One small step for man, one giant bare-legged leap for golf? For some fusty traditionalists, the idea of a Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods or any other golfing global star putting out on the 72nd green to win the Open Championship wearing shorts would be a prospect worse than death itself. It could happen. Highly unlikely, yes. But it could.

Following the decision over the past couple of years by the European Tour and the PGA Tour to allow competitors to wear shorts during practice rounds and pre-championship Pro-Ams – the women wear shorts all the time, meanwhile - the R&A have opted to do the same during practice and final qualifying at the game’s most cherished major, which returns to Portrush this July for the first time since 1951. In the rare instance that searing temperatures take hold during the Open – which they did at the parched Hoylake Open of 2006 - the championship committee could allow players to wear shorts during the event itself. Listen, is that the crackle of ice forming in hell?

“I don’t think it will be a priority in Portrush,” said defending Open champion Francesco Molinari with a chuckle as he dismissed the prospect of a fearsome heatwave on the north coast of Antrim. He embraced the change, though. “It’s a change in golf but I don’t see why not,” he added. “People play golf in shorts all around the world. I don’t see why we should be different.”

Mike Woodcock, the director of communications with the R&A, added: “The committee would have to make a judgement (about the weather). There isn’t a set threshold but the committee would have to make a decision if it was that hot. You can turn back to say Hoylake in 2006 as an example. This is a new decision.”

In the grand scheme of modern life, sportsmen wearing shorts is hardly an earth-shuddering and revolutionary development. Yet the chitter chatter this fairly modest step generated when it was unveiled yesterday in many ways highlighted golf’s image problem in the wider world. Hamstrung by the perception that the game and those involved with it are stuffier than a taxidermist with a bad cold, the fact a simple change in sartorial regulations still managed to whip up a stooshie will have casual observers chortling that this is, well, so very golf.

In other Portrush developments, the R&A also announced that an additional 15,000 or so tickets for the first sold-out Open will be going on sale from April 15. The historic return to Northern Ireland has led to a huge demand for briefs and the four championship days were already sold out by August 2018. Now, an additional 3,750 tickets for each day of the championship will be put on sale with the total attendance for the week set to reach 215,000.

Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A, said, “From the moment tickets and hospitality packages went on sale last year it was clear that there was huge demand from fans to attend this historic occasion.

“We have been working closely with the government agencies, our advisers and contractors to assess whether we could accommodate some more fans on each day of the championship and have decided that we can do so without impacting on the outstanding spectator experience we provide.”