I spent part of the Friday morning sampling the range of culinary delights on offer around Royal Lytham and St Annes.

I started with the luxury (and generally healthier) end of the market.

If I was feeling flush I could have gone for a hefty roast pork baguette at an equally hefty price of �5.

As it is summer, the lighter hummus and red pepper wrap at �3.95 appealed or even the roast vegetable cous-cous for �4.15.

But my winner in the "most luxurious sandwich" category was the crayfish and rocket on wheatgrain bread for �3.45.

If your mid-morning appetite is supported by a loan facility with a generous rate of interest you could have pushed the boat out at Lytham.

You can even dine on half a lobster for �21 - perhaps not the place for a family meal!

Of course you'd have to accompany the lobster with a good bottle of Chablis (�38.50) or, even better, a visit to the Bollinger tent for a bottle of their finest for �43.50 (half bottle only �21.75!).

My tastes were more modest. I enjoyed a bottle of mineral water for �1.60 (ouch!) and a bowl of melon at �3.95 (it was a large bowl).

Lunch is looking like the decidedly unhealthy, but bank manager friendly, fish and chips option (�4) accompanied by a coffee (�1.25). Or, if things get really desperate a pint of Kronenbourg from the beer tent (�2.60).

I then moved on the check out the shopping opportunities at the Open.

The exhibition tent is always a favourite among the public, but this year I found it particularly uninspiring.

Dour exhibition

I love shopping in old markets and the way the tent used to be organised was great - lots of unusual golf memorabilia on offer at a multitude of little stands and stalls.

The 2001 tent is now scientifically divided into "exhibition" and "retail". The atmosphere is dour and uninspiring - more like a 1970s department store!

The merchandise had a similar effect on me as the tent. It seemed like lots of different companies were all essentially offering the same heavily logoed tourist products.

The best value item I could find was a �1 pen masquerading as a three-inch wooden tee.

Also available was a baseball visor at �21, an umbrella for �35 and a set of cufflinks with the Randa logo at �15. The worst value of all was probably the children's T-shirts at �18 each.

21st century technology

My "most unusually priced item" award goes to the golf balls - with the Royal Lytham and St. Annes crest. Three golf balls for �10, or six for �25.50.

How much, then, would a dozen cost? Maybe it's something to do with the little box they come in.

The Taylor Made stand offered the most interest to me.

It boasts a piece of 21st century technology that allows golfers to play a shot while analysing the ball speed, spin rate and launch angle.

Armed with this information, any golfer is then able to select a driver from the range of three alternative designs based on their own personal swing characteristics.

Now, if that doesn't help your drives, I don't know what will.