that lived there for 5 years while it was booming. They both worked in the construction industry building roads across Ireland and lost their jobs because the cash ran out and they had to literally stop their projects half way through, leaving roads that just stopped and led to nowhere. They then left Ireland because pubs/restaurants/hotels were closing left right and centre as the Euro strengthened enough that people could not afford to go out. Add this to the 50% drop in their house prices making everyone financially crippled and I'd say that the economic conditions are not suitable for a big event like The Open. Again, this is a moot point because Ireland has nothing to do with Britain.

Secondly, if the British economy is so strong, in your opinion, then are British tax payers expected to fork out to improve the infrastructure in Northern Ireland for a 4 day event leaving it largely unused afterwards? This is particularly unlikely given that the British economy is actually on its knees and there are plenty of venues already capable of hosting The Open without tax payer money.

.

You misunderstand. Ireland is an Island that contains two countries ROI and NI. You are basing your knowledge on something your friend told you? Very reliable.

As for your comments on ROI and Irish economy Did you know that Dublin for example recently hosted the eufa cup final the queens visit and a visit from Barack Obama all in the same week. The cost to the economy was huge and infrastructure in place was more that sufficient to cater for the enormous crowds for each event. You clearly don't have a clue what you're talking about.

sharrison01 wrote:The reason is that the last time The Open was held in Northern Ireland there was one man and his dog watching it. Now, there will be a couple of hundred thousand people attending, most from outside of Northern Ireland, and they will need hotels to stay in, places to eat and a way to travel about. This would then require an improved transport system, which would be good long term for Northern Ireland but would come at the cost of British tax payers - something that we have already established will not happen because the British economy is already on it's knees. It would also require more hotels and restaurants to be built that would come at a large cost and then sit there like South African football stadiums afterwards because there is just not the demand for tourism to make it sustainable.

Eh people from NI are also British taxpayers. Shouldn't they expect the same quality infrastructure as the rest of Britain. Completely ignorant comments from you pal. In any case the infrastructure excuse it a complete cop out. If the open can be held in the bum end of Scotland it can be held in NI.

You just keep saying the same thing, pal.

If not owing to infrastructure, do you think it's an R&A conspiracy to not have the Open in N Ireland?

leinsterbaby wrote:

sharrison01 wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:"The infrastructure has got worse" Has it really? Can you please provide the source for this incredible fact.

Economy has little relevance in hosting this sporting event. That and infrastructure are both just lame excuses to hide the fact that the open is a fairly snobby organisation and until a champ comes along like Rory Mcilroy NI golf doesnt even feature in the mind of British golf. In any case NI is supposedly part of Britain so infrastructure their should be no problem as Britains economy is so strong.

Firstly, your point and mine was regarding Ireland which is not part of Britain so would be as likely as any other European country in its ineligibility to host The Open. My source on Ireland is a couple of friends that lived there for 5 years while it was booming. They both worked in the construction industry building roads across Ireland and lost their jobs because the cash ran out and they had to literally stop their projects half way through, leaving roads that just stopped and led to nowhere. They then left Ireland because pubs/restaurants/hotels were closing left right and centre as the Euro strengthened enough that people could not afford to go out. Add this to the 50% drop in their house prices making everyone financially crippled and I'd say that the economic conditions are not suitable for a big event like The Open. Again, this is a moot point because Ireland has nothing to do with Britain.

Secondly, if the British economy is so strong, in your opinion, then are British tax payers expected to fork out to improve the infrastructure in Northern Ireland for a 4 day event leaving it largely unused afterwards? This is particularly unlikely given that the British economy is actually on its knees and there are plenty of venues already capable of hosting The Open without tax payer money.

.

You misunderstand. Ireland is an Island that contains two countries ROI and NI. You are basing your knowledge on something your friend told you? Very reliable.

As for your comments on ROI and Irish economy Did you know that Dublin for example recently hosted the eufa cup final the queens visit and a visit from Barack Obama all in the same week. The cost to the economy was huge and infrastructure in place was more that sufficient to cater for the enormous crowds for each event. You clearly don't have a clue what you're talking about.

I explicitly stated that I was talking about Ireland in response to your comments about The Ryder Cup and then stated that this was all a moot point. I gave you an example from my friends that lived and worked in Ireland but you only need to look at the economic data - Ireland being very much one of the PIGS of Europe is not without reason?!? I'm not sure that you have been living with your eyes open the last 3-4 years!?!?

As for Dublin hosting these events - again this is irrelevant because as you quite rightly stated but seem to have only just realised, this is in Ireland and not Northern Ireland. The infrastructure for these events is rather different to an Open event in that the UEFA is around 1/4 - 1/5 of the Open attendance and the state visits were largely attended by local people who did not need hotels to stay in or places to eat.

leinsterbaby wrote:

sharrison01 wrote:The reason is that the last time The Open was held in Northern Ireland there was one man and his dog watching it. Now, there will be a couple of hundred thousand people attending, most from outside of Northern Ireland, and they will need hotels to stay in, places to eat and a way to travel about. This would then require an improved transport system, which would be good long term for Northern Ireland but would come at the cost of British tax payers - something that we have already established will not happen because the British economy is already on it's knees. It would also require more hotels and restaurants to be built that would come at a large cost and then sit there like South African football stadiums afterwards because there is just not the demand for tourism to make it sustainable.

Eh people from NI are also British taxpayers. Shouldn't they expect the same quality infrastructure as the rest of Britain. Completely ignorant comments from you pal. In any case the infrastructure excuse it a complete cop out. If the open can be held in the bum end of Scotland it can be held in NI.

People from Northern Ireland should expect the same standard of services as the rest of Britain but no more. Why should they receive an infrastructure that will support 200,000 people when afterwards only a handful of people use it? Your comment on Scotland is also just plain ridiculous because The Open venues in Scotland are very accessible to people all over Britain and already have the infrastructure in place, thus costing the British tax payers nothing and bringing money to those areas which is a winner all around.

You keep saying that you do not believe that the infrastructure is a problem when it is the most glaringly obvious and biggest problem that there is!?! If you have an issue with the people at the R&A then that is a different conversation but by constantly dismissing the biggest problem standing in the way of them awarding The Open to a Northern Irish may just show you to be the chimp that I feel that you are.

Irleland already has it's own Open Championship.

The infrastructure is poor in NI. The courses good enough to hold the event would not be able to cope with the three ringed circus that is attatched to the golf.

Is this Leinster clown for real?

Yes NI has the courses to host The Open, but it doesn't have the transport infrastructure or the accomodation to make it a feasable option to be on the Open rota, of course it would be nice to hold it there, but it's not going to happen.

Yes the southern part of Ireland held the Ryder Cup, but infrastructure benefitted hugely from the EU in healthier times, plus I dare say Michael Smurfit was able to have a great deal of influence.

I'd like to see The Open get to Dornoch, but it isn't going to happen because of the same problems NI faces.

Oh Dear, Why are you having a go at Leinster? - of course Northern Ireland can hold the Open. Take Belfast for example; with an International Airport, good rail and road links across Northern Ireland. You don't need huge infrastructure improvement spends to accommodate 200,000 spectators - ridiculous don't you realise that they have motorways and decent A Class principal roads built to the same standards as the UK

Yadsendew, I think that the animosity towards Leinster is more to do with his ignorance towards the infrastructure issues that entail with hosting The Open in Northern Ireland. He seems to think that there is some other issue with not awarding it to Northern Ireland than the infrastructure issue and as such is making for a rather weak case in this debate.

As for the infrastructure issues, Royal Portrush, which would be a more likely venue to host it because it has already done so, struggled to cope with 6000 people attending the Seniors Open and have stated that they would see 15000 people per day as the top end of spectator numbers. This is not sufficient for The Open as such a low number of spectators would not exploit the commercial opportunities available with The Open. As a comparison, RSG, which lost it's place on The Open rota due to not having enough hotels to accommodate everyone, will see around 3 40-50,000 spectators a day buying food, drink and merchandise to maximise the profits for the R&A.

Comparing Dornoch to NI is spot on.

sharrison01 wrote:Yadsendew, I think that the animosity towards Leinster is more to do with his ignorance towards the infrastructure issues that entail with hosting The Open in Northern Ireland. He seems to think that there is some other issue with not awarding it to Northern Ireland than the infrastructure issue and as such is making for a rather weak case in this debate.

As for the infrastructure issues, Royal Portrush, which would be a more likely venue to host it because it has already done so, struggled to cope with 6000 people attending the Seniors Open and have stated that they would see 15000 people per day as the top end of spectator numbers. This is not sufficient for The Open as such a low number of spectators would not exploit the commercial opportunities available with The Open. As a comparison, RSG, which lost it's place on The Open rota due to not having enough hotels to accommodate everyone, will see around 3 40-50,000 spectators a day buying food, drink and merchandise to maximise the profits for the R&A.

I the ignorant one yet I've been there a million times and know of no reason why NI wouldn't do a good job. You I'm guessing have never been to NI O2 thief that you are.

Yadsendew wrote:Oh Dear, Why are you having a go at Leinster? - of course Northern Ireland can hold the Open. Take Belfast for example; with an International Airport, good rail and road links across Northern Ireland. You don't need huge infrastructure improvement spends to accommodate 200,000 spectators - ridiculous don't you realise that they have motorways and decent A Class principal roads built to the same standards as the UK

Exactly. Complete load of nonsense from some posters who believe they are experts on things they clearly know nothing about. Using infrastructure and economic issues as an excuse to hold the open is utter nonsense. The real reason until recently is of course security which one would hope is not an issue any more especially after the recent successful visit from the queen to the republic. Secondly there is an element of snobbery which I feel contributes the same courses holding the open all the time.

Leinster, I didn't call you ignorant but said that you have an ignorance towards the infrastructure issues faced in holding The Open in Northern Ireland. You seem to completely dismiss any talk of infrastructure issues as being not relevant when the R&A, Royal Portrush, Northern Irish MP's and the players all state infrastructure issues as being the big problem. Are you telling me that the million times that you have been to Northern Ireland makes you more knowledgeable than all of those people that actually have a say in how suitable Northern Ireland would be for The Open?

And I wouldn't go guessing - not a very strong basis for a debate...

leinsterbaby wrote:

Yadsendew wrote:Oh Dear, Why are you having a go at Leinster? - of course Northern Ireland can hold the Open. Take Belfast for example; with an International Airport, good rail and road links across Northern Ireland. You don't need huge infrastructure improvement spends to accommodate 200,000 spectators - ridiculous don't you realise that they have motorways and decent A Class principal roads built to the same standards as the UK

Exactly. Complete load of nonsense from some posters who believe they are experts on things they clearly know nothing about. Using infrastructure and economic issues as an excuse to hold the open is utter nonsense. The real reason until recently is of course security which one would hope is not an issue any more especially after the recent successful visit from the queen to the republic. Secondly there is an element of snobbery which I feel contributes the same courses holding the open all the time.

Would you not say that The Open going back to Hoylake might put a dent into your argument of snobbery? Merseyside is not exactly a great area and it didn't hold The Open for nearly 40 years because of infrastructure issues. They addressed the problem and was thus awarded The Open.

Yadsendew wrote:Oh Dear, Why are you having a go at Leinster? - of course Northern Ireland can hold the Open. Take Belfast for example; with an International Airport, good rail and road links across Northern Ireland. You don't need huge infrastructure improvement spends to accommodate 200,000 spectators - ridiculous don't you realise that they have motorways and decent A Class principal roads built to the same standards as the UK

The roads are of course built to the same standards in terms of their construction quality, but have you seen some of the A-roads in this country? An A-road is also a broad term and NI categorise their roads differently, therefore A UK mainland A-road is not necessarily the same a NI A-road, have you seen the A2 for example? to put it loosely it's a very rural carriageway probably only just meeting A-Road criteria, and there simply aren't enough other roads of a high enough quality to cope with the anticipated level of capacity required, not to mention that the only motorways in NI are going in the opposite direction for Portrush. Northern Ireland is a small place and unlike Britain where it is relatively easy for people to travel from all four corners of the country and eventually converge on a small location like St.Andrews, Turnberry or RSG you'd have 50,000 people PER DAY travelling from in and around the tiny Portrush (pop 7000) and it would quite frankly be chaos, that's if there were even enough accomodation to house them, which by the way there isn't, unless you have them driving 60 miles from Belfast every day , and then you face the roads problem again.
It isn't going to happen, and for good reason.

sharrison01 wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:

Yadsendew wrote:Oh Dear, Why are you having a go at Leinster? - of course Northern Ireland can hold the Open. Take Belfast for example; with an International Airport, good rail and road links across Northern Ireland. You don't need huge infrastructure improvement spends to accommodate 200,000 spectators - ridiculous don't you realise that they have motorways and decent A Class principal roads built to the same standards as the UK

Exactly. Complete load of nonsense from some posters who believe they are experts on things they clearly know nothing about. Using infrastructure and economic issues as an excuse to hold the open is utter nonsense. The real reason until recently is of course security which one would hope is not an issue any more especially after the recent successful visit from the queen to the republic. Secondly there is an element of snobbery which I feel contributes the same courses holding the open all the time.

Would you not say that The Open going back to Hoylake might put a dent into your argument of snobbery? Merseyside is not exactly a great area and it didn't hold The Open for nearly 40 years because of infrastructure issues. They addressed the problem and was thus awarded The Open.

Possibly Hoylake puts a dent in it but just a dent.

Leinster, in what way are Carnoustie and St.Andrews "snobbish"?. I was born and went to school in St.Andrews and it has as normal a mix of working and middle class as any other town, Carnoustie is undoubtedly more working class. There is no snobbery, NI isn't fit to hold The Open, so please stop your pointless flag waving and see it objectionally, but it's to do with facilities, accomodation and transport infrastructure.

Hey this thread is meant to be about debating banishing prejudice and bigotry from the game of golf....not about whether the potato munchers should get to host the Open.

Excellent Diggers, apparently the leading amateur wouldn't get a silver medal if The Open were held in NI, he'd get some "Lucky Charms" instead

IMO, the R&A has two objectives with The Open - put on a great golfing event and make a load of cash. The rota at the moment suffices both of these requirements because all of the courses have their merits and they are all able to welcome a load of people to them. If any venue cannot meet these demands then, like RSG and Hoylake in the past, they will be dropped regardless of the prestige or history. A course like Royal Portrush would put on a really fantastic spectacle - may be one of the best in recent years because of the novelty and nature of the local people- but they would not be able to generate the sort of money that the R&A demands. If there was not already a precedence set of venues being dropped for not having a good enough infrastructure, in the cases of RSG and Hoylake, then Northern Ireland would be more a serious consideration. However, to drop RSG and Hoylake for not being able to host enough people and then adding a venue that also cannot host enough people would actually show favouritism towards NI.

Well done Diggers obviously post of the week and maybe even the month

Doc wrote:Well done Diggers obviously post of the week and maybe even the month

Brilliant post alright if you find casual racism amusing. You are making real fools of yourselves lads.

I think it would be great to see The Open go to NI, infrastructure can't be that bad it's not a 3rd world country! Travel arrangements for RSG aren't exactly the best so I don't see that as the issue.

leinsterbaby wrote:

Doc wrote:Well done Diggers obviously post of the week and maybe even the month

Brilliant post alright if you find casual racism amusing. You are making real fools of yourselves lads.

Interesting that you have nothing more to add so just label everybody else as fools...

JPX wrote:I think it would be great to see The Open go to NI, infrastructure can't be that bad it's not a 3rd world country! Travel arrangements for RSG aren't exactly the best so I don't see that as the issue.

Following the "potato munchers" comment and the amusement it generated I suggest bigotry may the real issue amoung some posters here who are showing their true colours.

JPX wrote:I think it would be great to see The Open go to NI, infrastructure can't be that bad it's not a 3rd world country! Travel arrangements for RSG aren't exactly the best so I don't see that as the issue.

If we assume that holding The Open in Northern Ireland means at Royal Portrush, because asking the R&A to add a completely new venue might be a bit much, do you not think that the fact that a town with a population under 10000 that struggled to cope with 6000 people visiting for the Senior Open and have stated that they could only cope with a maximum of around 15000 people a day might be unsuitable for the R&A needs? RSG is a nightmare to get to/from which is why they were dropped from The Open rota until there was enough local accommodation to cope with the crowds.

Without the large crowds, sponsorship will then become an issue and it would be financially a very poor Open. As a spectacle, I'm sure it would be great but that is not the only factor.

sharrison01 wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:

Doc wrote:Well done Diggers obviously post of the week and maybe even the month

Brilliant post alright if you find casual racism amusing. You are making real fools of yourselves lads.

Interesting that you have nothing more to add so just label everybody else as fools...

Yes I think it's quite foolish to admit to finding casual racism amusing in a thread about banishing bigotry.

Leinster, I actually do think NI should be awarded an Open after McIlroys and McDowells accomplishments. However I do not kniow enough about the infrastructure debate to say whether thats feasible or not.
I would say that you have been labelling organisations and clubs on here as snobbish, you just might want to take on board that is also being bigoted.....Im sure you will see it a different way, but bigotry is bigotry.

leinsterbaby wrote:

JPX wrote:I think it would be great to see The Open go to NI, infrastructure can't be that bad it's not a 3rd world country! Travel arrangements for RSG aren't exactly the best so I don't see that as the issue.

Following the "potato munchers" comment and the amusement it generated I suggest bigotry may the real issue amoung some posters here who are showing their true colours.

Come on, lets not let a couple of comments tar the whole board! There is no bigotry and if anything you are asking for some positive discrimination in awarding a Northern Irish venue The Open when the venue is less suitable than other British venues that had The Open taken away from them. And this is on the back of the performances of a couple of golfers so you are also asking for the R&A to change it's whole policy. If Britain get a couple of major winners from Birmingham, should The Open then be held at Woburn or The Belfry - No, because that is again not their policy.

leinsterbaby wrote:

sharrison01 wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:

Doc wrote:Well done Diggers obviously post of the week and maybe even the month

Brilliant post alright if you find casual racism amusing. You are making real fools of yourselves lads.

Interesting that you have nothing more to add so just label everybody else as fools...

Yes I think it's quite foolish to admit to finding casual racism amusing in a thread about banishing bigotry.

I didn't find it amusing or offensive and stated no such thing - I just chose to ignore it and await some reasoned and intelligible argument as to why a Northern Irish venue should be awarded The Open. Your only reasoning is your opinion on the R&A...

Diggers wrote:Leinster, I actually do think NI should be awarded an Open after McIlroys and McDowells accomplishments. However I do not kniow enough about the infrastructure debate to say whether thats feasible or not.
I would say that you have been labelling organisations and clubs on here as snobbish, you just might want to take on board that is also being bigoted.....Im sure you will see it a different way, but bigotry is bigotry.

Sorry pal but calling someone a snob is a lot less insensitive than branding a nation "potato munchers" considering the incredibly large amounts of people that died of starvation when the potato crop failed in that country especially given that Britain played a part in the shortage of food at the time.

Also I am not the first person on this thread to hint that the organisation committee is snobbish or something similar.

What you mean is its not the same because calling someone a snob doesnt offend you. The fact that others have said it doesnt alter the fact that you clearly carry a prejudice yourself.
Personally Im prejudiced against people calling me pal...shoot me now.
Sorry was that an insensitive comment to make as well ?

sharrison01 wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:

JPX wrote:I think it would be great to see The Open go to NI, infrastructure can't be that bad it's not a 3rd world country! Travel arrangements for RSG aren't exactly the best so I don't see that as the issue.

Following the "potato munchers" comment and the amusement it generated I suggest bigotry may the real issue amoung some posters here who are showing their true colours.

Come on, lets not let a couple of comments tar the whole board! There is no bigotry and if anything you are asking for some positive discrimination in awarding a Northern Irish venue The Open when the venue is less suitable than other British venues that had The Open taken away from them. And this is on the back of the performances of a couple of golfers so you are also asking for the R&A to change it's whole policy. If Britain get a couple of major winners from Birmingham, should The Open then be held at Woburn or The Belfry - No, because that is again not their policy.

Not asking for positive discrimination at all, my argument was that because two NI golfers won majors perhaps their achievements should be recognised with an open on their doorstep.

Leinster, I'm not sure how much you follow the golf board but there is constantly inter-British banter going on but it is just that - banter. I'm sure that there was no offence meant by this comment so let's not get into some historical and political debate when this thread is, quite simply, about golf.

And surely you not being the first person to label the R&A as snobbish has no bearing on anything - the same argument could apply to said comments that you are unhappy about?

leinsterbaby wrote:

sharrison01 wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:

JPX wrote:I think it would be great to see The Open go to NI, infrastructure can't be that bad it's not a 3rd world country! Travel arrangements for RSG aren't exactly the best so I don't see that as the issue.

Following the "potato munchers" comment and the amusement it generated I suggest bigotry may the real issue amoung some posters here who are showing their true colours.

Come on, lets not let a couple of comments tar the whole board! There is no bigotry and if anything you are asking for some positive discrimination in awarding a Northern Irish venue The Open when the venue is less suitable than other British venues that had The Open taken away from them. And this is on the back of the performances of a couple of golfers so you are also asking for the R&A to change it's whole policy. If Britain get a couple of major winners from Birmingham, should The Open then be held at Woburn or The Belfry - No, because that is again not their policy.

Not asking for positive discrimination at all, my argument was that because two NI golfers won majors perhaps their achievements should be recognised with an open on their doorstep.

But then if two English courses with better infrastructures than Royal Portrush had The Open taken away from them because of their infrastructures, on what grounds should Royal Portrush be awarded The Open and how will said two English venues feel about missing out all these years?

Diggers wrote:What you mean is its not the same because calling someone a snob doesnt offend you. The fact that others have said it doesnt alter the fact that you clearly carry a prejudice yourself.
Personally Im prejudiced against people calling me pal...shoot me now.
Sorry was that an insensitive comment to make as well ?

I don't understand how you could possibly be offended because I didn't call you a snob however you did brand Irish people "potato munchers" I'm Irish and I find that offensive. You are digging a hole diggers.

sharrison01 wrote:Leinster, I'm not sure how much you follow the golf board but there is constantly inter-British banter going on but it is just that - banter. I'm sure that there was no offence meant by this comment so let's not get into some historical and political debate when this thread is, quite simply, about golf.

And surely you not being the first person to label the R&A as snobbish has no bearing on anything - the same argument could apply to said comments that you are unhappy about?

Look I'd rather talk about golf too but if the "comment of the month" on this board is that the Irish are "Potato Munchers" then the standard of golf "banter" would appear to be a little low.

Im not offended by you not calling me a snob. Try and keep up, Im pointing out that other people you refer to as being snobbish may do and you are simply picking and choosing what prejudices are OK.
Who made you the prejudice police to decide who cant and cant find something offensive ?