Why is the Old Course going under construction? We have the answers.

Why is the Old Course going under construction? We have the answers.

The old course in St. Andrews is under construction, but I got the reasons why. It starts with this guy and its cousins. The modern driver has players reaching new distances on St. Andrews that haven’t been seen before. So before the 2027 Open, new bunkers will be added up the sixth and the 10th holes. Essentially, if you’re going to hit it this far, the old course needs defense that far. Clue number two, it’s an old course yardage book. It is bookmarked to the seventh hole. Why? Because the seventh hole has the shell bunker and the RNA cares about the shell bunker. Numerous players were able to hit 325 yard carries over this bunker in the 2022 open causing backups and even confusion at times. That’s not how this hole was meant to be played. So the seventh is getting a new T- box way back here off the screen, but the fifth, the 6th, the 10th are also the 11th and 16th are getting lengthened. The old course will be 7,445 yards, the longest it has ever played. A third reason on an iPad, these white and red dots are in the rough on purpose because players were purposely hitting driver out there. The RNA and the St. Andrews Lynx Trust, they want to see it play like it used to play decades ago. They are going to cut back some of this rough and they’re going to place two new bunkers up in here. So, if you are purposefully trying to avoid the OB line by hitting driver into the rough, you will not be rewarded. All of this, of course, is related to clue number four, a lovely time piece that is set at 6:10. Set to 610 because the Thursday opening round in 2022 took 6 hours and 10 minutes. When the seventh hole, the 9th hole, the 10th, the 12th, the 18th are all drivable fours. And then both par fives are reachable in two, pace of play grinds to a halt. Just just disappointing. It takes 6 hours to get around a golf course. That’s just shouldn’t be happening. Thank you, Fitzy. Your opening round and final round. It resulted in 72. That’s even par. This is a sign that I stole from the leaderboard at the open and is just a reminder that these things don’t get used that much anymore. The RNA could not have loved seeing Cam Smith shoot 20 under par, putting these things out of use. Even Roy Mroy, his 18 under tally, that wasn’t even good enough for second place. It’s not surprising they haven’t asked for this back because well, they don’t really need it anymore. But that could change because our final clue tucked into the side here is just the modern golf ball. All of these changes are being put in place for the 2027 Open, which is the final open before golf ball rollback technology should impact the pro game. So the 2032 open, the next timeish that St. Andrews will host. Some of these distant tea boxes won’t even be necessary, which would be good news for people like me who see a course that is absolutely being pushed to its limits.

Sean Zak deep dives on why this famous St. Andrews golf course is getting a makeover ahead of the Open Championship.