The Open Championship is about far more than just the world’s best golfers battling for glory at Royal Portrush – it’s also an opportunity for fans to eat, drink and share their mutual love of the sport, and there’s plenty of that happening in the spectator village.

Around 278,000 people will take in Northern Ireland’s biggest-ever sporting event, passing through the spectator village on their way to cheering on local hero Rory McIlroy on the picturesque Dunluce links.

Before and after watching the action, thousands are making use of the healthy number of food vendors, picking up a pint at The Open Arms or even testing their own skills in ‘The Swingzone’ having been inspired by the professionals.

Torrential rain arrived for stages of Thursday’s opening round on the north coast, but the sunshine has made a welcome return on Friday as the punters assess whether it’ll be American BBQ, burritos or fish and chips for lunch, while there’s been one popular choice to wash it down.

placeholder image — The Open Arms has been a popular destination at this year's Open Championship

"Guinness has absolutely been the biggest seller this week...our machine can't actually keep up with the amount that has been sold!" said Stevie who is helping run The Open Arms with PH3 Events. “The lads in the back will be changing the kegs every few minutes.

"Each keg pulls eight pints and we serve about 12 every 30 seconds.

"We've been busy in the mornings and afternoons. Everybody comes before they go towards the course and then after they've finished watching the golf they'll come back here on the way out. We get waves of people coming through.

"Despite the rain yesterday, it was still very busy and everybody kept their morale up. There have been lots of big groups coming through and it has been really good."

It’s anticipated they’ll be even busier over the weekend with more spectators arriving as the action heats up on course, but they’ll be more than up to the task having previously worked at events including March’s Cheltenham Festival and concerts around the United Kingdom.

"The Open is brilliant,” added Stevie. “Some events get more intense...the stadiums and concerts are really intense because it's non-stop and so many people are passing through all the time, whereas the golf is more a constant flow of people.

"Sunday and Monday were a bit quiet, Tuesday there were around 17,000 tickets sold and Thursday I think there were nearly 50,000 here.

"We will be even busier on Saturday and Sunday, hopefully the weather holds up."

‘The Swingzone’ has been travelling to every Open Championship since 2000, providing free golf lessons to fans with eight bays fully kitted with state-of-the-art technology while there’s also a chipping zone and putting green.

There’s 23 coaches, including six from Northern Ireland, on hand to provide helpful tips to some getting their first taste of the sport, potentially even inspiring the next Rory.

It’s fun for all the family with adults getting in on the action alongside children, and as Allan Martin, who is in charge this week and was also in Portrush for the 2019 tournament, explains, it’s had a major impact for the sport beyond The Open.

"We offer free 15-minute lessons to spectators and by the end of the week we'll have done 3,300 golf lessons,” said Martin. "It's not just juniors, a lot of adults come here and it's their first chance to hit a ball.

"We get people who come back year after year who go to each Open and they got started in the Swingzone.

"The numbers are just as busy as ever, the same as in 2019, but the big difference this year is we're totally under cover and weather-proof – that wasn't the case in 2019.

"Also this year we have Toptracer technology in all the coaching bays so that means people can see their ball flight on a screen."

‘The Swingzone’ operates off a booking system with fans registering their interest upon arriving at Royal Portrush before being issued an appointment card, which includes professional pointers.

It’s at full capacity – just like it will be over the weekend – and the venue caters for all needs, giving everyone an opportunity to get involved.

"I would say Friday is the busiest day because a lot of people are in, but Saturday and Sunday will be just as busy,” added Martin. “A lot of people will be out following the leaders...we're always busy and fully booked.

"It's a really international event and we're really inclusive - people with disabilities can come in and play because we've ramps and ramps onto the putting green as well. There's a great enthusiastic Irish crowd.”