Does rough mask architectural weaknesses?

[T_MacWood]

It can be used to mask architectural weakness. The penal use of high grass to punish the crooked shot doesn’t exactly promote thoughtful decision making – it promotes thoughtless mechanical accuracy. For example common US Open conditions, not exactly the epitome of interesting golf architecture. Ironically some of those golf courses possess architectural strength, and the high rough acts to mask design strength.

On the other hand not every golf course can emulate the Old Course or Augusta National (in days gone by)—it may not be practical or economical to maintain large areas of short grass. Under normal conditions rough is essential in defining the fairway, it can be used (in conjunction with green orientation) to shape or orient the tee shot—shape strategic decision making.

[BCrosby]

Matt -

Sometimes rough is used to mask mediocre designs. Sometimes not. It's hard to make any broad conclusions.

Many of us have been involved with setting up mediocre courses for local tournaments. Organizers are usually quite explicit about using rough to make the course harder and more interesting for better players.

Rough is often the only tool in the toolbox.

Bob

[TEPaul]

As there're a number of architectural (or maintenance) features in golf that can be used to create risk (penalty) and reward, rough is just one of them. The degree to which the length of rough is used and the degree to which its placed and arranged on a golf course is really not much different than a sand bunker, mound, hollow, trees or any number of other available features used by architects to create strategies in golf architecture. Obviously penal rough lining both sides of a golf hole is not much different than penal bunkering or penal trees or any other penal feature lining both sides of a golf hole---all of them can extract some toll or tax and all of them can be arranged and used in interesting and thoughtful ways (to the golfer's decision making) or uninteresting, thoughtless and shot dictating ways (to the decision making of the golfer). Just because it's rough doesn't necessarily make it's best use any less effective than any of the other available architectural features.

[A_Clay_Man]

In the immortal words of Gib P

For in the end, the key to preserving Golden Age genius lies less in simply building or restoring a golf course atop the ground, but more in enjoining the texture of the Earth with an expression of art. An art that speaks less to the golfer, but more directly to the human soul.

..in his "In My Opinion" piece


The entire piece never mentions the word rough, but the subtext is clear.