Scott Macpherson

It was literally a safety related.

And of course, then once they start, so we've got this time, 1888, when individual separaties can be built right around the same time.

So there's this correlation between the rules changing, equipment changing, old course changing, that led to a series of decisions that we now see the old course through a modern prism, just through

But it was like, well, how did we get to where we are?

So once they started lengthening the right-hand course, which is the course we know, right, and play today mostly, you've got to kind of keep going at that point.

And probably the one way, the one hole that we can see what's happened, which is T's come right and they go back, is the 14th hole again.

Because I think we've got just to the right of the bunker, which sits to the right of the 13th green, there's a pop bunker there,

just next to it within 10 yards or so, there's this small rectangular flat bit of ground.

It's my view that that was possibly the first individual T built once the rules changed in 1888, so with old Tom.

And then from there, there's very clear aerial photography now which shows that continuation of the T moving right and further back.

We know from documentation that it changed every week.

So there was a 30-year period there between 1873-ish, 1874, through to about 1905.

It would literally alternate.

And the reason given was really around wear and tear, is that when you play the course the opposite way, balls will end up in a different place.

one thing that's quite interesting about when you when you think about that you go okay let me see if you look at the whole we'd know it's 16 if you're playing the right hand course but it's three if you're playing in reverse and you draw a line between the middle of the 16th green I'm going to use modern numbers here because it's easier if you draw a line between the sort of 16th green and the 15th green and you try to find midpoint between those two points guess where it is

uh it would midpoint between the 15th and 16th grade would be three fairway or well yeah kind of but it lines up almost perfectly with principal's nose oh yeah which is 185 yards so literally 185 yards on as a principal's own when you're playing the other way so perfect position for bunker right and you've got to imagine the course is narrower three fairway didn't really exist at that point so no matter which way you're playing principal's nose was in play yeah

And so now we fly over it both ways when you're playing in and you're playing out.

So there's all these little things that have changed, whether you attribute a reason to that or not.

But it goes to show that not only has the old course changed in length, it's changed in width.

And along with that has been strategic change in the way the course is played.