The Road Hole - TOC - Better with or without the Railway Sheds?

[Simon Barrington]

Saw this video clip of Trevino on another place, and got me thinking

https://x.com/golf_difusion/status/1811060969495265743

Begs an important question, would The Road Hole be harder (or better , whatever that means?) without the replacement railway sheds & the complete blindness?

Would the partially obscured view of the fairway with the boundary wall cutting in & then away from the corner distract even more than the completely blind tee shot?

Does the blindness take away the visual queue/encouragement to shape a fade (or draw if a leftie) with the drive around the corner, which can produce many an error.

Does hitting blind reduce the propensity to shape the ball OOB? Or does it create doubt and different but as numerous errors?

With modern Drivers having launch angles so much higher, has this effectively neutralised the physical barrier the sheds provide? With the Open tee further back this is even more the case.

As the sheds were once removed, should they have been replaced at all?

Is it sacrilegious to even raise the question? (I hope not)

Discuss...

[Tom_Doak]

Hypothetically, if the sheds AND THE HOTEL weren't there, I'd prefer that to hitting over the sheds.  You'd be more responsible for picking your own line.


However, with the hotel there, they have to do everything they can to discourage people from cutting too much of the corner.  Visually, you'd be too tempted to aim parallel to the building and slice into it from there.

[Thomas Dai]

Interesting question.
For a while even though the balconied monstrosity had been erected when the sheds were first removed and before the fake ones were built there was a view over the wall and around the corner. An Open, a Nicklaus win I believe, was played with the open view.
Atb

[Wayne_Kozun]

If it was a year that Nicklaus won then that would be either 70 or 78.

You can see Nicklaus teeing off at 17 in the 1970 Open here https://youtu.be/NGHO1GmMD6k?si=REDqMRLTh_YxvfKF at the 6:05 point.

The hotel is there, or at least a portion of it is, but the sheds are not.

[mike_beene]

There are some nets on those balconies. Don’t ask me how I know.

[Simon Barrington]

If it was a year that Nicklaus won then that would be either 70 or 78.

You can see Nicklaus teeing off at 17 in the 1970 Open here https://youtu.be/NGHO1GmMD6k?si=REDqMRLTh_YxvfKF at the 6:05 point.

The hotel is there, or at least a portion of it is, but the sheds are not.

Wayne Thank You!

What a great film to watch, before my time and so much to comment on.

In terms of the question I set the view of the 17th from the tee really opens up the threat of the Road Hole Bunker in the players mind from the very outset.

That and the gravitational pull of the line of the wall. But is it an easier drive for being open visually?

The aspect of "Blindness" is one that this debate hopes to open.

I am quite partial to a blind hole, in fact I loved the old Machrie far more than the more visually open newer version, as I believe that the stroke is only blind the first time one plays it.

But in this unique case the threat and strategic severity of the Road and the Road Hole Bunker may be enhanced without the separation created by the blindness caused by the replication of the former sheds.

There must be documents somewhere at St Andrews at the Links Trust or Local Planning that detail the later replacement sheds and what were the planning considerations, let alone golfing ones...I would be interested to read those if they exist.


Other things that were notabe (some OT):-

- The lower camera angels really emphasised the rolling topography of the RHS of the 18th

- The complete lack of Rough separation between holes, a single length of cut throughout

- The shallowness of the Road Hole Bunker versus the modern version

and OT

- What a great player Jacklin was, and how good both his and Jack's shots into 17th were, with vastly differing results

- How long Sanders took to play every stroke not just the final famous miss

- That no-one wears purple anymore (was this the golfing hex that started that anti-trend)

- That Nicklaus blew it too on the last with a terrible three putt through the Valley of Sin

- How close Trevino was to Sanders at key points (was he supportive, or in his ear?)

- How wonderful Longhurst's commentary was, and how perceptive of the potential event that unfolded.

It was a joy to watch
Thank you