Most Enduring Golf Architecture Ideas/Concepts?

[Matt MacIver]

I love doglegs and diagonals but what's wrong with a Biarritz once a round?  Hit it dead straight or die. I can hit it as far as the next guy but usually very crooked so this would really challenge me. An elastic 120-210 yard hole (water carry to pin) where you're choice of club was "what can I not pull or hook"...and figure it out from there. Playing scared is still playing, I suppose...

[BCowan]

fall away greens, not near enough of them

[Craig Sweet]

Most enduring? Tees and greens   

[DMoriarty]

Were there ever that many drivable 4s 100 years ago?  I think this is much more of modern ideal and one of the best consequences of club/ball technology.

Ciao

Many of the holes we think if as drivable weren't.  For me they still aren't. 

[Jim Nugent]

I don't know if it is enduring as to the weight of public attention or enduring kudos, but...

The Drivable (so-called) "Par 4"...a hole of 280 - 320 yards.

Seems like many courses--both fine an anonymous--have one of them, and TOC has, what...four of them?

cheers

vk

VK

Were there ever that many drivable 4s 100 years ago?  I think this is much more of modern ideal and one of the best consequences of club/ball technology.

Ciao

In 1921 Jock Hutchison drove #9 at TOC, coming within inches of an ace.  He had aced the 8th right before that, which gave him 2 eagles in a row, and helped him go on to win the Open Championship.  

Around 1927, Bobby Jones and others drove #10 at Riviera.  I think the hole was set up differently -- the modern layout is partly due to Jones' feat -- but still was a par 4.  

Some guesses:

1.  Hutchison was not the first to drive a par 4 at TOC.  The blend of short par 4s, firm turf and sometimes strong winds would have made several holes there drivable, under the right conditions;

2.  Even then many courses had been lengthened due to technology.  Meaning many courses before that were shorter, with shorter holes.  Links conditions may well have led to some drivable par 4s in the mid to late 1800s, especially with favorable winds and turf;

3.  I used to play a course in St. Louis laid out by one of Old Tom's students/disciples.  The course was the old Forest Park 18, built by 1915, and the architect was Robert Foulis.  Up till the early 1970s, #15 was  straightaway downhill par 4, about 260 yards.  I'm sure some players could drive that green back when the course opened.  

So I think the drivable par 4 has been around for some time.  I agree with Sean, modern technology and some modern architects have raised the profile quite a bit in recent times.  

[Phil McDade]

Most enduring? Tees and greens   

Craig's emoticon may be meant sarcastically, but I'm not -- greens (i.e., grass mown more closely to the ground, and kept in better condition than the rest of the field of play) are the most enduring concept in the game, and it's a somewhat radical concept when it comes to sporting contests. You don't see it in tennis, or soccer, or football, or basketball. You sort of see it in baseball, although its purpose is somewhat different. Greens are golf's way to make the game easier as you get closer to concluding your score, something rarely if ever seen in other sports.