... Yardages on sprinkler heads & 150 yard pads flush to the turf, etc ...

[Carl Rogers]

As a companion to the yardage book thread, what do think of abandoning these items?

I say keep them ...

[Bryan Icenhower]

sprinklers - yes
pads - they can go

Sprinkler heads are a necessary evil on a golf course, so put some yardages on them.

Pads have no business on a course and are simply a distraction to the visual aesthetics. 

[Don_Mahaffey]

The course I work at has no yardage aids, none, nada, nothing at all. Now, we do have sky caddies as the boss likes his sky caddie. But, the last five or so times I've played with friends we've used no yardage aids at all. IMO, golf is so much better played this way. It forces you to actually "soak" it in a bit. Instead of looking at a piece of paper or a screen for your options, you have to look at the ground in front of you, and you see way more if you just open up a bit. The guys I play with didn't like it at first, now when a new guy comes out its, "no sky caddies today" from everyone. You just have to give it a chance and try to find a place to play where you don't have aids everywhere you look. Trust me, with yardages you play the game, without them, you feel the game, and its a good feeling.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Depends.

Public- Yes

Private- Perhaps if the members agree;otherwise, whatever floats their boat.

[Richard Choi]

All I want is a 150 yard pole, don't need anything else and I can gauge my distance from anywhere.

[Sean_A]

If we have to have yardage markers I think the sprinkler head/discs in gthe fairway are the best.  One can se them coming and choose not to look quite easily or one can walk a line knowing he will see them.  Its a good compromise. 

Ciao

[Mark McKeever]

From a pace of play perspective, I think they are necessary.  Would I like to see them taken away, sure...but not anytime soon.

Mark

[PCCraig]

With GPS, Sky Caddies, and rangefinders becoming more and more common at public golf courses I wonder if the yardage plates will become a thing of the past. Heck...they are usually wrong anyway

On public courses I actually like when they put the 150 yard stick out in the fairway. 1) to show the player where to go and 2) for a quick distance aid in the fairway.

Sure playing with no distance what-so-ever can be fun, but it's more fun on links-style courses where weather is more of a factor IMO. On a tree lined parkland course with small greens it can make for a long day being off by one to two clubs on every approach.

[Steve Kline]

They yardage markers have fallen off the sprinkler heads at my course and the club has not bothered replacing any of them since everyone (but me since I lost mine) has a range finder or SkyCaddie.

Here's the problem I have without having any yardage. I've made three trips to Scotland and one to Ireland. The landscape is so different and the flagsticks are shorter that it makes judging the yardage more difficult. If I'm only playing that course once I want to enjoy it (which for me includes shooting a good score) not constantly be hitting what I think is a good shot to find it in some terrible spot.

If it was a course I played frequently I wouldn't have a problem playing without yardage. But you couldn't really have a game with someone who doesn't play that course frequently. They would be at an decidedly ungentlemanly disadvantage. And having a little money ($5-20) on the line is another thing that makes the game a lot of fun for me.

[Ross Tuddenham]

A 150 yard marker is all I ask for.  I hate when they use coloured circles/plates on the fairway as you cannot see them from anywhere other than right next to them.  So you get people walking over to find them, adding more time to the round. 

I see the argument for having no aids in that you must use judgment and try and work it out from the features.  However on the first play of a course there is only so far you can go with this.  I don’t see the fun on running up scores because you miss clubbed by 20 yards.   

[Melvyn Morrow]

Golfers do not need yardage or distance information to play the Game of Golf - please use your own natural ability as your eyes are there for a reason.  They are connected to your brain for the same reason, so why do you need books, marker or electronic aids to tell you so, because just before you take your shot you throw all that info out of the bath my doubling checking using only your eyes and brain.

Who is kidding who, your natural skill will if given the opportunity give you more information with the resulting fun of knowing that you achieved it by yourself without the need of outside help.

It’s one of the biggest and most successful cons in the game - greed fed greet, ambition feed ambition, lower score feeds the needs to use any aid that some think might help  The word placebo for some reason springs to mind when distance aids come into the conversation, I wonder why.

Guys, you already have the skill, don't doubt yourselves - it’s just another way to screw money out of us and regrettably a very successful way.

Melvyn

 

[Chris Cupit]

Melvyn,

I do not disagree with you.  My dream is to be able to create a course that is:

1.  Walking only
2.  Bunkers are hazards and one's foot can serve as a rake
3.  No yardages even allowed--play by sight as that is a huge skill that was at one time integral to the game
4.  Small place to change shoes, grab a decent shower afterwards and then have some sandwiches and drinks afterwards
5.  Golf only except for the above
6.  A culture among the membership that plays the ball down no matter what and plays not only by the letter but the spirit of the rules


And many other ideas that get me labeled a "nutcase" over here (Georgia, USA)

But, I am in the "business" (I hate that term) of golf and there is not a customer base broad enough to share my vision of an ideal golf club.  So, I compromise.  As long as we have to have sprinklers everywhere, I agree with the notion of sticking yardages on them.  At least that's better than 150 "trees" or "poles" littering the landscape