As the countdown begins to the 2027 Open Championship, the R&A and St Andrews Links Trust have once again turned to course architects Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert to take a fresh look at the Old Course, golf’s most sacred ground. Following a post-2022 Open review, the pair were asked to assess how the “Home of Golf” has held up against the modern game’s relentless surge in distance and technology. Their findings have led to a restoration plan that aims not to reinvent St Andrews, but to refine it. End goal? Preserve its character while also subtly enhancing its defenses for even the world’s best players.

The R&A will lengthen the 5th (35 yards), 6th (17 yards), 7th (18 yards), 10th (29 yards), 11th (21 yards), and 16th (10 yards); modernize teeing areas; and reshape bunkers to match today’s longer ball flights while still protecting the identity of Links golf. The overall length of the course will be increased by 132 yards to 7,445 yards.

Among the six holes set to increase in length, four of them, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 10th, will have new tee boxes altogether. The changes are part of R&A’s plan to restore some of the edge lost to titanium clubheads and growing focus on length off the tee. But not just tee boxes, the Home of Golf will also undergo bunker repositioning.

On the par-4 2nd, two bunkers will be moved further down the fairway and onto the left, so that there are more chances of the sand traps coming into play at the 2027 Open. Similarly, two bunkers will be added on the par-4 16th. The famous Road Hole bunker on the par-4 17th will also be restored. The overhaul is slated to start next week.

One more subtle adjustment will come on the 12th hole, which will be shortened slightly to improve spectator movement during championship play. On the 9th, Boase’s Bunker will be restored to its larger, less rounded shape, and new elite-level bunkers will be added on the 6th and 10th to challenge modern drives. Separate upgrades to the Old Course’s aging irrigation system will also be completed simultaneously, giving groundskeepers a more efficient tool for turf management while minimizing disruption to everyday play.

As part of the restoration, the 16th hole will see one of the most historically faithful updates. An original playing route to the left of the Principal’s Nose and Deacon Sime bunkers will be reinstated, reviving risk-reward options that disappeared as the fairway narrowed over time. The move restores some of Dr. Alister MacKenzie’s original intent for the hole, one that he famously studied for decades.

The R&A’s Chief Executive, Mark Darbon, said the organization’s approach “is grounded in deep respect for the course’s unparalleled history,” adding that the work “is important in ensuring the Old Course continues to evolve and challenge the world’s best golfers while enhancing the experience of local and visiting golfers.” Neil Coulson, CEO of St Andrews Links Trust, echoed that sentiment, noting that “every generation has played a part in shaping the Old Course,” and the 2027 program “continues that long tradition” of careful refinement rather than reinvention.

In that sense, these updates follow a long lineage of evolution. More than 60 new bunkers were added between 1899 and 1905, and roughly 350 yards were added ahead of the 2000 and 2005 Opens. Even the 2015 adjustments—minor by comparison—included bunker regrading and green contour changes on the 11th.

The changes will also put the onus on golfers to alter their strategies. There are simply too many memories. Seve Ballesteros’s 1984 Open, in which he won his second title with a last-hole birdie as Tom Watson collapsed. Like Tiger Woods’s 15-shot annihilation in 2000 expanded both his and St. Andrews’ legacy.

In fact, the Road Hole, the 17th, is still one of golf’s ultimate tests. Pros have a blind tee shot over the hotel to a green well protected by a punishing bunker. Nor should we forget what occurred here in 1978. Tommy Nakajima succumbed to it and took nine shots and squandered his chances. Then comes the Eden, the 11th hole, which looks straightforward but protects itself with deep bunkers and has a treacherous stream at its back. Bobby Jones famously walked off in 1921 after disputes with its sand, cementing his legend.

Course renovations are not new at certain courses, with them hosting majors in the near future.

Oakmont Country Club’s 2025 U.S. Open Prep Mirrors St Andrews Golf Course’s 2027 Makeover

At Oakmont Country Club, golf architect Gil Hanse performed a complete restoration in 2022-23 for the 2025 U.S. Open.

The project featured rebuilt bunkers and expanded greens and added length, all to tackle today’s golfers’ driving prowess. Likewise, the impending layout changes at St Andrews are a continuation of that trend—venerable venues reacting to driving distance.

For Oakmont, the researchers analyzed more than 40 years of design evolution and picked the best hole versions to bring back. At St Andrews, meanwhile, the alterations stretch across six holes, adding some 132 yards and presenting new bunker strategies to reduce the potential for attacking drivers.

Classic courses are no longer frozen in time. Oakmont brought back the “tabletop”-style greens and raised bunker lips, while St. Andrews will reclaim the fairway at its 16th and tweak tees on the 11th to restore strategic tension.

Work at St Andrews officially begins on November 3, while the irrigation upgrades are scheduled to start a week earlier, on October 27. Both projects are expected to finish well ahead of The 155th Open in 2027.