Ladies Scottish Open: Cultural confusion about a haggis

The Ladies Scottish Open field seems to be rejecting haggis but the tournament is off to a fine start.

The Ladies Scottish Open field is having as much difficulty unwrapping Scottish cultural intricacies as did the men two weeks ago.  This week the focus is on food rather than Scottish geography.

Before the first round at Dundonald Links got started confusion swirled around the contents of haggis, a spicy savory pudding of meat, onions and oatmeal that’s traditionally cooked in a sheep’s stomach and typically accompanied by potatoes and turnips side dishes.

If you’re put off by the sheep’s stomach part, as were a number of the players, just consider what Americans do to turkeys every November. Depending on regional variations and family traditions we think bread – some folk go to the mat for cornbread – oysters – except in Oklahoma – mushrooms, sausage (and whatever) baked in a turkey cavity is simply delicious.

So why not a savory pudding similarly cooked in a sheep’s stomach? Now that you think about it, doesn’t that make some sense? Perhaps, but it isn’t very appealing to a number of players in the Ladies Scottish Open field.

Webb and Kerr probably not eating haggis

Haggis aside, the Ladies Scottish Open got off to a splendid start. Karrie Webb set the pace with a sizzling 7-under 65 and Cristie Kerr’s right behind her with a first round 66.

More from Golf Lifestyle

• Kyle Berkshire On Long Hair, Super-Vision, Hang Time, Shaft Flex
• Kyle Berkshire: What Was on His Mind before Winning The World Long Drive
• Reflections on a Pilgrimage to the Home of Golf
• Constellation Furyk & Friends Event Growing in Fun and Fundraising
• Christian Cavaliere’s Career in Golf is Just Starting

We’ll have to see how things proceed. The second round will be played in perfectly awful summer Scottish weather. After some overnight rain which will continue into Friday Dundonald Links will be soft and receptive, and chilly.

The mid-day high temperature might hit 60°F and the 20 mph winds will be gusting to about 30 mph.  That’s probably not going to be enough to make the balls oscillate, so we can look forward to a testing second round with weather delays unlikely.

Perhaps a nice warm plate of haggis, potatoes and turnips will look good after a day on Dundonald Links! I wonder what Karrie Webb and Cristie Kerr had for Thursday night supper?

Next: Scottish Open power rankings

And, of course, haggis recipes are as varied as turkey stuffing recipes, but Food Network will get you started if you want to experiment with a new main dish at your next party!