HOYLAKE, England -- In a couple of days, there will be endless words of love about this area. About golf. About the weather. About a hidden gem of a course that may make the best players in the world cry "help!"
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That's great. But the rest of the time, the Claret Jug sits a distant second to the Beatles.
You remember -- John, Paul, George and Ringo? Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band?
It all started in Liverpool, some 30 minutes by train from the site of the 135th Open Championship, where the Beatles' presence is felt eight days a week. The Liverpudlians, as residents of this sprawling port city are called, take great pains to keep the memory alive. You can fly into John Lennon Airport, for goodness sakes.
The easiest place to get your Beatles fix is on the banks of the Mersey River at Albert Dock, which was the heart of Liverpool's once-booming trade and shipbuilding business. (In case you didn't know, the Titanic was among the ships built here).
Albert Dock was the first enclosed, non-combustible warehouse system in the world. Container ships, though, made the docks obsolete, and the large brick warehouses have now been turned into a series of trendy bars and restaurants.
Here's where you'll find “The Beatles Story.” The multimedia exhibit includes -- among other memorabilia -- John Lennon's orange-tinted, gold-rimmed glasses, the band's gray Hard Day's Night jackets and George Harrison's first guitar.
As was the case when the band was together, Lennon and McCartney are the stars of the exhibit, which even features a recreation of the dingy, smelly Cavern Club, where the Beatles first made their mark in what came to be known as “Merseybeat” sound.
You'll see the Beatles talking to Queen Elizabeth -- she left the crown at home, if you're wondering -- at the premieres of A Hard Day's Night and Yellow Submarine. You'll hear commentary from McCartney as well as Lennon's sister, Julia, and his first wife, Cynthia, among others.
There's plenty of video of young girls, many of them who would now nearing retirement age, screaming at the top of their lungs and clamoring for a glimpse of their favorite Beatle. The U.S. debut on the Ed Sullivan Show is well-documented, too.
A 10-minute walk from Albert Dock takes you to Mathew Street, now part of the Cavern Quarter but once a dingy row of clubs and pubs that the Beatles and bands like Gerry and the Pacemakers frequented.
The Cavern Club was in the cellar of a warehouse that once saw Liverpudlians take refuge from the relentless bombing in World War II. John, Paul, George and Ringo played there 274 times -- the last on Aug. 3, 1963 -- and Brian Epstein, who would become their manager, discovered the band there.
McCartney said he loved the club but called it “clausterphobic hell,” according to one local guidebook. The real Cavern Club is non-existent now -- bulldozed to make way for the underground system -- but across the street another one, built with some of the same bricks, bears the same name.
McCartney did perform at the new establishment once, on Dec. 14, 1999, before 150 fortunate fans. Across the street is a Wall of Fame that features bricks with the names of all 1,801 bands that played in the club between 1957 and 1973.
You can have your picture taken next to a cast-iron statue of John Lennon or Eleanor Rigby, and shop for Beatles memorabilia to your heart's content.
Numerous books and maps direct you to other landmarks like Penny Lane, as well as the birthplaces of the Fab Four, their schools and even Lennon's mother's grave.
Although there's no evidence that any of the Beatles enjoyed -- or ever played -- golf, there are several ties to the band on the other side of the Mersey River on the Wirral peninsula where Royal Liverpool is located.
According to The Beatles Liverpool: The Complete Guide, Ringo Starr performed with the Beatles for the first time at a club on Wirral. And Cynthia Lennon was living in Hoylake when she met and began dating Lennon.
This week, though, the Magical Mystery Tour starts and stops at Royal Liverpool.
Instead of the Fab Four, though, you'll see Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and the rest of the boys perform on this barren, sun-baked stage. The prize for this modern Battle of the Bands is a tiny Claret Jug and the title “Champion Golfer of the World.”
And the hits just keep on coming.
