While I accept that marginal or wild shots can slow the game down, I don't accept that marginal shots deserve marginal penalties and wild shots deserve harsh penalties - in most cases.
I’m not saying that the proportional penalty is a hard & fast rule (exceptions always add variety), but as a general guideline, a course is OTT (to me), when the general theme is that the marginal miss consistently gets the same penalty (i.e. OB, Water, Unplayable Rough).
A certain unknown quantity about the end result (if talking about rough) is a positive imo. In other words, you get what you get and for this to be the case rough can't be consistent - it must be very hit and miss.
Now that is a premise I can accept. I think you’re talking about uncertainty in what type of lie you can draw once you leave the fairway. To an extent, you’re right. Having “uniform rough” is almost an oxymoron. My home course fits this principle (by accident, rather than by design). The underlying ground is very bumpy, and the “rough” while not very high, is very uneven. Sometimes, I have a beautiful fluffer lie that I can rip at with a 3 wood. Two feet away, I could have a heavy clump of crabgrass right behind the ball and my only option is a hard knuckle-ball runner. Knee high rough doesn’t fit the bill for this “unknown quantity” characteristic. You know what you’re getting – nothing. In my opinion, these types of penalties should be reserved for large misses or used sparingly as an “all or nothing” challenge near the playing corridor.
Perhaps more importantly, the ball must be fairly easily found. Sure, sometimes a lost ball is called for, but this should be a rare happenstance on a course rather than a stock and trade architectural device. IMO, its the archie's job to let a player kick on with nearly all shots.
I definitely agree with that. I love sand but abhor water for just the reasons you said. Some of the most thrilling moments for me involve “recovery” shots, and the ability (albeit very difficult) to redeem your previous mistake. Water / OB / Unplayable Rough as prevalent devices eliminate this integral aspect of the game
It is also the archie's to make the course interesting from all parts of the course. I don't think a lost ball is terribly interesting, but I can accept that if used wisely it is great tool to wind players up and/or make a guy hit a certain shot - period - all in the name of variety.
Agreed, with Pat’s suggested provision that I can’t expect an archie to account for the 70 yard spray. At some point, the penalty has to be severe enough to discourage “cross country” pars.