"Sometimes these people think we're stupid. It's an amazing thing to assume that we had mucked up to that degree. It's just staggering."

The first Global Golf Post is up and in it Brian Hewitt sits down with a cranky Peter Dawson who continues to peddle the Henry Cotton-said-we-should-lengthen-the-Road-hole-nonsense to justify going over the wall for a new tee. The R&A Secretary was asked about criticism of the new tee:

There was a remarkable thing in the Times. John Hopkins seemed to have asked four American architects what they thought of this change and they all were wondering how it changed the angle of the drive. Of course, the angle hasn't changed at all. Sometimes these people think we're stupid. It's an amazing thing to assume that we had mucked up to that degree. It's just staggering.

True. How could anyone think that the R&A could ever mess up a golf course? Shocking I tell you. Well, unless they watched the '99 Open at Carnoustie, witnessed the setup at Birkdale, took in your new work at Turnberry or dare I mention the last Open at St. Andrews with the out-of-bounds tee, horrific fairway contouring and in the case of the Road Hole, almost no fairway to speak of (images above and below).

Staggering!

Any other changes to the Road Hole other than the tee?

Two players in particularly strongly suggested that we should ease the fairway back on the left a little more if we were going to take the tee back, and I think that's right.

It's always a sign of great intelligence when you need tour professionals to tell you that a fairway contour might be just a wee bit goofy after you add 40 yards to a hole. Staggering might be another way to put it.

To create more bailout for players hitting driver?

Yes, we had, actually, over the years squeezed it a bit right, to be honest because it was getting easier off the tee. So we will ease it back.

So thoughtful of them to actually provide a landing area. Though that rough protecting the out of bounds to the right and the horrible angle of approach on the left will surely remain in some form. It'd be staggering to see the R&A prepare the hole any other way.