Goosen criticises Old Course change

The 17th tee on the Old Course at St Andrews will be extended behind the crowd line at the bottom of the picture

  Plans to extend the Road Hole (17th) on the Old Course at St Andrews in time for the 2010 Open championship have been criticised by double major champion Retief Goosen.

R&A officials have announced that a new tee is to be built on the practice ground behind the Old Course hotel, lengthening the dogleg par-4 hole by 35 yards to 490 yards.

Outspoken: Goosen challenges 17th hole decision

For the 2010 Open the tee shot across the disused railway line (over the wire fence behind the tee) will be longer and Goosen said: "I don't know why they want to do that. It's such a great hole anyway – so much can happen on it."

He says changes to clubface groove regulations will reward greater accuracy and shot making, reducing the advantage gained by the big-hitters.

"We're going back to the smaller grooves as well, so it's going to become even more difficult to hit that green. I don't think it's the right thing. If you play it downwind then you're hitting a driver and a 7- or 8-iron but into the wind I've played it when you couldn't reach the green.

"I hope they keep the forward tees because if we play into the wind we won't reach it in two."

However the R&A's Peter Dawson commented: "It has long been suggested that the 17th hole would benefit from additional length to restore the original challenge of the hole. At the 1964 Open Henry Cotton recommended the alteration when he said 'I would make a tee just beyond the railway line on the other course (the Eden Course is now the practice range). It would restore this drive to its former value.'

Peter Dawson: 'hole needed to change.'

"The fairway will be widened slightly on the left-side to ensure that the tee shot remains fair.

"Crucially, the difficulty of the second shot will be re-established, making it more difficult to hold the approach on the putting surface and increasing the threat posed by both the road behind the green and the Road Hole bunker."

The R&A's points out that the 17th was played at the same yardage in 1900 as it was in 2005 and this fuelled their belief that the formidable challenge of this iconic hole should be returned for the Open Championship in 2010.

Said Dawson: "Over the years we have seen the threat from the road behind the green, and to a lesser extent the Road Bunker, diminished as players have been hitting shorter irons for their approach shots allowing them to avoid these hazards more easily.

"This change will ensure that the hole plays as it was originally intended."

Tell us on the forum: What are your experiences of playing the 17th Road Hole at St Andrews.