The Flame Challenge: Strategy

[Jason Topp]

What is strategy in golf course design?

In order to promote science, Alan Alda has organized contests to explain basic scientific contests to 11 years olds.  This year's contests is to explain "What is color."  The purpose of the contest is to get the scientific community to become more effective at explaining their concepts.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/02/flame_challenge_2014_what_is_color_alan_alda_has_kids_judge_scientists.html?google_editors_picks=true

I found this passage relevant to our world:

“One problem is acute specialization,” he replies, “so that words come into use within a specialty and come to mean different things.” As an example he offers this: “There was a meeting attended by neuroscientists and nanoscientists about a year ago, hoping to form a collaboration, and they wasted hours arguing over the meaning of the word probe.”

How would you describe strategic design to an 11 year old?

[Michael Moore]

Would you rather try to stuff one huge cookie into your mouth and risk having to spit most of it out while choking, or eat two bite-sized small cookies normally that combine to be about two-thirds as big as the first cookie?

[Garland Bayley]

Are you asking about the process, or the result?

[Josh Tarble]

Garland, that's the type of semantics question that gets people into 5 hour arguments about the meaning of a word.


If I were describing strategic design it would be the following:


A golf course that continually asks the player questions, to which there are multiple answers. 

[Peter Pallotta]

Would you rather try to stuff one huge cookie into your mouth and risk having to spit most of it out while choking, or eat two bite-sized small cookies normally that combine to be about two-thirds as big as the first cookie?

Well, I'm almost sure the 7 year old boy would say "The huge cookie!" and tell you not to worry about him having to spit it out or choking, since he's "not a baby, you know!" Maybe the 11 year old would be different, though

Jason: I'd say "Strategic design is what can help you beat a bigger, stronger teenager who hits it a lot farther than you but who's a lot dumber"

[Jim_Kennedy]

Strategic design is like playing dodgeball in the woods.  

[Jason Topp]

I should have thought of my answer before starting this.

I am still thinking.

[Garland Bayley]

Garland, that's the type of semantics question that gets people into 5 hour arguments about the meaning of a word.


If I were describing strategic design it would be the following:


A golf course that continually asks the player questions, to which there are multiple answers. 

The originator of the thread only need clarify. No argument necessary. I see your answer is "the result".

[Jason Topp]

Are you asking about the process, or the result?

GJ:  I am not sure what you mean.  Here is the answer I have come up with and maybe you can answer your question:

Imagine a game where one has to get from one side of a round mud puddle to the other in the fewest number of steps.  If you walk around the mud puddle it will take four steps to get there.  If you leap across the mud puddle some people will make it but most will fall in the water.  Some people may try and make smaller jumps across the mud puddle so that they get there in two or three jumps.  If you fall in the mud puddle, it may still be possible to get to the other side in less than four steps but doing so is tricky because the mud is pretty thick at the bottom and your foot sticks.

Strategic design is creating the mud puddle and the route around the mud puddle in such a way that the game is the most fun it could possibly be.

[JESII]

I have two 11 year olds and they would most likely say "I'll take the bigger cookie and take smaller bites"...and yes they're pretty sure they know everything else as well!


My explanation to an 11 year old: The point of golf is to get from the tee box to the hole in the lowest number of shots. The golf designer's job is to make the hole interesting. Strategic design means that architect built the hole so there are several different ways to play the hole in the lowest possible shots and it's the players job to figure out which is best for them that day.

[Garland Bayley]

I see you mean the process of strategic design. I'll give it some thought. Maybe, I'll be better at talking to 11 year olds than I am talking to adults here.

[Peter Pallotta]

The point of golf is to get from the tee box to the hole in the lowest number of shots. The golf designer's job is to make the hole interesting. Strategic design means that architect built the hole so there are several different ways to play the hole in the lowest possible shots and it's the players job to figure out which is best for them that day.

Beautiful. Easy enough for an 11 year old to understand, and so easy and that even an adult can understand it!

I just learned something: starting with my first round of the year, I'm going to play every Par 4 with a 3 wood off the tee, then a 7 or 8 iron short of the green, then a little chip/texas wedge to around, hopefully, 6-8 feet, and then either a one putt or two putt. I might even get around all the Par 4s in, like, 5 over, which would be good for me (and the lowest # of shots in a while!)

Peter

[JESII]

Yeah...as Mike Tyson once said* to a reported when presented with a pending opponents strategy against him..."everybody has a plan until they get hit!"


*probably quoting someone else.

[Garland Bayley]

If you were to design a house for playing hide and seek, would you design it with one long narrow room with only one door at the end to a closet where someone could hide? Or, would you design it to be wide with lots of rooms with more than one connecting door and lots of closets, so that the person hiding has a strategic decision to choose between lots of places to hide? In other words, would you give the person hiding a strategic decision on where to hide? And, if the hider could hear the seeker coming his way, would you give the hider the ability to make a strategic decision to leave by another door and choose another place to hide?

The more complicated house would be a strategic hide and seek playground, just like a golf course that lets each player choose a different place to hit his ball is a strategic golf design.

[Peter Pallotta]

Yeah...as Mike Tyson once said to a reporter when presented with a pending opponents strategy against him..."everybody has a plan until they get hit!"

Aye, but you'd be ruthless and cold hearted basta-d, Jim Sullivan the 2nd, if only you had an actual human heart beating within you!! Why'd you have to go rain on my parade like that? What are you, a sadist? You know I look up to you, golfing-wise, and there I am, humbly hoping to find a smart new approach, and modestly aiming just to break, like 85 or something, and you swoop down from your high and mighty perch to say "Not so fast, bud, you'll crumble at the first sign of trouble".  Okay, fine, so you haven't even sniffed at an 85 since highschool, and you haven't had to 'strategize' since before your first date, but does that give you the right to mock the high handicapper for his scattered and haphazard attempts to shoot better scores? Well, I sure hope you don't get into teaching, that's for sure. Maybe you should read Harvey Penick's little book, how's that for a suggestion!

[JESII]

Four kids under the age of four at a point in time several years ago...still trying to figure out if it was strategic, or if I simply got hit!

Here's wishing you get a chance to test that plan sometime before Easter.

[Jeff_Brauer]

If you were to design a house for playing hide and seek, would you design it with one long narrow room with only one door at the end to a closet where someone could hide? Or, would you design it to be wide with lots of rooms with more than one connecting door and lots of closets, so that the person hiding has a strategic decision to choose between lots of places to hide?

That is a cute idea...and partially redeeming, IMHO opinion, not that it matters.

I have written a bunch on strategy, but in the end its similar - Golfers will use any tool to improve their scores and/or minimize chances of higher scores on any hole.  This includes shot location, shot pattern, shot height, spin or roll out, ground slope at ball position, ground slope at target zone, etc. 

I suppose the architect could do nothing on a hole, and golfers might still obsess about all those items. wondering what they are missing.  Generally, we try to provide some differences in the odds of success because of one of the factors (or more) I listed.

What is interesting is that I think in some ways, for good players, the old "play to the side that gives the frontal opening" is not as strong a component as it used to be. 

As one tour pro told me after I suggested that kind of hole as a strategy, "I like to hit at the green from the same side of the fairway as the green bunker.  That way, I aim to the far edge of the green, and curve it back, as it gives me a greater margin of error.  The frontal opening does little more for me than allow me to hit one club less, if between clubs, for an uphill putt to a front or mid pin position."

Another told me green contours determine his approach, and that he never even considered green side hazards, figuring if you were figuring how to miss, you were defeated (sort of confirming the Pete Dye approach, from the other side)

I recall Tom Doak writing here that one bunker on the side of the fairway could produce something like 11 different tee shots for the thinking player.  I never figured it out that deeply.  As I said, I merely count on many golfers to overthink what should be a pretty easy option - hit it near the bunker, or away.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Jeff
When was the last time you spoke to an 11 year old?   

I like Peter & Jim's responses.

Cheers

[Colin Macqueen]

Gentlemen,

I think strategic design is occurring when the architecture of the hole makes me consider my innate abilities. It offers me choices ....... death, mediocrity or glory .....  on each shot towards the green. Strategic design forces me to take into account my overweening ambition in tandem with my skill level.

For the wee one; How good are you?  Do you want to show off or win? Can you be ‘umbled and live with it?

Cheers Colin

[DMoriarty]

My 11 year old has a friend with a house that has secret doors and hidden passages between rooms. It is pretty cool. I'd explain to her that a strategic golf course is a lot like that house.  It isn't exactly what it seems like at first.  There is more than one way to get from one room to another, and part of the fun is finding and trying out all the different passages.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Jeff
When was the last time you spoke to an 11 year old?   

I like Peter & Jim's responses.

Cheers

Mike, who needs actual 11 year olds to talk to when I have your responses?  Thanks for filling in the gap.