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Herb Kohler Buys Landmark Hotel Overlooking 18th at Old Course

Herb Kohler, Chairman and CEO of Kohler Co., through a subsidiary, The Old Course Limited, has purchased Hamilton Hall of St. Andrews, Scotland, one of the most photographed buildings in the world of golf.

HamiltonHouse The building, to the right of the Swilken Burn Bridge and the Old Course’s 18th fairway, was featured in the film “Chariots of Fire” and in global television coverage of tournaments played on the Old Course, which will be the venue for the 2010 British Open.

Kohler, who built Whistling Straits and the Irish Club in Kohler, Wis., has restored other historic buildings. He plans to restore the former hotel and one-time St. Andrews college dormitory as a lodging establishment. the four-story red-brick building opened as a hotel in 1895.

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17th at St. Andrews Gains Length

The 17th hole of the Old Course will be lengthened ahead of the 150th Anniversary of The Open Championship at St Andrews next July. The “Road Hole,” which has remained the same length for more than 100 years, will increase by 35 yards to 490 yards.

It has long been suggested that the 17th hole would benefit from additional length to restore the original challenge of the hole. In advance of the 1964 Open at St Andrews, three-time British Open Champion Henry Cotton recommended the alteration stating: “I would make a tee just beyond the railway line on the other course (the Eden Course, which is now the practice range). It would restore this drive to its former value.”

“Over the years, we have seen the threat from the road behind the green, and to a lesser extent the Road Bunker, diminished as players have been hitting shorter irons for their approach shots allowing them to avoid these hazards more easily. This change will ensure that the hole plays as it was originally intended,” said Peter Dawson, chief executive of The R&A.