Has the 18 hole "standard" been good for golf and Golf Course Architecture?

[Jim_Kennedy]

Mike,

Back in the late ' 50s a country club in my neck of the woods was forced to give up some of it's land for a new interstate highway, so they asked their original architect, RTJ Sr., to come up with a solution for them. After sussing it all out he, along with Gene Sarazen, had a meeting with the membership and told them that they both felt the remaining property could be turned into an excellent 9 hole course or a mediocre one of 18 holes. Gotta admire their honesty.
The club had Jones build them the 18 holes, he and Sarazen were right,  and I don't believe that anyone involved even gave a thought to settling on a number between 9 and 18.

The 'need' to make some less than stellar holes to reach the 'magic' number of 18 probably has something to do with the number of members a club has, wants to have, or feels it needs to keep its ledger in the black. Most 18s around here have 300 +- members, and that number of holes keeps everyone happy. The one 9 holer I know of that has about 300 members is a zoo for the players and the staff.     

On the public side it's mainly a game of $s.
   


 
 

[Benjamin Litman]

Jim's late-1950s example is the perfect setup for this 1959 USGA article I've been meaning to post for some time. My friend sent it to me this summer when I was working on my Quogue Field Club piece, and it provides a fascinating glimpse into, among other things, the sustained popularity of 9-hole (as well as par-3) courses approximately halfway into golf's life's in America. The article admittedly does not answer Mike's question about the arbitrariness of the 18-hole standard and the desires/pressures to meet it, but it is interesting to note that 9-hole courses outnumbered 18-hole courses by nearly 900 in early 1959.

[MCirba]

Benjamin,

I'd be surprised if that article isn't a surprise to everyone here.  Thanks for sharing!

[Jim_Kennedy]

Benjamin,

I'd be surprised if that article isn't a surprise to everyone here.  Thanks for sharing!

No surprise here, I've used the info from that article numerous times in threads. 

[MCirba]

Benjamin,

I'd be surprised if that article isn't a surprise to everyone here except Jim Kennedy.   Thanks for sharing!   

[Jim_Kennedy]

Benjamin,

I'd be surprised if that article isn't a surprise to everyone here except Jim Kennedy.   Thanks for sharing!   

I have an affinity for nine hole courses.  [size=78%] [/size]


The county in Ct where I live has a dozen, not counting the NLEs. 

[MCirba]

Jim,

I have a great affinity for them, as well.   Three of the first four courses I ever played were nine holes, all very low-key, unpretentious, and very economical for a working class family who otherwise would not have been able to afford the game.   The first course I ever played cost us a grand total of $35 for a single annual membership back in the early 70s.   If only they knew what they were launching on the unsuspecting golf world! 

New England and upstate NY are still bastions of terrific ,under-the-radar nine-hole courses, as you mentioned. 

[Jim_Kennedy]

...but even at nine holes they sometimes had to create the occasional less than optimal hole. Should some of them have stopped at, say, six holes? 

As the article Benjamin posted (thanks) notes, they were the majority configuration in 1958 w/3,308, but 29% of today's stock are nine holers, or so says Golf Digest. That would be ca. 4,500 courses that are something other than 18, which isn't bad.

[MCirba]

Jim,

I have played courses between 9 and 18 holes and recall a 12-holer and a 14-hole course.   I'll have to dig them up and share.

I also like how the Sheep Ranch simply has 13 greens.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Selling the idea of 12 hole courses could be salvation for some of the 18 hole courses that are teetering on the brink of extinction. They could locate a good 12 hole loop, sell the 50 or so acres of extra land, pay off their debts, lower their green fee, and possibly find themselves squarely in the black.

[Tom_Doak]

I see the cries for 12-hole courses as a desperate attempt to drum up business for architects.  There is nothing special about a different number.  Most courses have options to play less than 18 holes, but not so many people take them up on it when 18 holes are available.


The idea of having a variable number of holes, tailored to the nature of the property, is fascinating on many levels.  I've seen a handful of these, but many exist for reasons other than the size of the property [usually, the construction budget or the maintenance budget].  While openness in this regard would make it easier to concentrate on quality rather than quantity, I wonder if design would actually be harder, in that you wouldn't have a target to aim for.


P.S.  Many of the top Australian clubs now have an extra par-3 19th hole tucked somewhere out on property.  It's a practice area when the course is running on all cylinders, but it's pulled into the rotation whenever they have to take out a hole for maintenance work.  The extra hole we built at Royal Melbourne two years ago [to the right of 18 East] is in play now while 5 West is being relaid; and Brian Slawnik is due to build a similar hole at Royal Adelaide in a month from now.

[Joe Hancock]

TD,

I think it could be special to have more people playing golf because it took 50-75% of the time to play coupled with less expense. Not because it's more business, but because more people could enjoy the characteristics of the same game you and I enjoy. Not only that, but there are many properties that are well suited for less than 18 holes.....

[Willie_Dow]

Hello Mike - Not been here for a while - But this one caught me back for a comment!


Is it not that we have come to a point of what is our standard, or our gauge?  Our slope, our rating - etc.


At my age, 86, I need a short course so I can relax on my drive, maybe reach home in two, and keep ahead of the girls chasing me.


However, it is difficult to get my course rated!


Why?

[Thomas Dai]

Can't help but wonder that if golf had evolved strongly in a Continental European country instead of Scotland it would be a metric game - 10 holes, max 10 clubs, 10cm hole, (say) 5 cm ball. Just a thought.
Atb

[MCirba]

Great to hear from you Willie Dow!  I'd like to come play that course you're imagining..