Insane Hole Location in Iowa Girls Championship

[Carl3]

On 5/28/2022 at 9:03 AM, Dunit507 said:

They wouldn’t do this to the pros… why would you do this to these poor girls!!!

 

[iacas]

9 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

I didn’t know you could call an unplayable after choosing to make the stroke.

Not sure what you mean.

He's saying you hit the three-footer, it rolls off the green. You declare that unplayable, and replay the three-footer.

[billchao]

16 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

I didn’t know you could call an unplayable after choosing to make the stroke.

Not her three footer, but the next one she would have had to hit from off the green. Declare that unplayable, play it from the spot of the previous stroke and attempt the three footer again.

Given that hole location she probably saves strokes there, assuming she makes the putt the second time, because she’s unlikely to get up and down from just off the green.

[DeadMan]

The No Laying Up podcast talked about this on Sunday. I don't know how true these claims are, but apparently it took groups up to 30 minutes to finish once they got to the green. There was a 45 minute wait on the tee, too. 

I have questions about how this happened. From the video, it looks like there may not be a pinnable spot below that hole. Is the green just that severe? Is the green playing too fast? How are balls stopping on this green at all? Why didn't the committee step in and fix this? The committee can step in a fix issues like this. From the Rules of Golf:

Quote

Moving the Position of the Hole Due to Severity of Position

In stroke play, if it becomes apparent during a round that a hole is positioned such that the ball will not stop near the hole due to the severity of the slope, which has resulted in several players taking an excessive number of putts, the Committee has several options available.

The Committee should consider all factors, including how severe the position is, how many players have completed play of the hole and where the hole is in the round, and take the course of action that it considers to be the fairest to all the players. For example:

• Have play continue with the hole position unchanged on the basis that the conditions are the same for all players in the competition.

• Keep the hole in the same position but take some action to improve the situation such as watering the putting green between groups.

• Declare the round null and void and have all players start the round again with the hole repositioned.

• Suspend play, reposition the hole and have the players who played the hole return at the conclusion of their rounds to replay the hole. The score for the hole for these players is the score achieved after the hole is repositioned.

• Have all players disregard their score for the hole in question and play an additional hole (whether on the competition course or elsewhere) for their score for the hole.

The last two options should be taken only in extreme circumstances because they alter the round for some or all players.

This does seem like extreme circumstances to me. Just malpractice by everybody involved in set up, the committee, etc.

[mcanadiens]

That's really just a shame.

Hard to have an entire season end on a four-putt or worse in a state championship. Sure that's going to leave a bitter taste in a lot of mouths. 

[Vinsk]

3 hours ago, billchao said:

assuming she makes the putt the second time

Risky…..lol.

 

4 hours ago, iacas said:

Not sure what you mean.

He's saying you hit the three-footer, it rolls off the green. You declare that unplayable, and replay the three-footer.

Ok. Just a real mess should she miss it again. But I see what he’s saying now.

[billchao]

8 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Risky…..lol.

I say she would have had a better chance of making the putt on the second attempt than holing out in two from where she ended up.

[Missouri Swede]

4 hours ago, Vinsk said:

I didn’t know you could call an unplayable after choosing to make the stroke.

Edit: I posted a reply, then saw it was answered twice already. 

Edited May 31, 2022 by Missouri Swede

[iacas]

3 hours ago, DeadMan said:

I have questions about how this happened. From the video, it looks like there may not be a pinnable spot below that hole.

There's a good chunk of pinnable area above the hole. And a small pocket below the slope. I think the hole location is right in the dark red here:

This picture really makes it look like it's there, too.

Back left seems to be the only real possible hole location.

Really, this type of green should just be re-done. It's not okay with modern green speeds.

[saevel25]

36 minutes ago, iacas said:

Really, this type of green should just be re-done. It's not okay with modern green speeds.

Could a course say, we know there are x amount of greens that are severe, can we put them at like 1-2 STIMP less than the other greens on the course? If so, would anyone notice because it is severe?

Yea, that green is crazy. 

[iacas]

20 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Could a course say, we know there are x amount of greens that are severe, can we put them at like 1-2 STIMP less than the other greens on the course? If so, would anyone notice because it is severe?

Yeah.

[DeadMan]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Really, this type of green should just be re-done. It's not okay with modern green speeds.

Yeah, based on that picture of the slope, that green seems too severe for modern green speeds. 

Edited May 31, 2022 by DeadMan