Scott Burroughs,
I got engaged on the steps of the Turnberry hotel with the sun setting over Ailsa Craig. My wife would probably tell you it was pretty romantic.
Scott, perhaps this quote from Brian will assists you in honing your reading comprehension skills, or jogging your memory about females and romance.
TEPaul,
Most like variety, but if you had your druthers, would you not prefer to have TOC as your home course ? Would not Troon, Turnberry, Carnoustie and others have that same appeal.
You're fortunate, you belong to a classic course with several pedegrees, namely, Ross and Maxwell. But, most of us don't enjoy the architecture of those two men as the foundation of our home courses.
I don't think the answer lies in the quest for variety.
I could play NGLA or TOC every day of my life and not be bored, nor would I have the need to seek more variety.
Golfers travel thousands of miles, encounter hostile weather, and golf courses with unique, often penal features, yet those same golfers don't want their home courses to replicate those features, architecture and playing conditions.
As an example, in the U.S. I noticed a trend at a number of courses to create a buffer of rough in front of crossing water hazards. In the UK it seems they mow these as fairway right up to the hazard.
In addition, I see more and more bunkers with that same buffer of rough in front of the bunkers, where in the UK I noticed the fairways mowed right up to those bunkers.
There seems to be a greater desire to insert safety nets within the architecture, whether it be benign bunkers, buffers of rough in front of hazards, or, at the extreme, the removal of hazards, especially bunkers.
Bunker removal seems to be the most prevalent architectural change that appears at most courses. And, when asked why the bunker was removed, fairness or excessive difficulty (not defined) are the reasons offered most.
David Tepper,
You're not telling me that you find the features and conditions at Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes as penal, are you ?
Have you played both courses ?
Have you ever sliced a ball off the 1st tee at Prestwick, or off of the 1st, 5th, 6th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th at TOC ?
How about a few slices at Troon, especially on the first few holes or 15 and 16, or a ball hit just over # 18 ?
A few hooks at Turnberry and Carnoustie will have the same results, OUT OF PLAY.
There's as much OB, beach and water at these courses and others, as any in America.
How many golfers flock to TPC Sawgrass, PGA West Stadium and Scottsdale/Las Vegas in the summer, or when the weather is bad ? Those places are winter get a ways for northerners who prefer warmer climates, and not even remotely close to Scotland's golf destinations in appeal, despite the difficulty in getting there, currency exchange and travel costs.
You state that going to Rustic Canyon, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes, Sand Hills and courses not even built in Nebraska, offers a similar golfing experience to going to the UK, well, I have to ask, how many of the above courses, not including the ones not yet built, have you played ?
And, which course in the UK have you played ?
Could you tell me how a round at Pacific Dunes presents a similar golfing challenge, experience and feel as a round at TOC ?
It's obvious that you don't understand the issue.
Adam Clayman,
I think quirk is a factor. But what seems to be quirk to tourists is standard fare to the locals.
Quirk may be an unfamiliar feature, a feature that baffles or frustrates the golfer, and I can see that golfer not wanting to encounter that feature on a daily basis...... because they are spoiled, or deprived, whatever you prefer.