The Round Table: Robert MacIntyre on the Road Hole, “Blow it up!”
Each week, we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.
Last week the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship concluded at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. The 17th hole, known as the Road Hole, is a dogleg par 4 that requires a blind tee shot over a portion of the Old Course Hotel. It’s often been called the toughest hole in professional golf. After the tournament, Robert MacIntyre called it the worst hole in golf and suggested it be blown up. What’s your opinion of the Road Hole?
Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): My opinion of the Road Hole is a lot higher than that of Robert MacIntyre. What an idiot to trash a hole that’s been among the most iconoclastic and revered in the game since time began. I’ve played it — once — and hit a most uncharacteristic (for me) high fade into the hotel gardens off the tee. Three off the tee, two more to the green, two putts seven. But I savoured every shot, and thought it was a great hole and a thrill to play. (For fun, I dropped a ball into the greenside bunker and got up and down in two.) 17 was also a very emotional experience for me, as a family member’s ashes are scattered there alongside the green.
Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: I wonder if MacIntyre’s problem is being left-handed. It’s a lot easier to control a high fade over the hotel than a high draw. Maybe his draw shots are too low which is another glitch. When Sam Snead looked out the window of the train and saw St. Andrew’s, he thought it was a sheep farm. Gary Player famously said, “When people asked me about certain courses or certain holes, I thought I should tell the truth and then I learned I was shooting high scores on those holes and courses”. It is what it is! In this particular case, if you have a complaint about the design write a letter to the designer. Like it or hate it keep your mind positive and just play!
Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): MacIntyre ought to be ashamed and should be forced to bone up on his history. The Road Hole is a quintessential part of the Old Course. So what if there’s a hotel in the way. Personally, I love it! Quirky is never a bad thing in golf course design. It’s odd though that 30 years ago and more, the Road and the adjacent wall behind the 17th green came into play much more. Now the players hit the ball so high and stop it so quickly that those hazards are just something you see in old golf films.
The PGA Tour Fall Series is well underway, and we wonder if anybody is watching. After eight full months of regular season including playoffs and majors, have golf fans had enough? And in the broader scheme of things, should weak field Fall Series events be doling out Masters invites to winners and adding world ranking points to top finishers?
Deeks: Well, I haven’t been watching as I’m travelling and playing golf in Europe. But I doubt I’d be watching if I was home anyway. As I said last week, I kinda miss the old Silly Season events (US Skins, Wendy’s Three Tour Challenge, Shark Shootout, etc.), if only for the variety they provided. As to the “legitimacy” of the Fall Series, I don’t have a problem with Masters invitations and OWGR points being awarded. I think it’s good to give the younger players an incentive, especially when many of the more established players have decided to take the Fall off.
Schurman: The question shows only a few of the reasons the PGA TOUR is in decline, and nobody recognizes it. The ‘powers that be’ are filling their own coffers and the players have never played for so much money. However, with that success comes a responsibility to contribute to the growth of the game which was in decline prior to Covid. Golf was bestowed two miracles in the past 30 years; Tiger and Covid and while the game of golf is healthy and prosperous, what is being done in the name of retention? Every indicator says golf is booming and I agree but not because of anything anybody did it’s more an anomaly. We rode the Tiger ‘horse’ until it fell over from multiple surgeries, and we failed to identify the Covid Boom. Here we are almost 5 years ‘in’, and we have no clue what the hell happened. We are just riding the Covid ‘horse’ until it falls over from exhaustion and we go back to, golf is too expensive, it takes too long to play, it’s not that much fun, golfers are snooty, golf is too difficult to learn…….
Mumford: The Fall Series is the PGA Tour’s way to continue monopolizing the airwaves and shutting out any kind of competition. It’s really Q-school stretched out over several months. Entertaining yes but the fields aren’t worthy of Masters invites or world rankings and we all need a break. Shut the Tour down after Labour Day and go back to a proper q-school tournament in the late fall. This obsession with points and more points dragging on all year is nauseating.
What’s your favourite non-PGA Tour event and why? (Could be from the LPGA, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, Australia or elite amateur events).
Deeks: The Open Championship is a non-PGA Tour event, of course, and it’s hands-down my favourite event of the year, followed by the Ryder Cup. But from your parentheses, I think you’re asking for a different answer. On the men’s side, I guess I’d say the Scottish Open, which is a nice precursor to The Open or the Dunhill at the Old Course. On the women’s side, the Women’s British Open always provides a strong test of nerves and stamina, as does the Solheim Cup — both must-watches for me.
Schurman: I’m not sure it qualifies but the Ryder Cup does it for me. Next is Drive, Pitch and Putt. I love watching the kids at Augusta. Their parents know the symbolism and magnificence of walking the grounds which the kids might never do again, but they certainly will remember it. Being in that atmosphere is motivating and will affect those kids with their effort in school, desire to succeed, manners, respect, and desire to play golf. A little taste of honey goes a long way.
Mumford: The team events are special, so the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup and even the non-competitive Presidents Cup top the list. Also, I generally enjoy watching tournaments on courses I’ve played so the Scottish and Irish Opens are always on the calendar too.
