Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Fore! Rubber roof plan to protect Old Course Hotel in St Andrews in full swing

A computer-generated image showing how golfers need to aim over hotel outbuildings to find the fairway.
A computer-generated image showing how golfers need to aim over hotel outbuildings to find the fairway.

Plans for a rubber roof to protect one of the world’s most iconic hotels from damage by stray golf balls are now in full swing.

The Old Course Hotel Golf Resort and Spa in St Andrews sits right alongside the famous 17th Road Hole on the Old Course itself, but its prime position at the Home of Golf has had one major pitfall.

Errant shots have seen the 28-year-old slate roof on the hotel peppered by golf balls, which has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage each year and prompted the hotel’s owners to take action.

Work on a new rubber roof has now begun, and golf course officials have been putting up netting to ensure the safety of roofing crews ahead of the hotel’s reopening in April.

“There has been a natural wear and tear over the last 28 years which does include golf ball damage,” a spokesperson for the Old Course Hotel explained.

“The new roof is an accurate replication of the current roof, so there will be no change the the overall look of the hotel, which has become iconic in the world of golf.

“The new roof has the ability to absorb and deflect the energy from golf ball impact without any dents, cracks or damage, too.”

The iconic Road Hole is known as a risk and reward hole, with players who aim right potentially shortening their approach to the green.

However, many golfers from all walks of life have come a cropper and have unwittingly brought the hotel into play.

Former Open champion Phil Mickelson famously fired his tee shot on to one of the balconies at the hotel back in 2015 when St Andrews last staged The Open, while Englishman Eddie Pepperell struck the hotel’s roof during the same tournament.

https://vine.co/v/e6iIur2MQV9

“The 17th hole of St Andrews Old Course, also known as The Road Hole, is one of the most famous holes in golf, many people, both amateur and professional travel from all over the world to try it out,” the spokesperson noted.

“It’s known as one of the toughest par 4 holes, so we couldn’t possibly hold it against anyone for a wayward shot every now and then.

“We really don’t mind the wayward shots – it’s safe to say we’ve all been there at one time or another.”

The main hotel is currently closed for roof and window maintenance and a soft refurbishment of over 100 of the 144 guest rooms, with changes to the décor of the rooms and the introduction of features such as USB charging points, ergonomic electrical outlets and closet lighting also included.

Although the main hotel is expected to be closed until April 13, the famous Jigger Inn, The Duke’s Golf Course and Hams Hame will remain open throughout.

Calgary-based Euroshield was selected to provide the rubber roofing, with the company’s “heritage slate” coming out on top in a world-wide search for the best materials.

“I was up on the hotel and the gutters are just full of golf balls,” Euroshield owner Henry Kamphuis said.

“They looked at a number of different products and hit them all with a hammer and ours was the one that stood up to it.”

The installation itself is being undertaken by Braisby Roofing of Dunfermline.