Should New Designs Coddle High Handicaps

[John Moore II]

I think that above all, courses must be playable and enjoyable for all types. It must be difficult enough to maintain the interest of the better player and not so difficult that the high handicap golfer will be turned off. It is a delicate balance, but with the placement of hazards and a variety of tee boxes it can be done. While I personally like courses very tough, narrow, hazards everywhere, I am aware that such a course would go out of business because no one else would play there. Fair courses play fair for all types.

[Tom_Doak]

Jason M:  

I'm not sure what difference it makes, but our busiest courses are The Legends (Heathland), which used to do 60,000 rounds per year (I haven't heard a # for ten years), and The Rawls Course, which did about 45,000 out of the blocks.  Pacific Dunes also plays 40,000 rounds plus, and we sure didn't dumb it down for that.  But, 40,000 over a twelve month season really isn't that crowded.

[John Moore II]

Tom--I agree that it shouldn't matter how many rounds a course gets to determine how it is designed. Great courses are great no matter how hard they are. Pac Dunes would be a great course even if it had no rounds. Courses should never be designed to help any group of the golfing public.

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