The Road Hole at St Andrews: Golf's Ultimate Test

The 17th hole at St Andrews Old Course stands alone in golf history. Known universally as the "Road Hole", this par-4 has earned its reputation as the toughest hole in championship golf through decades of drama, heartbreak and occasional triumph. With a blind tee shot over a hotel, a green no wider than 16 yards at its narrowest point, and hazards that have claimed even the greatest players, the Road Hole is where Open Championships are won and lost.

❝The reason the Road hole at St Andrews is the most difficult par 4 in the world is that it was designed as a par 5.❞
Ben Crenshaw

❝It is amazing how you can really hit a shot left of the Old Course Hotel logo, and if it is cutting, it is in the fairway.❞
Will Zalatoris

❝It is the location of it and the placement of it and the way that the green sits and just how it swallows golf balls. Anything that is kind of around it that's running, it is just going to go right into it.❞
Justin Thomas

❝It is a hole where you make four 4s for the week and you are really happy. You are not trying to - I mean, a 3 is a massive bonus there. You take four 4s and run very happily to the 18th tee.❞
Rory McIlroy

❝Everyone knows left in the bunker is dead. Missing the green right is dead. Short is the safest bet, but it's not easy from there. It's just a tough hole.❞
Matt Fitzpatrick

In 1978 Tommy Nakajima was in contention at The Open Championship on the third day at St Andrews until he putted into the Road Hole bunker on the 17th, he then took four attempts to escape for a score of 9. The bunker has borne his nickname ever since.

In 2010 Miguel Ángel Jimenez found himself right up against the wall on the Road Hole, he played his ball into the wall which rebounded up in the air and onto the green, a miraculous recovery.

Michael Campbell found himself in the Road Hole bunker in 1995, the ball sitting right up against the face. He managed to get enough loft on the ball to get it up & out of the bunker then it rolled down the slope to within a few feet of the pin.

Off the Tee
The majority of golfers will be hitting a driver off the tee as it’s a very long hole. Depending on your normal flight, I would suggest aiming over the ‘H’ of the Old Course Hotel sign if you are a drawer of the ball and over the ‘O’ for faders. There is a lot more room down the right hand side of the fairway than it looks. You need a good drive off the tee if you are going to have any chance of making a par.

For the Approach
It will be a long iron or fairway wood for your approach shot unless the weather is good and you get a good bounce. The road hole bunker is something you must avoid. Aim for the right side of the green wherever the pin is, take your 2 putts and get out of there!

Miss left and you're in the Road Hole bunker, essentially a death sentence. Miss right and you're on gravel, the road, or worse, up against the stone wall.

The Mental Game
Rory McIlroy summed up the proper mindset perfectly: "It is a hole where you make four 4s for the week and you are really happy. You take four 4s and run very happily to the 18th tee."

Don't let the fear of the hole lead to tentative swings. You must commit fully to your lines, both off the tee and into the green. Indecision is the enemy on the Road Hole.

Additional Tips
Respect the left side, if you hit it into the left rough, it sort of takes all your options away, you've just got to hit it to the front right and then try to make your two putts.

If you're going to miss the green, short and right is preferable. You'll have a difficult pitch, but at least you have a shot. From the bunker, road, or wall, par becomes nearly impossible.

Even if you hit a perfect drive, resist the temptation to attack every pin. The front right portion of the green is always acceptable—it's a large target that takes the bunker out of play.

Statistics paint a clear picture: The 17th consistently ranks as the hardest hole on the Old Course during The Open.

Scoring averages climb above par, and birdies are rare. However, the drama it produces is unparalleled, making it one of the most iconic holes in all of golf.

The Road Hole may not be the longest par-4 on tour, but it's a test of every facet of a golfer's game. It demands strategic thinking, precise execution and unshakeable nerves. For those who conquer it, the reward is a place in golfing history.

The Old Course at St Andrews is a traditional links layout running out to the Eden Estuary and back. What makes the Old Course unique is its width, rather than narrow, tree-lined fairways, the course features vast expanses of undulating links land shared by holes playing in opposite directions. Seven greens (except the 1st, 9th, 17th, and 18th) are massive double greens shared by two holes, creating unusual dynamics and some of the largest putting surfaces in golf.

The terrain features deep pot bunkers with steep revetted faces, gorse bushes, whins, thick rough and the ever-present wind from the North Sea. The course's subtlety and strategy become apparent only after multiple plays—hidden hollows, deceptive slopes, and blind shots reward local knowledge and punish the unfamiliar.

The Road Hole is undoubtedly the Old Course's most demanding test and regarded by many as the toughest par-4 in golf. But it is not alone in its difficulty or fame. The 11th hole ("High Hole In") features the treacherous Hill Bunker. The 14th ("Long Hole In") stretches to 618 yards. And the 18th ("Tom Morris") provides the most recognisable finishing hole in golf, with the Valley of Sin fronting the green and the town of St Andrews forming a spectacular backdrop.

The Road Hole, as the penultimate test before the famous finish, represents everything that makes St Andrews special: history, strategy, quirk, and consequence. It is a hole where you cannot simply overpower the course—you must think, adapt, and sometimes simply survive. The hole continues to inspire awe and fear in equal measure, remaining golf's ultimate examination of skill, strategy, and nerve.

Handicap: 4
Favourite Course: Old Head
My 'Expert' areas: St Andrews or Dublin
Best trip I've done: St Andrews Old Course, Kingsbarns & Dumbarnie Links
Where my next trip is to: Augusta to watch The Masters with my Dad

Give Sam a call on 0800 043 6644 to arrange your next golf break.