I see from the following article in today's "Daily Record" that work has already started with tackling
the thorny issue of the final hole on the Centenary PGA course that will host the Ryder Cup in three years:
GLENEAGLES bosses have sent the diggers in to rip up their problem 18th hole.
The development is to ensure the earth moves for golf fans expecting an exciting climax to the Ryder Cup in 2014.
New plans for the revamped closing hole were unveiled on the day that organisers confirmed the dates when Scotland will stage the sport's greatest show - September 26 to 28.
That's one week earlier than last year's Welsh washout at Celtic Manor that saw horrendous weather force the event to stretch into a fourth day's play.
However, the biggest focus of yesterday's announcement, led by First Minister Alex Salmond, was Jack Nicklaus' final adjustments to the PGA Centenary Course he first designed more than 20 years ago.
The diggers have already begun the enormous task of shifting 35,000 tonnes of soil to transform the 18th from a dreary uphill slog into an exciting 527-yard par 5 that will yield eagle opportunities.
The championship tee will be raised by two metres and moved slightly forward and to the left. The fairway will be levelled and the new sloping green slightly lowered to encourage big hitters to go for the green in two.
It's not the most radical of the visions that Nicklaus pitched to Gleneagles bosses after making a site visit this summer.
But managing director Patrick Elsmie believes the new look will ensure last-hole drama in 2014.
He said: "Our plan is that the new 18th will be in operation next May and, given the weather, it is moving on remarkably.
"It feels as though we have an army working out there at the moment. There are some skilled shapers doing fantastic work.
"Like all these things Jack initially came up with a proposal that was very exciting but we felt that was going to require more
work than was feasible.
"So Jack and his organisation came up with a solution, which is how do we take a piece of ground and make it something that is going to be exciting as well as being a wonderful way to finish? "What he has come up with is a solution that doesn't require a substantial change to the ground around the hole. It will cost several hundreds of thousands of pounds to do but the end solution is something that both we and Jack are excited about."
Other changes include the expansion of the pond lining the fairway of the signature ninth hole and the addition of new bunkers at the ninth, 12th and 15th.