Beauty - Have I missed something?

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I watched some of the tournament at Doral over the weekend on Sky. The Sky commentators kept referring to this 'beautiful' course. Many merits it may have, but beauty?

[Keith Grande]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....  

[Bill Seitz]

I watched some of the tournament at Doral over the weekend on Sky. The Sky commentators kept referring to this 'beautiful' course. Many merits it may have, but beauty?

If the standard for beauty is lush green fairways offset by blue lakes and flash white bunkers, then it certainly fit that standard.  Seeing as how that's what most people tend to love about Augusta, references to Doral's beauty are not surprising.  What the majority of people on this site consider "beautiful" on a golf course is not a particularly good approximation of what the PGA Tour viewing public considers beautiful. 

[jeffwarne]

Mark,
I'm not particularly fond of South Florida, certainly not compared to the in season flora and fauna of the northeast US or the countryside of the UK.
That said, I remember spending some very nice afternoons around Doral amidst the large ficus trees, Palm trees,blooming plantings and yes even the lakes.Lots of great times fishing with my kids.
So yes, I would say it can be quite beautiful in March, especially as they hit the height of their "spring", and especially if one is coming out of a nasty northern climate for a few days.

[M. Shea Sweeney]

I'm really enjoying the commentary on Doral. Some really great thoughts.

I made it out to the course for each of the tournament rounds. Boy was it beautiful out there. The contrast of colors, palm trees, etc.- furthermore Doral has one of the best sun sets in golf.

I once saw a Norman Rockwell painting of a Red Sox player at Spring training- and always thought it was a beautiful picture. For some reason I get the same feelings when I'm at Doral during the winter. Probably similar to how different the feel would be on the first tee at National Golf Links of America 2 weeks ago vs. September 20th.

I bet I think Doral is beautiful place because I grew up and still play frequently in New York City. Meaning I really enjoy the 'central park' idea when playing Douglaston Golf Course in Queens as well as being out on the Blue Monster. They are 'parks' surrounded by a city.

Jackie Burke Jr says golf is a way to re-create- I think places like Doral offer that. Although they do not have the beauty of Cruit Island or the Sand Hills- it has the 'get out and smell the roses' aspect.

For people criticizing Doral- that's fine- I bet I have more than you do- but to deny that it is a great, beautiful golf course steeped in amazing history is laughable.

Bill S-
What are you trying to say about Augusta?

[Bill Seitz]

Bill S-
What are you trying to say about Augusta?

Probably poorly relayed, but my sense is that the general consensus around here would be that more natural looking courses, with native areas, furry bunkers, and not necessarily kept to a super lush green color is the preferred aesthetic. I don't think it's outrageous to say that Augusta has probably led to some pretty unrealistic expectations with regard to what a golf course should look like.  It's a beautiful course in its way, but on my visit I found a lot of the beauty to be in the backdrops (primarily the azaleas), and the wall to wall attention to detail with regard to conditioning. It was awesome to visit, but I've played a lot of courses that I've thought were just as beautiful (maybe more beautiful) that were not conditioned to that standard, nor should they aspire to that.

[jeffwarne]

duplicate

[jeffwarne]

Nothing beats ANGC during Masters, in my very biased opinion

[Sam Morrow]

Everybody sees beauty different, the ability to choose for ourselves is what separates us from animals.

[Kyle Henderson]

Everybody sees beauty different, the ability to choose for ourselves is what separates us from animals.

Scientifically speaking, or writing for that matter,  we are animals. Also, many other animal species are capable of making choices.

Just sayin'...

[Sam Morrow]

Everybody sees beauty different, the ability to choose for ourselves is what separates us from animals.

Scientifically speaking, or writing for that matter,  we are animals. Also, many other animal species are capable of making choices.

Just sayin'...

speak for yourself Doc