Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland said they welcomed the major change to The Renaissance Club's layout ahead of the Genesis Scottish Open, which reverts back to the routing they used when the event first came here in 2019.
While the eighth, ninth, 17th and 18th holes will remain the same, the rest of the course will effectively flip, with the first to seventh playing as the tenth to 16th, and tenth to 16th playing as first to seventh.
At the heart of the changes, the fan-favourite par three sixth hole now becomes the 15th, with enhanced seating to become a true stadium hole.
The tough closing stretch will now be the same as when Bernd Wiesberger went birdie-bogey-par to finish tied at the top, before overcoming Benjamin Hebert of France on the third play-off hole.
Viktor Hovland, who is making his fifth appearance in a row at Scotland's national open, along with two-time Major champion Jon Rahm believe the move will create for a stern closing challenge for players and an exciting finish for fans.
"I do really like the routing change this year," Hovland said at The Renaissance Club on Tuesday.
"I mean, obviously we play the same golf course, but at the same time, I do think it adds a little bit of excitement.
"I think having, short par four kind of drivable and then 15, the short par three shortly thereafter, it makes sense to have those on the back nine kind of leading up to the finish of this great event. And I think it just makes for a better finish."
Rahm, who is returning to the Genesis Scottish Open for the first time since 2022, added: "I also think it's quite a thrilling finish.
"Obviously you don't have the par five on 16 that gave quite a bit away, but with the right wind you have a possible reachable par four, a very tricky short par three, a long par four 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.
"It's just getting used to when you're walking off going 16, to, I guess it will be seven now, going to eight, that's the main thing for us, but I think it's going to become a better event for that, just for the back nine on Saturday, Sunday. It's going to be more electric."
Tournament Director Miguel Viador explained that the changes have been made to bring the action closer to the fans on the closing stretch, while creating a much more compelling finish from a playing point of view.
“What we've done is we've flipped... last year's holes one to seven have now become ten to 16 and last year's ten to 16 have become one to seven and holes eight, nine, 17 and 18 have remained exactly the same," he said.
“It's been mainly made from a fan point of view to bring the back nine closer to them, bring a bit more atmosphere around the clubhouse and the fan village.
“This is the same routing that we actually played in 2019 when Bernd Wiesberger won the Genesis Scottish Open.
"What was the back nine in the last five years is a bit far away from the actual fans. By doing this, we are bringing the back nine action closer to the fans, with the Tented Village being close to them and the back nine being around the clubhouse.
“Very specially on this beautiful hole that we have here (the 15th), which has now been renamed as the Thistle, is the stadium hole. We have actually increased the spectator capacity, the fan capacity, and we have now a proper stadium.
"This hole now becomes the 15th hole. So from a playing point of view, we now have a drivable par four, which is the 14th, then we have this lovely par three stadium hole 15 and then we have three really tough finishing holes on 16, 17 and 18.
“I think it's a win-win. We're quite happy with this move. Not much feedback from players yet, but I'm sure that they're going to be happy and especially appreciating this being towards the end of play. I think it's going to be much more exciting in terms of the atmosphere."
On the first tee with the World Number One, Scottie Scheffler 🚀#GenesisScottishOpen | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/zIhKfvk2Iw
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Yet while it features the same routing as 2019, there are a few key differences.
When Wiesberger won the par was 71, with his birdie at the 16th coming when it played as a 561 yard par-five. This year, it plays as a 505 yard par-four, having changed in 2022 alongside a number of other course changes.
The Renaissance Club engaged three-time Major Championship winner Pádraig Harrington as a ‘player consultant’ ahead of the 2022 tournament, discussing matters related to course design with renowned American course architect Tom Doak.
Among the changes made were new pot bunkers built on the right-hand side of the first (this year's tenth) and seventh fairways (this year's 16th), creating a new dilemma for players off the tee, with both holes going on to play over par across the four rounds. Trees were also cleared on both sides of the par-five 10th fairway, and a new dune complex built on the right, ensuring a wayward drive would mean it is more challenging to reach the green.
Other subtle changes included a band of semi-rough being introduced to cut off across the run-off areas around some of the greens – something Harrington was instrumental behind from a players’ perspective.
What to expect from the new closing stretch
Edoardo Molinari laid out what the implications of the new closing stretch (14-15-16) will be in his Genesis Scottish Open preview. Click here to read the full article.
Speaking on the changes, Molinari explained that the impact of the changes mean that three of the most important shots of the round will now come in that closing stretch.
"After the 15th there is no let-up: the 16th and the 18th rank fourth and first hardest on the course, so realistically the last birdie chances of the round are the drivable 14th and a wedge into 15," he wrote.
"The three single most important shots at The Renaissance Club are the tee shots on 15, 18 and the par three ninth — with two of the three now coming in the last four holes, the new routing should make for a great finish."
