{"id":806244,"date":"2026-07-17T14:21:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/806244\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:21:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:21:13","slug":"british-open-2026-there-are-some-things-you-only-see-at-an-open-these-are-some-of-my-favorites-australian-golf-digest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/806244\/","title":{"rendered":"British Open 2026: There are some things you only see at an Open. These are some of my favorites \u2013 Australian Golf Digest"},"content":{"rendered":"

SOUTHPORT, England \u2014 There\u2019s something different about the Open Championship. Maybe it\u2019s a clich\u00e9 or the American in me that feels that way, but since I started coming to the event back in 2005, it\u2019s been one of the tournaments I most look forward to covering because of just how unique the environment is. And while I grow nervous that the supersizing of the championship threatens to erode that feeling, walking around the first few days here at Royal Birkdale has allowed me to see some of the \u201conly at the Open\u201d sights that still thrill me.<\/p>\n

Allow me then to share some of them with you:<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2026\/7\/only-at-british-open-bean-bag-chairs.jpg\"\/ Bean Bag Chairs <\/p>\n

I took this photo at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday. Already a bit too hot for some to walk around, so why not lounge. Have to admit, the number of \u201cchairs\u201d was pretty small; feel like in Opens past there have been dozens of them to enjoy. I\u2019m hoping the R&A might wheel out a few more as the week rolls on. It\u2019s going to be warm and crispy, so this feels like a good alternative viewing area for a journalist fan.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2026\/7\/only-at-british-open-duck-shed-mexican-food.jpg\"\/ Food Trucks <\/p>\n

Craft services is the way many tournament organizers approach feeding fans, which leads to a uniform look and feel for all the different places around the course that offer food and drinks. Not at the Open. The village-style set up of assorted food trucks provides a more quaint atmosphere. And I\u2019m pretty sure they don\u2019t serve duck burgers next to tacos at the Masters.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

Ice Cream Trucks \"1578243558\"\/ <\/p>\n

Phil Inglis<\/p>\n

My colleague, Christropher Powers, thinks everybody\u2019s infatuation with the ice cream trucks at the Open is a lot of nonsense. His argument: They have soft-serve ice cream pretty much everywhere. Yet, it just hits different over here, especially when you get it with a piece of the delicious U.K. chocalate creation known as a Flake. And if it weren\u2019t such a big deal, why do so many players traditionally treat themselves to a cone during the Open?!?<\/p>\n

\"1328511739\"\/ <\/p>\n

Oisin Keniry<\/p>\n

\"89040397\"\/ <\/p>\n

Stuart Franklin<\/p>\n

\"1295356634\"\/ <\/p>\n

Kenny Smith \u2013 SNS Group<\/p>\n

\"75445552\"\/ <\/p>\n

Andy Lyons<\/p>\n

\"817632186\"\/ <\/p>\n

Andrew Redington<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2026\/7\/only-at-british-open-bunker-from-practice-area.jpg\"\/ Random Bunkers <\/p>\n

No golfer wants to play from the sand. And neither do golf fans. With many Open Championship venues set up around practice ranges or, as is the case at St. Andrews, nearby courses, the R&A gates off the random pot bunker that\u2019s not in play for the tournament and hopefully isn\u2019t something spectors stumble into.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2026\/7\/only-at-the-british-open-radio.jpg\"\/ <\/p>\n

The commentary on the Open Radio broadcast is simply sublime\u2014a mix of enchanting British voices with some American reporters that offers a very vivid picture of the action for those who aren\u2019t able to see it. American fans can luckily now hear it in the U.S. on the PGA Tour\/Sirius XM Radio channel. It\u2019s worth a listen.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2026\/7\/only-at-british-open-sunscreen-station-standalone.jpg\"\/ \"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2026\/7\/only-at-british-open-sunscreen-station.jpg\"\/ Sunscreen Stations <\/p>\n

We mentioned how it\u2019s been a warm summer in England already, but it\u2019s also been a surprisingly sunny week thus far at Royal Birkdale. Predtctably, the sunscreen stations that have been built around the course have come in pretty handy for anyone hoping to avoid going full lobster the next few days.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2026\/7\/only-at-british-open-multi-faith-room.jpg\"\/ Quiet Time <\/p>\n

You never know when you might need a few moments of reflection during the day. We\u2019re curious if multi-faith includes being able to speak with the Golf Gods.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2026\/7\/only-at-british-open-royal-birkdale-clubhouse.jpg\"\/ Clubhouses <\/p>\n

OK \u2026 so every course that hosts a tournament usually has a clubhouse. But seriously, there are few as iconic (in whatever way you want to interpret the word) that the one at Royal Birkdale.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

Is it the British Open or the Open Championship?\u202fThe name of the final men\u2019s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event\u2019s official name,\u202fas explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

MORE GOLF DIGEST BRITISH OPEN COVERAGE <\/p>\n

British Open 101: Answering all your frequently asked questions<\/p>\n

How to watch the British Open on TV and streaming<\/p>\n

Video: The craziest 29 minutes in British Open history<\/p>\n

Power Rankings: Every player in the field at Royal Birkdale<\/p>\n

The Open keeps growing, but does it come at the price of tradition?<\/p>\n

Video: Every hole at Royal Birkdale<\/p>\n

Royal Birkdale demands these five shots. Here\u2019s how pros practice them<\/p>\n

How does a golf course earn \u2018Royal\u2019 status?<\/p>\n

The best British Opens, ranked<\/p>\n

The decision every pro face as they stand on the tee at Birkdale<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SOUTHPORT, England \u2014 There\u2019s something different about the Open Championship. Maybe it\u2019s a clich\u00e9 or the American in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":806245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[4225,64,63,755,138747,85],"class_list":["post-806244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-article","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-golf-digest","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/806245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}