Will the 11th at the Old Course be strengthened against low scoring?

[John Chilver-Stainer]

Mark Bourgeois has done excellent work digging up the scores on the 11th at the Old Course of the 2010 Open.

Field, 2010: 24 birdies, 327 pars, 102 bogeys, 13 doubles

This reveals by my maths an average score of 3.22

Do you think the new 11th, will be “strengthened for the elite players” at the 2015 Open.
If so the scoring average should go up.

Will the new benign area to the left of the green instigate higher or lower averages?

[Rich Goodale]

It will give a needed increase in the variety of pin positions available on that hole.  Who cares about the scoring average?

[Ulrich Mayring]

If the hole plays the same as it played before, then you'd need a pretty good argument to justify architectural changes.

Ulrich

[John Chilver-Stainer]

" Who cares about the scoring average?"

Rich,
haven't you been listening?

Peter Dawson said he wants to strengthen the course against Elite Pros.
That implies the changes being made to the course, are to RESIST low scoring.

[Paul_Turner]

When was the now "prohibited" pin position last used for an Open or Dunhill?

[Bill_McBride]

It would have been a lot less expensive to cut and roll the greens at 9-10 instead of 12!   

[Jeb Bearer]

It would have been a lot less expensive to cut and roll the greens at 9-10 instead of 12!   

Not to mention it would have saved the integrity and uniqueness of the hole for the other 99.9% of golfers who play the course.

[Jud_T]

If the argument was that more pin positions were needed for everyday play due to excessive wear on the green, that would be one thing.  But that is not the case, it's that more pin positions are desired for the Open at higher green speeds to make it "fair" for the pros.  Essentially the Championship Committee just bitch-slapped the town with their elitist ideals about tournament golf.

[Mark Chaplin]

Bill - they aim for 10.5 for the Open greens, speeds over 11 do not work on links courses when the breeze gets up. This is about making more pin positions not faster green speeds.

[jeffwarne]

Bill - they aim for 10.5 for the Open greens, speeds over 11 do not work on links courses when the breeze gets up. This is about making more pin positions not faster green speeds.

That's correct, but it's also about reclaiming pin positions LOST due to higher greens speeds.
It would be great if the governing bodies in the US adopted/went back to the speeds used in Opens so they could stop butchering their own greens