NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — This week’s Scottish Open will be different, we can promise you that. For starters, LIV golfers Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are playing. That’s different. Former LIV player Brooks Koepka is competing as a sponsor’s exemption … out of necessity … on the DP World Tour half of the field. That’s different. And yet, one piece of newness simmers in the background, made with fans in mind.
The holes at Renaissance Club have been shifted around. And in a not-so-subtle way aimed at creating the most compelling product possible from an unchanged golf course.
Normally, a rerouting of holes may not do much for excitement, particularly for the American crowd across the Atlantic Ocean. Often a rerouting is made out of necessity for a course renovation. But this one is simply to maximize the setting for fans on-site and construe the most excitement for a TV audience.
In short, a majority of the old back nine at Renaissance — holes 10 thru 16 — will now play as holes 1 thru 7, while holes 1 thru 7 at Renaissance will now operate as holes 10 thru 16. To the Renaissance newbie, that won’t mean much. But to players in the field, it means a final stretch of six holes with zero par-5s, which Rahm was quick to point out Tuesday morning.
“Haven’t given me a reason yet as to why they changed it,” Rahm said, before doing the tournament’s bidding.
“Also think it’s quite a thrilling finish,” Rahm continued. “Obviously you don’t have the par-5 on 16, that gave quite a bit away, but with the right wind you have a possibly reachable par-4, a very tricky short par-3, a long par-4, and then 17 and 18. I still think it gives it a good variety and a very exciting finish. I think it could be a really good change.”
He’s not alone. Viktor Hovland was next on stage Tuesday and said he really liked it, and expected it to contribute to a more-exciting finish than the Renaissance of old.
The previous 16th hole was a downhill par-5 that offered players a bit of a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card late in their back nine. Here’s an easy birdie in the heat of contention. Now that gettable hole arrives well before players make the turn, and the holes spent in contention suddenly aggregate into a wicked route to the clubhouse.
The new 14th is a drivable par-4 with the right wind, as Rahm said. But if that hole plays downwind, the next hole — a short, tasty par-3 — reveals itself at No. 15, surrounded by bunkers and, now, also encircled by stadium seating. The event has increased the buildout around this hole in years past —adding grandstands, viewing platforms and what amounted to an outdoor food court — but it was always played as the 6th, much too early in the weekend rounds to hold significance. Now, it’ll be where pros hold on for dear life, make a run or stumble when they can least afford it.
After the 15th comes a long par-4 — which plays as a par-5 for members of the exclusive club — followed by another difficult par-3 (203 yards) and finishing par-4 (483 yards) that often plays into the wind. Rory McIlroy birdied both finishing holes when he came back to win in 2023, a herculean feat considering it took him driver, 2-iron to reach the 18th green.
And despite McIlroy’s heroics from three years ago, there will be bogeys down the stretch. You can count on it. But more than anything, spectators will be wooed into hanging around the clubhouse with this new finishing stretch. The routing’s proximity to the clubhouse and grandstands should create a more electric scene come Sunday, and should increase the chances of capturing an epic crowd reaction, too, which can seem muted on TV during those windy links days of a Scottish summer.
All of it outlines a creative strategy that one event is taking to make itself 1, 2 or 3% better each season. Now all organizers need are the best golfers to show up and do their thing.
