This week the R&A announced that Martin Ebert and Tom Mackenzie will be making changes to the Old Course at St. Andrews prior to the 155th playing of the Open Championship in 2027 at the most hallowed grounds in golf.
ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND – OCTOBER 3: An aerial view of the St Andrews Old Course prior to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the St Andrews Old Course on October 3, 2023 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
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Anytime there are changes made to the most famous golf course in the world it is a story, even if the changes are fairly insignificant in nature. That is indeed the case this week as the R&A made the announcement that 132 yards would be added to the Old Course, as well as some tweaking of bunkers and one fairway.
Added Yardage
Yardage will be added to six holes on the Old Course, stretching its length to 7,445 yards from the back tees, which is more than 1,000 yards longer than the course played a century ago.
In order to add yardage this time, four new tee boxes will need to be constructed. The largest increase in distance will also be the first hole on the list, the par 5 fifth hole, where 35 yards will be added. During the 2022 Open Championship, the fifth hole played the third easiest on the golf course, at 4.598 stroke average for the tournament.
The 6th and 7th holes will also see lengthening, by 17 and 22 yards. The 6th already plays as one of the harder holes at the Old Course and will stay that way. By lengthening the 7th hole, the hope is that with the right wind, or possibly light wind, the shell bunker will have fewer players able to carry it, making for a much more demanding hole.
ST ANDREWS, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 29: The ‘Shell Bunker’ that protects the green on the 371 yards par 4, 7th hole on the Old Course at St Andrews venue for The Open Championship in 2015, on July 29, 2014 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
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Drivable par 4’s have always been a feature throughout the courses history, but modern technology coupled with firm conditions has made it more so than ever. “It was very firm and very fast [in 2022] and that created a challenge,” said R&A Chief Governance Officer Grant Moir, ”but certainly there had been an increase in the number of par-4s that were reachable and both par-5s were reachable (in two) most days.”
The 10th and 11th holes will also be lengthened by over 20 yards. The 10th will be adding 29 yards and the 11th 21 yards. The 10th hole is another par 4 that used to only be drivable with the proper wind, but in 2022, with dry conditions, many in the field were able to reach it. The hope is that by adding 29 yards, there will be far fewer players capable of reaching the green, which will make it more challenging, and speed up play at the same time.
The final hole to be lengthened will be the 16th, by 10 yards, but there will also be more work done to the 16th hole. One of the truly great architectural holes in the world, over time its brilliance has faded as the fairway to the left of the ‘principal’s nose’ bunkers has disappeared in favor of rough and fescue.
ST ANDREWS, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 29: The par 4, 16th hole on the Old Course at St Andrews venue for The Open Championship in 2015, on July 29, 2014 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
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By rediscovering the fairway left of the bunkers on the 16th, more strategy is brought back into play for the best players in the world. They can attack the right side of the hole off the tee and bring the out-of-bounds into play, or play a safer tee shot to the left of the bunkers, but have a tougher approach shot into the green.
“We felt that in recent times players have targeted hitting the ball into the rough there, to avoid the strategic challenge that the hole traditionally provided,” Moir said. “So it might sound counterintuitive to some, but widening the fairway with the placement of two new bunkers in there actually enhances the strategic challenge and the challenge across the board on that hole.”
The locations of the new tee boxes has yet to be completely determined. With the Old Course using an out-and-back routing, there is not a ton of room to put new tee boxes without interfering with another hole. There are however, some areas of gorse and some walking paths that could be used for a new tee box on various holes. With these new tee boxes, there could be a slightly different angle to a few tee shots, but by and large, the lengthening of the holes will not change the site lines much for players.
Bunker Changes
In addition to lengthening multiple holes, the R&A announced that they will be relocating and adding some bunkers to holes in order to challenge the best players in the world.
On the 2nd hole, the two bunkers on the right side of the fairway will be moved further down the hole and they will be shifted a bit more to the left to bring them more into play. On the 6th and 10th holes, which are both going to be lengthened as well, bunkers will be added at “elite level driving length,” to challenge the best players in the game today.
Besides extending the fairway to the right of the Principal’s Nose bunkers on hole 16, two additional bunkers will be added to challenge players who take the safer route off the tee and go left of the Principal’s Nose bunker.
A subtle change will also be made to the most famous bunker at the Old Course, the Road Hole bunker. This will be a small renovation to reduce the effect of sand splash build up over time, the look and feel of the Road Hole Bunker will remain the same.
ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND – JULY 16: Marc Warren of Scotland plays out from the road hole bunker on the 17th green during the first round of the 144th Open Championship at The Old Course on July 16, 2015 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by David Cannon/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
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“You could actually argue the work to it this time round isn’t a change,” said Moir. “But because we’re making other changes we felt we should reference it because it’s going to be worked on. The size and shape of the bunker will stay the same.”
Sensitive To Course History
The R&A does not make changes to the most famous and hallowed golf course in the world lightly. Discussions have been ongoing since the end of the 2022 Open Championship about possible renovations needed in lew of no changes in technology rollbacks yet. But at its core, the Old Course has always been a living entity, changes have taken place all over the course and it has always stood the test of time as the most venerable golf course in the world, and without doubt it will still remain that way.
Neil Coulson, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said: “Every generation has played a part in shaping the Old Course, and this latest program continues that long tradition. The work will restore features that have changed subtly over time and refine others to preserve the course’s unique character.
“Our guiding principle is simple: to protect what makes the Old course so special while ensuring it continues to offer a fair, challenging and enjoyable experience for golfers of every level. The Old Course has never stood still. Its enduring greatness lies in its ability to adapt while retaining its soul.”
