St Andrews will begin renovating areas on the Old course next week, in preparation for the 155th Open, which will be the 31st on the Old course, in 2027.

Since hosting the Open in 2022, the Old course has been reviewed and proposed changes 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. Design work will be carried out by Mackenzie & Ebert.

Grant Moir, the R&A’s chief governance officer and who leads on-course setup for the Open, said: “Principally, when we had the Open here in 2022, the course played very well. It was very firm and very fast and that created a challenge, but certainly there had been an increase in the number of par fours that were reachable and both par fives 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.”

Six holes will be lengthened – the fifth, sixth, seventh, tenth, eleventh and sixteenth – while the twelfth will be shortened slightly. The overall championship length of the course will increase by 132 yards to 7,445 yards.

There will be some other design changes too. On the second, the two landing area bunkers on the right side will be relocated further down the hole and to the left to make them more relevant to the hole’s line of play. New bunkers will be added at “elite-level driving length” on the sixth and tenth. On the ninth, the right-side approach bunkers will be extended slightly toward the line of play, including Boase’s Bunker, which will be restored to its larger and less rounded shape.

Mackenzie & Ebert’s visualisation of the changes to the second hole, which includes adding two bunkers on the right side of the fairway (Image: Mackenzie & Ebert)

One of the most significant areas of work will be on the sixteenth hole, where a historic playing route will be restored to the left of the Principal’s Nose and Deacon Sime bunkers. Two new bunkers will also be added to create more risk on the left side of the extended fairway.

The championship tee on the twelfth will be realigned slightly to help ease championship spectator movement and the daily play tee on the fourteenth will be realigned and repositioned.

On the seventeenth, the Road hole bunker will be restored to reduce the effect of sand splash build-up.

“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 sixteenth hole and the restoration of that former playing route, opening up the fairway to the left-hand side of the Principal’s Nose. 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.”

Read more from the R&A, including the impact the changes will have on pace of play and recreational golfers.

Upgrades to the irrigation system will also be carried out, which will be carried out at the same time as the course renovations.

A rendering of the sixth hole before (left) and after (right) the addition of a new fairway bunker (Image: Mackenzie & Ebert)

“We believe this work is important in ensuring the Old course continues to evolve and challenge the world’s best golfers in the years to come while enhancing the experience of local and visiting golfers,” said Mark Darbon, chief executive of the R&A.

Neil Coulson, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said: “Every generation has played a part in shaping the Old course, and this latest programme 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.”