Watching the world's best golfers hack their way through the rainy and windy third round of the British Open in Scotland a few weeks ago was a dramatic illustration of how changeable the weather can be in that part of the world.

Scotland is north of England, between 55 and 60 degrees north latitude. For comparison, those latitudes in North America slice through northern Quebec province in Canada. Being so far north, Scotland has much coolers summers than we do. It's also surrounded by water on three sides. That, combined with the frequent storms that haunt those latitudes of the North Atlantic, means frequent rains, and day-to-day weather that can vary enormously and unpredictably.

Muirfield, where the Open was played, is on Scotland's east coast on an estuary of the North Sea known as the Firth of Forth. The course is greatly exposed to weather coming in off the water, a vulnerability very evident on day three of the British Open when wind-swept rains and temperatures in the low 50s led to an average score of 75, 4 over par. Even Tiger Woods shot 81, his highest score ever as a pro.