The Open is Coming

No, not the British Open, which Padraig won with aplomb. Nor am I talking about any kind of tennis tournament. No, the Open to which I refer is nothing else but the Iona Open. Held every August, on the first Friday of the month (this year it's the 8th... I know, I know...) the Iona Open has been going for years. Golf, on this tiny Hebridean island has been around for over a hundred years. Labourers used to knock off work a couple of hours early on Friday afternoons during the summer to get in a swift round of golf before dinner.

And so the annual Iona Open is a celebration of that social history, a coming together of the island with one common aim... tearing up the fairways and hitting the longest drive. I mean, appreciating the beauty of the island, spoiling a good walk by inaccurately smacking a ball around.

Incidentally, golf balls emblazened with the logo of the Iona Community, the Wild Goose, are available in the Community shop on the Island. Just be careful not to lose too many among the rabbit holes and patches of thistles on the machair (ancient grazing land on which the golf course is located).

So see you there on the 8th August. In fact, I'll be up there practising a fair bit beforehand.

Registration is required at the Post Office in the village during the days running up to the competition.