All You Need To Know

The R&A and St Andrews Links Trust have announced that work will begin in November on a carefully planned programme of enhancements and restoration to the Old Course ahead of The 155th Open at St Andrews in 2027.

For more detail on the project and the rationale behind it, we spoke to The R&A’s Chief Governance Officer, Grant Moir, who leads on course set-up for The Open and serves as Chief Referee for the Championship, and Sandy Reid, the Director of Greenkeeping at St Andrews Links Trust.

Why is this work taking place?

The project will refine the strategic challenge for elite players in a small number of areas for future championships while restoring traditional features that have evolved over time to improve the everyday playing experience for local and visiting golfers on the world-renowned links.

“Principally, when we had The Open here in 2022, the course played very well,” said Moir. “It was very firm and very fast and that created a challenge, 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.

“We wanted to reintroduce some of the strategic challenge of the course, but in addition to that there was a desire to restore some of the features that had been altered over the years. So that’s the rationale behind our desire to make these changes.

“We’re acutely aware of the sensitivities of making changes to the Old Course, but as anybody who has flicked through Scott MacPherson’s excellent book on the evolution of the Old Course will know, there have been regular and substantial over the years. We are being very sensitive to the history of the course with these changes, but we do feel that it’s appropriate to make these changes at this time to adapt to the way the modern game is played.”

What will be the most notable changes to the course?

Six holes will be lengthened – the 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th and 16th – while the 12th will be shortened slightly. The overall championship yardage of the course will increase by 132 yards to 7,445.

New championship tees will be added on the 5th, 6th, 7th and 10th, with enlargements to existing teeing areas increasing the length of the 11th and 16th.

Beyond that, the majority of the changes involve the addition, extension or relocation of bunkers. Two to the right of the 2nd fairway will be relocated farther down the hole, while new bunkers will be added at elite level drive length on the 6th and 10th. There will also be adjustments to the right-side approach bunkers on the 9th, while an historic playing route will be restored on the 16th together with the addition of two new bunkers.

“The bulk of the alterations are either additions of championship tees or extensions of current championship tees, and clearly some bunker adjustments as well,” said Moir.

“The biggest change would be around the 16th hole and the restoration of that former playing route, opening up the fairway to the left-hand side of the Principal’s Nose (bunker).

“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. 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. We’re obviously excited about that, particularly as it falls into the category of restoration. You look back at The Opens from 1970, 1978 and through the 1995 Open, and you can see the fairway is cut out around Principal’s Nose, so that’s an exciting aspect of the changes.”

How does this project compare to previous alterations to the Old Course?

The upcoming changes to the Old Course ahead of The 155th Open continue an evolution of the links over the centuries. There have been several periods in its history where substantial changes have been carried out including, for example, the adding of over 60 new bunkers between 1899 and 1905, and nearly 350 yards of length being added across The 129th Open in 2000 and The 134th Open in 2005.

“The course has changed many times over the years and these changes are probably quite modest compared to some changes that have happened in the past,” explained Reid. “It’s tweaks and it’s mainly for the elite-level golfer.”

Moir added: “When you’re making any changes to the Old Course it’s important to look back but equally it’s as important to look forward. And I think it’s terrific that we’re able to restore some of the former features but at the same time feel like they’re presenting the challenge we’re looking for, but some of the changes are completely new and that’s fine as well. We’ve got periods of history with the Old Course where within the space of 10 years 60 bunkers were added, or within the space of five or six years over 300 yards were added, so you could say comparatively these are fairly moderate changes. This just continues that generational flow of incremental changes, adjustments and we would say enhancements to what is the most famous and wonderful course in the world.”

Will the changes have an impact on pace of play at The 155th Open?

“If you look back at the history of the Old Course, driveable par-4s have been a feature,” said Moir. “Since the early 1900s, there was commentary on that. We think that’s actually an exciting part of the playing experience of the Old Course, but in particular on holes 7 and 10, those holes being driveable in calm conditions was quite a new development. So with the extension on 7, we’re going to reduce the opportunity to carry Shell (bunker) there.

“And then 9 has always been a driveable hole and 10 in certain wind conditions, but again we had experiences in 2022 with not very much wind where both were driveable and that clearly does impact on pace of play, so the extension of the 10th tee should make that far less likely.

“Similarly with the par-5s (the 6th and 14th), again we’ve had the experience in the past where both would be reachable in two on occasions, normally one or the other, but again (in 2022) it was both. So the extension of 6 should mean that it in certain weather conditions it is less likely to be reachable in two. Importantly, it’s not only about reaching the green in two, it’s about bringing the strategic challenge of the Seven Sisters (bunkers) back into play or more of them back into play.

“So it’s important to couple the lengthening not just with pace of play and reachability but actually ensuring that the bunkers that are intended to present a challenge continue to do so. We would view the changes as a restoration of the challenge.”

How will the changes impact recreational golfers who play the Old Course?

“The recreational golfer will see some changes, but it’s really to enhance their experience,” said Reid.

“The 14th tee is the only tee change that will impact them; there’s a slight realignment with that one. There’s the addition and movement of some bunkers but they’re primarily for the elite golfer. The bunker movements on the 2nd means they will be in play more generally, but the recreational golfer impacts will be relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

“We want to retain the charm of the Old Course. Everybody knows it for that. And we think these changes will fit in perfectly. We want to ensure that everyone who plays here enjoys their experience and some of these changes might enhance it.”

Why is the championship yardage of the 12th hole being shortened by two yards?

The championship tee on the 12th will be realigned slightly to help ease championship spectator movement in this location.

“Any time that we’re making these kind of changes it’s a holistic approach,” explained Moir. “And Sandy along with The R&A’s championship staging team are acutely aware that spectator movement is part of this process.

“Where it’s possible to enhance the spectator experience without doing anything that compromises the look and feel of the golf course, then we take that opportunity.

“The changes that are being made to assist in those areas are extremely subtle, but important. For example, around the back of the 12th tee is a pinch point for us, particularly on a Saturday or Sunday where you’ve got thousands of people following the leading players.

“So even to be able to open up a gap by a metre or two there without making a significant difference to the way the hole plays is really important.”

Are changes being made to the Road Hole bunker on the 17th?

The Road Hole Bunker will be sympathetically restored to reduce the effect of sand splash build-up over time.

“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.”

“It’s really more just lowering the ridge around about it,” added Reid. “With all bunkers you get an element of sand splash over time and it is routine for greenkeepers to lower the ground around bunkers.

“We don’t plan adjustments to the face height or anything. It’s just the contours around it. The ridge on the left-hand side has built up and it’s tough to keep grass there so it’s really just some sympathetic changes to allow us to maintain the grass better.”

Whose decision was it to make these changes?

The proposed changes have been carefully planned with the agreement of St Andrews Links Trust, which manages the Old Course, and The R&A, which is responsible for The Open. The design work will be carried out by leading international golf course architects and links golf specialists, Mackenzie & Ebert.

“These discussions have been going on for a few years since the last Open and it’s a joint venture,” stated Reid.

“The St Andrews Links greens staff are going to be carrying out a good bit of the work, all the bunker work will be done by our staff, and we see it very much as a shared venture.

“It’s a tripartite relationship,” Moir added. “We initially spoke with Sandy and with Neil Coulson (the Chief Executive of St Andrews Links Trust) and we felt collectively that we wanted to have a review of the course following The 150th Open and we undertook that.

“The selection of an architect for an Open venue sits with the host club, but clearly Mackenzie & Ebert are highly respected architects who do work on a lot of our Open venues. And given their specialism on links, the Links Trust felt they were the appropriate architects to be brought in and we’ve worked as a collective since then to put together this series of changes. It’s been a very smooth and collaborative process, and we look forward to continuing to work with Sandy and his team, and Mackenzie & Ebert on implementing the changes.”