GolfClubAtlas.com > Golf Course Architecture
The Time Between Shot And Result Is The Key
A.G._Crockett:
This is exactly why so many of us dislike too many blind shots on a golf course; we are unable to appreciate the passage of time leading up to the result. However, it also explains why the occasional blind shot well-struck is so exciting; we REALLY have to wait a long time to see an outcome that we suspect will be very good!
ForkaB:
This is a really cool way of describing courses which are fast and firm AND have interesting humps and hollows. However, if you want to call it THE key, you are eliminating most if not all of the "top 100" courses in the USA. Do we need to be so harsh, or can we find a place in our hearts for the Cypress Points and Pine Valleys of the world?
rgkeller:
Mr. Kirk,
Would it not follow that the only true test of golf course design is in the playing of said course?
John Kirk:
Working my way up the list...
I certainly had firm and fast in mind when I wrote this.
A shot that covers the flag satisfies the theory, but the excitement is during the walk to the green I often find myself zig zagging to the green on those shots, trying to see how close it really is.
Shots 5-10 yards offline are less interesting, because you generally know how far away it is. A shot 15 feet right of the hole is a 15 footer if pin high, and a 22 footer if it's 5 yards short or long. The player generally knows whether they have hit the ball the right distance. Similarly, a shot 20 yards short leaves about a 20 yard shot, unless it's considerably off line.
With respect to blind shots, I generally prefer to see what I am doing around the green. For this reason, I don't want to play a steady diet of elevated greens (see Patrick Mucci's "Are Elevated Greens Superior?" thread). However, elevated greens test two very important skills, judging uphill shots and trusting your swing. Sometimes the anticipating of results is so great that I can't finish the swing smoothly, making a variety of errors. If successfully executed, then I'm anxiously walking up to see how my shot finished, or if I'm really interested, I'll run up there and watch it finish.
According to my theory, I like large green complexes, though not necessarily all large greens. My ideal course is difficult enough so my approaches miss the greens regularly, so I am faced with a wide variety of challenges.
Good bounces and unfortunate bounces are about equally exciting. In either case, both the player and his partners let out an "Ohhhhhh! Did you see that?". Both pretty exciting. I've grown to enjoy this part of golf immensely. My home course, Pumpkin Ridge, has very few unpredictable bounces.
Fast greens allow for longer duration putts. Let's take putts with equal initial velocity on a slow green and a fast one. The fast green offers less resistance to the ball, and the ball rolls longer in distance and time. I'm trying to explain this soemhow...trust me, fast greens make for longer putts timewise.
Thanks for responding.
George Pazin:
Rich -
Why would Pine Valley be eliminated? I was under the impression that the green contours created many such shots, and that it is generally kept firm and fast.
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