Callaway Golf, like many of the major golf brands, often creates limited edition golf bags for their tour players to use for the major championships, but this year, in celebration of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, the company has taken things a step further by launching a competition among local schoolchildren to come up with a design to celebrate the milestone event in bag form.
Budding artists from two St Andrews schools – Madras College and St Leonards – were commissioned by Callaway and St Andrews Links to design a St Andrews-inspired golf bag, and 17-year-old Iona Turner had her winning design chosen by Callaway executives and a team of tour players from a shortlist of ten.
The tour pro judging panel included Danny Willett, the 2021 Alfred Dunhill Links champion, and Min Woo Lee, who played The Old Course in reverse last year to commemorate the 200th birthday of four-time Open winner Old Tom Morris.
As an extension of the design challenge, larger-than-life sculptures of the final ten bags have been positioned in various locations around St Andrews running up to The Open. These specially commissioned sculptures formed a new attraction, The Big Bag Trail, a route from which locals and visitors can explore the town and remains open until July 17.
Iona’s winning design takes inspiration from many of St Andrews’ iconic and recognisable landmarks, including the famous Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole of The Old Course, the colourful houses by the harbour, the historic cathedral and the town’s beautiful seafront location.
After being selected as the winning artist, Iona said: “I’m thrilled that my artwork was chosen. I wanted the design to be full to the brim of all the things I love about Scotland, and for it to look recognisable and interesting to the viewer. It has been a fantastic experience to be involved in this design project with my fellow students. It will be a little bit surreal seeing my bag alongside some of the world’s best golfers, but I can’t wait.”
Neil Howie, President and Managing Director, Callaway EMEA, added: “We have traditionally created limited edition Tour Bags for the Majors, and always take inspiration from the region in which the event is staged. While keeping to the traditions of creating a bespoke Tour Bag, we recognised the opportunity to do something different in this special year for The Open.
“To engage the local community in this way and to go to local students and do something like this has been truly unique. What is brilliant is that it is just so visible, and to think that Iona has the potential to see one of our Staff Professionals in contention, with her bag visible to so many people, is just phenomenal.”
Neil Coulson, Chief Executive of St Andrews Links, concluded: “Huge congratulations to Iona on behalf of all of us at St Andrews Links on her spectacular and colourful winning design for the Callaway 2022 July Major Bag. I’m sure it’s a proud moment for her and her family and it’ll be special for her to see the bag in action. The public’s response to The Big Bag Trail has been incredible and allowed us to engage with local schools and the St Andrews community ahead of what will be a truly memorable Open at the Home of Golf.”
Following the conclusion of The Open, the 10 sculptures from The Big Bag Trail will be auctioned at a special evening event at the Tom Morris Bar & Grill in the St Andrews Links Clubhouse on July 19, with all proceeds going to CHAS (Children’s Hospices Across Scotland) and Scottish Sports Futures (Changing Lives Through Sport). This special auction is also accessible to the public, via bidder registration, from a virtual link HERE.