I walked The Old Course last Sunday. It was the first time I had been back since 2010, having spent quite a lot of time there in the few years prior.
Having been quite vocal against the need for the recent changes, it was interesting to see them in the flesh.... Firstly, the work has been designed and built with a high degree of technical expertise..
Maybe more than others, I was worried about the "creation of undulations" to the right of 6 or 7 greens but I'm happy to say the work is subtle, the shaping good and it fits in pretty neatly around holes such as 2, 4 & 15... I still say WHY but it looks just fine….The bunkers short right of two are just too tight to reward play in from the right (although this side is still clearly the way to play in).... I am sad to see the hollow at driving distance on 7 being filled in... It was a maintenance nightmare maybe but you feel a little disorientated walking on to that 7 / 11 crossover now - It feels like a flat field where previously there was a feature. I'd have preferred a feature to remain, even if in different form.... I liked the gorse cleared on 7 tee-shot though...The green at 11 is OK - 99.99% of people would not notice the difference although I felt as though a little of that bold flowing shape had gone and there are a couple of micro-micro-steps where previously there were none... Nit picking a bit and if it gives those extra pin-positions, then maybe that compromise was worth it in the eyes of the majority... 17 I'm sure has lost a little kink in the front left of the green when the bunker was reshaped - a shame... All in all, we'll move on - the world hasn't ended and the course remains the same... EXCEPT
What has happened to the width? It was really sad to see... It's as if someone has decreed that waving fescue is prettier to look at than the short grass undulations of the ground.... This course was as tight as Royal Aberdeen or The Renaissance Club looked from recent TV / photos... At least 50% of the bunkers are lost in the rough... The 3rd hole had all five fairway bunkers completely gone, the worst of them a full 40 yards in to the fescue on the left. What's more, where those added undulations look pretty good, they also looked like they may have been responsible for some green shrinkage (maybe I am imagining this though)... And now (maybe always?) we have gang mown semi-rough for the first 150 yards off most tees before fairway is reached... semi-rough doesn't do links courses any favours in my opinion - fine flanking the fairway transitions but never looks good right in front of you... Those comments aside, the conditioning looked superb and the presentation was top-notch...
Looking at Anthony Fowler’s thread saying the greens are flat, I reminded myself that I can’t agree – they are certainly big with large flattish areas but there is so much movement on some of these greens – they really are the ones to study – absolutely perfect…
Was great to get back and spend a morning there… Finished with a putt on the Himalayas as always – and then rushed to get my flight when a pint in the jigger beer garden was a much more appealing option…
Ally