The Future of golf

[Gator Hazard]

I am a newbie and think that in general a lot of what is in place should remain so, I understand the desire to bring more people to the game, and I think a bigger way of doing that is to offer different incentives and better price.

I don't have a problem with larger holes ONLY in the instance that it is specific and that it is known.  They can cut holes and put them back so should be able to do larger holes for periods of time, plug them back up and put in regulation sized holes.  Personally I wonder just how much of a difference a bigger cup is going to make until you start talking about tripling its size and at that point you might as well grab a frisbee.  The people who are missing at current size are going to miss almost as much if its double the sized.

I do like the water hazard and bunker ideas.  My buddy plugged one in the high side of a deep bunker right under the lip. We laughed, all he could do was swing at it to dislodge it, it rolled back and then he played it out.

Non conforming gear, not sure how I feel about it.  I guess it's fine so long as not used in competition and so long as if they are using against someone else they let them know ahead of time.

The course we played yesterday lets you walk it if you like, and I thought that was great.  We as beginners are not ready to walk it yet and I think it would be quite inconsiderate if we did because it would take us that much longer to play.

Play 12 holes?  Great, just play twelve holes.  An economical idea for golf clubs that are built not to suit this would be to set up some type of a return service.   What that looks like I don't know.  It could be a shed with several carts with keys to golf carts, they give you the key, you get there, ride back and drop the cart off at clubhouse.

[DrvFrShow]

Straight and long.how long? Must know more

One of the guys at the range has one. I play a Callaway 2014 BB @ 44.5" that's a C8. This thing is a D3.5 and it feels lighter than mine. All I can tell you is that I hit it and got good carry even with crappy range balls that are about to be replaced. It has mojo. His was 11.5 degree loft which is what I play. I quickly gave it back to him before I got used to it. The last thing I need right now is to spend more money. Comes with a Matrix shaft. I recommend getting the Lamkin UTx grip if you play in wet weather.

Go try one.

[Pete F]

I am a newbie and think that in general a lot of what is in place should remain so, I understand the desire to bring more people to the game, and I think a bigger way of doing that is to offer different incentives and better price.

The course we played yesterday lets you walk it if you like, and I thought that was great.  We as beginners are not ready to walk it yet and I think it would be quite inconsiderate if we did because it would take us that much longer to play.

Actually i think beginners are faster without gas karts. If you skull it 50 yards down the fairway and pull your bag cart there it is way faster than walking back to the cart, putting your club away, driving 50 yds, getting out, getting your club, whack it again and on and on.

We were all there once.

A low handicapper drives it 250-300, hops in  and goes to the ball, second shot, to the green, grab the wedge and putter, get the work done and on to the next tee. Someday I'll be there

[Gator Hazard]

I do that plenty, and in those instances I just walk up and hit it again. I think I would be much slower on foot plus would need a Sherpa to carry all the water I sweat out along the way. Seriously, walking with bag and water plus swinging 130 times a round. They would find my bones in a bunker before I made the turn. Maybe when I am a bit better. Working on that part.

[spider]

I will avoid any courses with the changes you've mentioned. They would be no fun for me.

[RGoosen]

I know this will never happen, but every survey I have read said "pace of play" was the biggest obstacle. It makes it quite difficult to plan things when I have to tell my wife my round could take anywhere from 3-5 hours to play. Why do courses have to set recommended max pace at 4:15 - 4:30 hours. There is no reason why beginners or scratch golfers can't finish in 4 hours even if they are playing in a foursome. How much simpler would playing a round of golf be if I could tell my wife or friends we should be done in 4 hours. Instead, I have to practically speed dial the course 7-14 days in advance in order to snag one of the first couple of tee times for the week ahead. If I don't do that I run the risk of the dreaded 4:30-5:00 hour round. If pace was set at the proper length of time I would play some afternoon rounds. As it, I probably skip 20 oportunities to play golf in the afternoon b/c I don't want to get caught up in a 4:30 hour round in 90 degree heat where I'm having to stand around picking my nose b/c I can't play my next shot. My friend and I got paired up up with a twosome on a course that we play occasionally. We had the 1st tee time of the day at 7 am. The guys we were paired with were slow to me (not so much that it bothered me). We finished in 3:30 hours, made it the restaurant by 11 am to have lunch, and made it home b/w 12:00 - 12:30. All those golfers teeing off after 9 am are stuck playing 4-5 hour rounds. They won't be home before 3-4 pm. Shortening the # of holes is not the answer to me. Slow pace causes two problems - it makes it difficult to make plans or takes too long, or you can't hit your shot because you are always waiting on the group in front to get out of the way. I come to the golf course to hit golf shots, not to stand around in the fairway. If the course has 12 holes and I'm still standing around in the fairway for most of my round, then in my mind the idea of 12 holes is still a failure.

[DrvFrShow]

Pace of play depends a lot upon the layout of the course. A short flat public course where the greens and tees are close together will have a much faster pace of play than a longer spread out course or one that is hilly. Wives and husbands just have to realize that certain hobbies take time and they should get hobbies of their own to do during that time rather than sit around being upset about their spouse being gone so long. Also the golfer shouldn't plan a round of golf the morning that the family has made plans in the afternoon, and the family shouldn't make plans in the afternoon when they know the golfer has made plans in the morning. I know this is easier said than done given the way people communicate.

As a musician being read the riot act about daily practice time, this sort of thing is a sore spot with me.

Many public courses can do a lot to speed up play by eliminating some obstructions on the course like fairway bunkers, water hazards that line fairways, clearing underbrush, keeping the rough short, and cutting down trees that make things too difficult for the average golfer. These things also would go a long way to reducing the frustration factor for golfers who are starting out.

And really, one doesn't notice much of a difference in difficulty of a course except in length until one gets to higher levels. All courses are difficult. A 90s golfer is just as likely to score 95 on a 68.1/112 rated course as they are a 73/124 rated course. That's been my case, anyway. The only thing that's happened is that playing the 73 rated courses has lowered my handicap and killed me when playing on the 68.1 rated courses in competitions against those who have their HCs established solely on the 68.1 rated course.

[Duff McGee]

All these suggestions sound awful. I didn't get into golf to boost my self esteem by lying to myself about my skill level. Seems like everything I enjoy in life is "changing." NFL Football, fishing (both amount of fish and then regulations...plus high costs of licensing), and now golf? Leave it.

[Scotsclaff]

All these suggestions sound awful. I didn't get into golf to boost my self esteem by lying to myself about my skill level.

Seems like everything I enjoy in life is "changing." NFL Football, fishing (both amount of fish and then regulations...plus high costs of licensing), and now golf?

Leave it.

Yes leave golf alone.

It's more than fine the way it is.

If it ain't broke don't fix it...and all that.

If you need a shorter course play off the reds....like the ladies.

[RussUK]

I think the idea behind 6, 9 and 12 hole courses isnt about the length, its about available space. There is a 9 hole course near me called Crows Nest Park. It has 2 different tee boxes per hole essentially creating an 18 holer. It has been rated one of the top 9 holers in the uk year after year.

Courses like this allow designers to use less land (the above is in a residential area). less land = cheaper to build and maintain and also less need to use greenfield sites as apposed to brownfield (old industrial etc.)

[Lihu]

I think the idea behind 6, 9 and 12 hole courses isnt about the length, its about available space. There is a 9 hole course near me called Crows Nest Park. It has 2 different tee boxes per hole essentially creating an 18 holer. It has been rated one of the top 9 holers in the uk year after year.

Courses like this allow designers to use less land (the above is in a residential area). less land = cheaper to build and maintain and also less need to use greenfield sites as apposed to brownfield (old industrial etc.)

Time is more critical to me. If I can play an 18 hole round in 2 hours, I would play 18 holes every day. Many days, I am stuck behind some group who waits for greens to clear on par 4s or something equally ridiculous. . .

[RussUK]

Time is more critical to me. If I can play an 18 hole round in 2 hours, I would play 18 holes every day. Many days, I am stuck behind some group who waits for greens to clear on par 4s or something equally ridiculous. . .

Thats a very valid comment. a few UK courses are experimenting with Clocks at each tee that must be reached within a timescale given at the start of the round. By all accounts it works, but the operative word is "experiment". Things like this rely too much on self management.

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="Lihu" url="/t/84310/the-future-of-golf/18#post_1196718"] Time is more critical to me. If I can play an 18 hole round in 2 hours, I would play 18 holes every day. Many days, I am stuck behind some group who waits for greens to clear on par 4s or something equally ridiculous. . . [/QUOTE] Thats a very valid comment. a few UK courses are experimenting with Clocks at each tee that must be reached within a timescale given at the start of the round. By all accounts it works, but the operative word is "experiment". Things like this rely too much on self management.

Very true about the self management part. There was a single and a couple in front of us all bunched up at the tee box on a par 4, and I suggested that the two groups combine into one with a course Marshall standing right there, and they refused? My son kind of smirked. Very strange that they didn't want to combine. They all seemed like pretty decent golfers, and we watched them playing for several holes. Might have been ego from the older single man in front because the girl in the duo behind him drove pretty far. We kind of commented on her good swing as a group. Maybe he didn't want to be outdriven by a girl? I'm sure there are lots of reasons either driven by ego, introvertedness, or any number of reasons people don't want to play together to speed up play?

[David in FL]

Thats a very valid comment. a few UK courses are experimenting with Clocks at each tee that must be reached within a timescale given at the start of the round. By all accounts it works, but the operative word is "experiment". Things like this rely too much on self management.

The other key component is the time that the course designates as acceptable. Even now, too many.courses publish a ridiculously long POP as acceptable. If courses continue to publish 4:20 as an acceptable pace, it doesn't matter if there's a clock, or traffic cop on every tee box, we're still gonna be out there forever....

[stealthhwk]

[Gator Hazard]

Sunday my partner as a twosome when golfing we had a twosome in front of us  that we caught up too, and the one guy whips out what looks like his brand new $400 driver.  Tees it up and proceeds to let it rip, an astounding 35 yards.  Hey, this is me all day, or used to be as recently as a few weeks ago, (now I am usually trying to find it in the long stuff or hushing my partner who is laughing so we can listen for the roof or any broken glass when I slice it) so don't mind that really.  What I DID mind was on the green you would have thought we were behind Day and Spieth locked in an epic Majors battle.  We were on our approach shots on a short par four and were close enough to the green to see them putting out.  The one guy had putted, marked his ball, picked up his ball, put the ball back down, checked the line.  Backed up to look at it, to the side, practice put swing, steps up and finally putts.  It was a beautiful putt, and he measured and aimed it just right for the 6-8 inches it had to move to get into the cup.   We were astonished, that it was a tap in and he did all that, both of us looked at each other with a quizzical look on our faces.That to me was poor time/course management and inconsiderate of the golfers behind you.

[jcjim]

I'm with Jack Nicklaus on this limit the distance the ball can fly period...this will bring the skill back and will bring back shorter courses...Roll back the size of the drivers to 250...Have courses at 5600 yds. tops...Design some courses with the first 9 holes IRON ONLY holes...the last 9 open no trees DRIVER WOOD holes...If you want to play a fast 9 you can play whichever 9 you want...Want to do drivers 9 or iron 9...or both

Design some greens that have no holes just zones...different zones more points....only 2 putts allowed on some and 1 putt on others..

Get rid of bunkers...I've always thought bunkers were stupid anyway different roughs are better tests..

Only 2 elevated greens per course...This brings back pitch and runs with no bunkers..Everyone rides no walking..

Todays courses are getting to be courses you just swing out of your shoes on every shot.

Just look at a airplane view of these new courses almost every hole is a dead straight hole..

Smaller faster courses that promote fast play

Open driving ranges that are more like playing holes....There's a lot more they can do

[stealthhwk]

Sunday my partner as a twosome when golfing we had a twosome in front of us  that we caught up too, and the one guy whips out what looks like his brand new $400 driver.  Tees it up and proceeds to let it rip, an astounding 35 yards.  Hey, this is me all day, or used to be as recently as a few weeks ago, (now I am usually trying to find it in the long stuff or hushing my partner who is laughing so we can listen for the roof or any broken glass when I slice it) so don't mind that really.  What I DID mind was on the green you would have thought we were behind Day and Spieth locked in an epic Majors battle.  We were on our approach shots on a short par four and were close enough to the green to see them putting out.  The one guy had putted, marked his ball, picked up his ball, put the ball back down, checked the line.  Backed up to look at it, to the side, practice put swing, steps up and finally putts.  It was a beautiful putt, and he measured and aimed it just right for the 6-8 inches it had to move to get into the cup.   We were astonished, that it was a tap in and he did all that, both of us looked at each other with a quizzical look on our faces.That to me was poor time/course management and inconsiderate of the golfers behind you.

AMEN!!! Biggest problem i always thought would be looking for errant shots in the rough or ob, but Noooooo, its the 9 iron on the green who does exactly as you described only to miss the putt and start the whole process all over again. Makes me NUTS!!