2 thoughts on improving golf

[Moppy]

One of my favorite aspects of the game is the pressure of trying to make a putt. I can't imagine flushing that is going to improve the game, unless the greens are all going to be gigantic. Then why not play a par three and be done with it?  Maybe a par three with 15 inch cups might be fun to take the family.

[Aflighter]

  David in FL said:

Rather than making golf easier, may I suggest that you try to get better?

Yeah for real.Thats like going bowling with the bumper rails up.I  truly believe that if you want to enjoy the game better and also speed up play then you have to learn how to hit your driver with control over distance.Most of the slow group ive been behind have a primary reason they are slow and its because they cant get off the tee and are having to retee.That 4some might aswell be a sixsome if 2 of em are hitting OB or  50 yards in front of em.

[mcanadiens]

Re-teeing takes an extra 30 seconds tops. Spending 5 minutes searching for a ball in overgrown rough is a bigger problem. People, and I'd include myself here, ought to hit provisional shots and spend less time looking for balls.

I've played with some people that are very short off the tee. The go straight up to the poorly struck ball and hit it again. Poor driving doesn't have to slow stuff up that much.

[CarlSpackler]

I see no problem with golf as it is. If golf is made to be easy, I would probably lose interest. We are becoming a society where success should be guaranteed. It irks me when even the losing team is given trophies, because children are no longer taught that losing is OK if you tried hard. ::rant over::

[turtleback]

  Abu3baid said:

Is there a way to make that part of the game easier?  I'm not really sure if there is.. bigger golf balls?  Bigger clubs?  different shape clubs?  It is this that the people interested in growing the game need to think about!  IMO

Killing the game by changing it so radically is not the way to save it, IMO.  I'm still trying to figure out why we would want to make the game easier when its difficulty is exactly what drew most of the folks who actually play the game.

  mcanadiens said:

Kind of along the same line of thinking, is strict adherence to the rules. The guys who started me on golf to begin with always used 1 mulligan per nine as a rule and an extra tee shot on number one if desired. They also used liberal drop rules. I've started to play as close to the rules as I can this year and it's been a struggle to properly evaluate my progress as a result. If someone is really looking to improve as a golfer, I think they've got to do it the hard way.

Good for you on adopting a more rigorous attitude about playing by the rules.  Now you are seeing just how much the "loose" players are missing in the way of challenge.

  David in FL said:

Rather than making golf easier, may I suggest that you try to get better?

This.

This,

This

Or, be content at the level you are at and enjoy the game at the level you play.

  iacas said:

I don't know… you can choose to play nine holes at virtually any course nowadays.

There is a course near here where you can play 18 holes, 9 holes, or 11 holes.  It has a bit of a checkered history design-wise and when it was last redesigned the 9th hole was far from the clubhouse but the 11th green was right by it.  I'm sure there are others out there with strange configurations but this is the first time I've personally seen a course offer something other than just 9 and 18 hole options.

http://www.madrussiangolf.com/green-fees.html

  newtogolf said:

12 holes makes the rounds difficult to count for handicap purposes.  If I'm short on time, I can play the front nine one day and the back nine another and still submit my score for handicap.  Playing 12, I'd play 9 official holes and 3 practice holes?  Also unless courses are designed for 12 holes there will be a log jam on the front 12 and golfers finishing on 12 will have to drive back to the turn or drive past the last 6 holes to get back to the club house.

Seems like it creates more problems than it solves.

For handicap you would post the first 9 holes as a 9 hole round.  If you pay a 13th hole you post an 18 hole round.  You fill in the missing holes with par plus allotted handicap strokes.  Also see above for a course with 11 hole rounds.

  CarlSpackler said:

I see no problem with golf as it is. If golf is made to be easy, I would probably lose interest. We are becoming a society where success should be guaranteed. It irks me when even the losing team is given trophies, because children are no longer taught that losing is OK if you tried hard. ::rant over::

Agree.  The difficulty of golf is a big part of its appeal for me.  When did fun and easy become synonymous?

[Elmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patch

I played on a course the other day that had a left over, 2' diameter circle made out of chalk dust around the pin. I asked about it. It was for a previous tournament, where if the ball finished inside the circle, that was considered a hole out. To me this idea seemed much more effective than another, larger hole, some where else on the green.

As posted above I too think most strokes are lost before getting on the green. When used correctly, the "equitable stroke control" (esc) limits the number of strokes on a hole based on the golfer's playing ability. Perhaps an  esc number could be established before getting on the green. Say the number 3. If the golfer is not on the green in 3 strokes, they would pick up their ball, add a penalty stroke, and place the ball on the green in a predetermined spot, and putt out from there.

The circle around the hole would almost be similar to a "gimme". I see a lot of people taking advantage of the "gimme". I only take a "gimme" when it meets 2 conditions:

1-is within the putter grip

2- is on someone's line.

The problem is the golfers who start giving themselves the put that is further and further out. They never learn how to hit the small ones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcanadiens

Kind of along the same line of thinking, is strict adherence to the rules. The guys who started me on golf to begin with always used 1 mulligan per nine as a rule and an extra tee shot on number one if desired. They also used liberal drop rules. I've started to play as close to the rules as I can this year and it's been a struggle to properly evaluate my progress as a result. If someone is really looking to improve as a golfer, I think they've got to do it the hard way.

I have always believed golf should be fun. If you are not having fun, what is the point?

I think if you want to go out and take mulligans and do-overs and play from what ever tee you want-go for it, just dont tell us you are a scratch golfer!

Tee it up, play a scramble, alternate shot, best ball, etc.  Make sure your playing group are fun to be around.

But most of all have fun. This is not the PGA and 99.9% on this forum will never be there. It is your money and time, why walk away defeated & unhappy!

Hitting a golf ball is not hard, playing a course and playing for par is hard or challenging. I think the challenge can be difficult but fun.

I dont think golf ever gets easy, because different courses present different challenges. And if it is that easy, why arnt you doing it for a living?

[Slice of Life]

Golf doesn't need improvement, your game does.