TOC left and right

[Matt_Cohn]

First: Go me for reaching post #200!  

I understand that on the majority of holes on The Old Course, there are two options from the tee: a safe left route that leaves a difficult approach, and a risky right route that leads to an easier approach - or serious trouble.

Two questions:

#1: Is there monotony to this arrangement, and does it detract from the course?

#2: The course may be unbalanced in terms of left and right, but is it balanced in terms of fades and draws?

(That is, the side you play to is not necessarily correlated to the shape of shot needed to get there. Does TOC's imbalance of left and right also lead to an imbalance of fades and draws?)

[Doug Siebert]

Well, it isn't quite as simple as that.  On the 9th there's more room to the right than the left, and on the 10th missing right is definitely preferable to missing left (which is in the gorse)  On the 12th again there is perhaps more room right than left.

In addition, even on some of the "obvious" holes with OB right it isn't quite so simple.  For example, on the 14th driving left brings bunkers into play, and the drive has changed as the ball goes further.  The longer the ball gets the more those bunkers come into play and the more room you have to the right.  I rolled my drive past Benty in 2001, a bunker that few would have had to worry about even 10 years before that.

Clearly there are classic examples like the 16th and 17th where playing to the right gives a better angle but is risky to the point of foolhardiness.

And don't misunderestimate (sorry, I can't resist using that word sometimes) the possibility of missing left on some holes where you think you can't if you let yourself be lulled into a belief that there's an infinite amount of space to miss left.  I well remember hitting a nice little duck hook over Cheape's on the 2nd on my last visit resulting in my playing an approach from the gravel walk that's along the edge of the property on the 17th hole.  It'll give one a dose of humility to be forced to wait to play an approach to the second until after a group of seniors have hit their drives on 17 and walked by you wondering what kind of a crooked shot could possibly land you in that spot

The reason TOC works as well as it does is because when you look at it from a distance, you see some simple and apparent strategies.  Then you take a step closer and see some exceptions to those strategies but think you have it all figured out now.  Then you step closer and once again you discover new stuff.  Its like a fractal, where no matter how close you get to it, new edges are constantly revealed.

[Jason Topp]

I think this is a fair question, particularly on the stretch of holes from 2-6 that present pretty similar challenges off the tee.  Overall, however, I think there is variety because of the changing angles of wind caused by the Shepard's crook rounting and the varying strength of wind depending on whether the wind is being blocked by buildings and trees.  Additionally, because you are normally looking into a gorse bush off the tee on 2-6, I think some consistency in choices is a good thing.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Matt, For the average-to-good player there is no end to the  options provided on TOC, which is why it is so good.  There is no monotony about simply choosing to aim left or right because there are lots of shades of leftness and rightness and it is the degree of risk which sets up the hopeful reward.  There will always be days, even under visitors' conditions, when holes are cut in awkward positions and, then, it is not a choice of left or right, but how much left or right, not only on the tee shot but also on the next.  

Those of us who think such things were made to look foolish by Tiger in 2000, but was there ever a more thorough demolition of a course than that?  He chose never to go into a bunker (for obvious reasons); he took Hell out of play, he had the touch of a master if ever he missed a green and (of course) he had the supreme confidence of a man who knew precisely what he was doing and how to do it.  I suspect his great play was partly inspired by the course on which he was playing.