Lido Contest Ideas

I've written about the Lido Competition before, but now, I'd like to share the ideas that I've come up with so far.  I have two basic ideas, and variations on those ideas.  The first is a variation on the Biarritz, a classic Macdonald/Raynor template hole.  The key to a Biarritz is the deep swale that runs through the middle of the green, perpendicular to the line of play.  The fun of the hole is watching a ball run in and out of the swale, and the possibility of having to putt across the gap.  However, I've never seen the swale run parallel to the line of play, and that's what I'm experimenting with.

This resembles how the traditional Biarritz looks, with the green being roughly rectangular and there being big bunkers on either side of the green.  The hole is about 200 yards, slightly shorter than others, but seeing as the odds of having to putt through the swale is much greater, the hole should be shorter to make it a little easier.

This one is bit different looking.  This one is only about 190 yards, but the tee shot is going to be an interesting one, favoring a running approach that goes through the swale.  That was the idea, anyway.  I'm not sure about this one, I like it, but it might be a little too difficult.

The second general idea I have is for a shorter hole that plays to a very large, very hilly green with several distinct hole locations that function almost as mini-greens.  Most short par 3's feature a do-or-die approach, surrounding the green with hazards.  This is a bit different.  Both of these only have a couple of small bunkers, which puts the not-so-good golfer a bit more at ease, but if a better golfer misses his approach, the prospect of two putting will be difficult at best.

I also chose to employ multiple tees, to give the widest array of potential shots.  Any tee could be used with any hole location, the lines just represent some suggestions.  There are only two bunkers, and though I didn't draw a fairway, there would be plenty of it around the green.  I don't care much for rough, which is funny considering how poor I am at chipping from fairway.

This is the same basic idea, but with one more bunker, a slightly smaller green with one fewer hole location, and I made sure to give the golfer a way to putt around the bunkers if one should happen to be in between the ball and the hole.

The entries need to be in the mail by May 15th, if you like golf, you should think about entering.  It's fun.

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Good News and Bad News for the U.S Open

The Bad News: Pinehurst is going to measure over 7,500 yards for the U.S Open this year.  This kind of length is inevitable, considering how far the ball goes, and how good the clubs are.  It's just so painful to watch.  I firmly believe in some sort of competition ball to limit distance, there is no reason why a drive should go more than 300 yards in normal conditions.  It would also bring long irons back into play, which is a lost art these days.  That might be due to hybrids rather than length, but that's a story for another day.

The Good News: In that same article, it mentions that Pinehurst is only going to have two cuts of grass: fairway and green.  This is fantastic news.  I thought the U.S.G.A had said that they were going to grow rough, which would have been a gigantic waste of a very good restoration by Coore and Crenshaw.  What does this mean for the golf?  It means that the fairways are going to be wider, but transition immediately to sandy waste areas, brush, trees, or something along those lines.  It will probably be easier, but it will also be more fun.  It gives golfers the option to go for the heroic play, which makes for more interesting golf.  This setup means that luck is going to be a big factor, and as odd as it sounds, that makes things better.  You'll never know what's going to happen next.

I'm really looking forward to this Open, I am going to be watching it very closely.  If this goes well, it increases the odds of future U.S Opens being set up in the same way, which would be a welcome change from the old story.  Watching everybody hit a drive into the rough, chip out, and make bogey is only so exciting.

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How Malaysia does Golf

Sometimes, golfers have to contend with wildlife inhabiting the course.  I admit, I was kind of disappointed when I didn't see an alligator when I was on vacation in Florida.  This is not the kind of wildlife you want to encounter though.

15 Inch Hole: Worst Idea or Worst-est Idea?

I remember hearing about the CEO of Taylormade a few months ago and his plan to have an alternate form of golf with 15 inch holes.  I thought, of course, that it was a terrible idea, everybody would agree with me, and that would be the end of it.  But no, it's still around, and even worse, I think it's catching on.  Apparently they just had a tournament featuring the gigantic holes I just can't conceive that any reasonable person would consider this a reasonable idea, but since it seems like it's catching on, let's talk about it.

It's no secret that golf is not doing well right now.  Ever since the recession in 2008, course closings have outpaced course openings.  I believe last year about 140 courses closed while only 13 opened in the United States.  According to the above article, there are 20% fewer golfers now then there were ten years ago.  And clearly, the reason for all of this is not the fact that golf clubs, course fees, and course memberships are so ridiculously expensive, or the fact that playing 18 holes of golf at a typical daily fee course takes five hours, which basically eats up the entire day.  No, clearly the problem is that the hole is too small.  Fixing that will solve all of golf's problems.

The whole idea behind the giant holes is that golf needs a shake-up of tradition, because golfers are bored with the old ways.  I'll acknowledge that the current format of golf isn't ideal, however, I disagree completely on the solution.  The issue that is driving golfers away isn't that golf is too hard.  Fact is, that's part of the reason golf is as popular as it is.  If golf was easy, it wouldn't be interesting.  No, the problem is that golf is so expensive, both in terms of money and time.  It costs a fortune to build a typical 18 hole golf course, and most of it just isn't necessary.  There is really no need for 99% of golf courses to be more than 7,000 yards.  They're not tournament courses, and they shouldn't have aspirations to be tournament courses.  And it would be nice if walks from greens to tees weren't so long.  That would certainly save a bit of real estate.

Actually, I think what golf really needs is not a break from tradition, but a return to a very old tradition that's really fallen by the wayside.  When golf was in its very formative stage, courses were not 18 holes.  St. Andrews was 22 holes, Prestwick was 11, Musselburgh was 9, it wasn't until St. Andrews consolidated some shorter holes to make 18 that the standard began, and even into the 19th century, courses in Britain as often as not started off as shorter than 18 holes.  Today, one of Britain's great hidden gems is Shiskine, a 12 hole course.  A 9 or 12 hole course can be fit into a smaller area, still feature normal length holes, and a round can be played in two or three hours.  A round would be less expensive and would take a lot less time.  All that we would have to do is get over our predilection for an 18 hole round.  I can certainly do that.


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2014 Masters Thoughts

It makes me happy knowing that a guy named Bubba is the Masters champion.  I'm just not a fan of some of the things Augusta does.  There's respecting tradition, then there's beating it over the head with a stick.  Except when it comes to the golf course, but that's not entirely their fault.  Anyway, Bubba Watson is a worthy champion, he plays quickly, he can and does hit just about every kind of shot one could imagine, and unlike Phil Mickelson, he doesn't have a really stupid-looking smile.

Also, so much for that back-nine Sunday drama.  The golf tournament was basically decided when the last group got to number ten.  After giving away four shots over two holes, the only way Jordan Spieth was going to win was if Bubba choked ridiculously, and he was just playing too well for that to happen. 

A lot of people were wondering if this was somehow going to be less of a Masters because Tiger Woods wasn't there.  I really don't understand why, I mean, he's missed other majors and the world didn't stop because of it.  I know he's an important figure in golf, but it's not the end if he isn't there. 

Random observation: How long has Colin Montgomerie been an analyst for the Golf Channel?

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The 5th at Augusta National

It's the happiest time of the year for golf fans everywhere.  It's Masters time.  I'll admit it, I've never been the biggest fan of the Masters.  Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike it, I think it's a fine tournament.  I just prefer the British Open.  But, I don't want to talk about that, what I do want to talk about is this.

It's a fair point about that hole.  I mean, I know what every hole at that course does, except for that one.  I can picture every hole in my mind, except for that one.  For a course that is as completely scrutinized as Augusta, it is a completely nondescript, uninteresting hole.  Nothing happens there.  And frankly, I think it should stay that way.  A golf course doesn't need 18 high points, it needs a balance of drama and...I don't want to say boredom here.  Hmm, an opportunity for the golfer to catch his breath.

Let's look at Pebble Beach.  Part of the reason that course works so well is the routing.  A lot of people would have thrown nine holes inland, followed by nine holes on the coast, because that would be one incredible stretch.  But then it would suffer from a completely split personality, because the inland nine could not possibly compare to the seaside nine.  Want proof?  We don't even have to leave Monterey.  Just look at Spyglass Hill.  The first five holes are brilliant.  Set in the dune, they're short (mostly) and quirky.  The remaining thirteen are set in the forest, each one plays uphill, and are boring, difficult, and no fun to play.  Pebble Beach avoids this because it starts off in the trees, heads to the ocean for a few holes, goes back into the trees for a few holes, and then heads back to the ocean for a spectacular finish.

We don't even have to leave Augusta National to find this same philosophy.  When it comes to drama, nothing beats the back nine at Augusta on Sunday.  Amen Corner is always full of drama, and unlike every other PGA Tour course with a named stretch of holes, it earned its title, it didn't come from a marketing guy.  Smack in the middle of all this excitement is the 14th, a hole with absolutely no hazards whatsoever.  It's just a fairway and green.  But it works.  I guess what I'm saying here is that not every shot has to be exciting and filled with drama.  You can have a simple hole once in a while, and it's not the end of the world.

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Golf in State College

Frankly, State College is terrible if you want cheap, casual golf.  Back in my hometown, there are several nine hole golf courses where a round is not much more than 10 or 15 dollars, and a yearly membership is only a few hundred.  That is completely reasonable for the golfer who is not affluent and doesn't really fit into the country club environment.  On all of those nine holers, you could play a fun round in less than two hours, bring the family along because the going is easy, and it was all very nice.

That situation doesn't really exist here in central Pensylvania.  The only golf courses are either 18 hole full length courses, or a nine hole par 3 course.  Par 3 courses are fun sometimes, but they're hardly able to satisfy the avid golfer.  Yes, Penn State has two very nice golf course, but a membership there costs more than a thousand dollars, which is just too much.  The only exception is if you're a student, who get memberships at a much lower rate, but I've graduated, so that option isn't available.  A regular round there costs 30 dollars or more, which is okay every once in a while but for the golfer who wants to play regularly, it just isn't economically feasible.  Penn State used to have the Nittany Course, a 6 hole course where the holes were full length.  I played there a few times way back when, and it was very nice.  It was inexpensive, it didn't take very long, but it let you take out the driver and swing away.

What am I saying here?  State College would be much improved if it had a short golf course that was cheap to play at.  I really think students would use it, and I think that it would be great for families as well.  For me, the lack of affordable golf is the biggest downside to living in State College, and I wish it would be rectified.

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