New v. Comfort of Familiarity

[Ira Fishman]

Roger Ebert said about movies: "Every great film should seem new every time you see it."  I have been debating with myself (my favorite debate opponent) whether the principle applies to golf courses.  On the one hand, I enjoy discovering new things about good courses I play several times.  On the other hand, I enjoy knowing the course and place so that I can enjoy it as one would a beer with an old friend.


Thoughts?


Ira

[John Kavanaugh]

I really enjoy not needing to read greens. My eyesight is leaving me and I certainly can't bend over for a peek.

[Peter Pallotta]

Ira -
after 50 times around my Doak-3 home course, the only charm it offers now is the comfort of familiarity.
I’ve also played other courses several times each, and not one “seems new” to me on repeated plays. Heck, most didn’t seem new to me even the first time I played them.
But I’ve read many posters here comment on their best/favourite courses (which are sometimes also their home course), and it sure does seem that they offer these golfers with this sense of ever-newness of which you speak.
Those must be terrific golf courses.
All that said, I suppose on the other side of the ledger (for movies, and as John references, golf courses too) is that there can be pleasure and comfort in meeting yet again with exactly what you expected — like a steak dinner at your local steak house with and old friend who has never changed.
Peter

[Jim_Kennedy]

Would there be any private clubs on the planet if the experience wasn't all those things - comfortable, pleasurable, and occasionally 'new'?

[Peter Pallotta]

Jim - as inevitably is the case around here, we all speak out of our own experiences. Mine is that I play a type/class of golf course not nearly as good as the one you and others likely do. And when courses are without much architectural interest/quality, the charm of the familiar just doesn’t compensate for the lack of new/fresh playing experience(s).
(One of the reasons I play many rounds with persimmon and old blades is to try to self-create some of that newness, eg ideal angles becoming more important when coming in with a 6 iron instead of a PW).
Which is to say: yes, you’re probably right about what those private courses offer, but to some of us that combination of familiarity and freshness is rarer than you might realize. 
I suppose the well-known and revered architects past and present who designed the courses you reference are well known and revered precisely because they had the talent to create courses that could happily be played and enjoyed every day.

[Jim Nugent]

Isn't this supposed to be the charm of many top links courses?  That they frequently play differently, posing new problems from different angles and winds, according to conditions? 

[Jim_Kennedy]

Peter,


Move.   

[David Wuthrich]

Give me new every time!  Love to see new courses and ways to play courses I have played in the past.

[Charles Lund]

I like playing golf outside North America and am partial to Ireland and Australia in particular but have also done multiple trips to New Zealand and Scotland, one five week trip to Spain and Portugal, and a few trips to different locations in Asia.  I have played over 160 different courses outside of North America and a couple hundred different courses in the U.S.


So I go to Ireland (11 trips to date) and Australia (12 trips to date) a couple of times a year.  I now go to a primary destination in each country where I spend most of my time.  After three trips to each country, I had a pretty good sense of places I wanted to go to over and over and which courses I didn't get tired of playing.  For me, Donegal in Ireland and the Mornington Peninsula offered a good concentration of quality courses.  Donegal in Ireland is in a remote area but traveling there can mean a stopover on the way to or from.  The Mornington Peninsula offers access to the Sandbelt area which most people think of as the main place to play on a first trip. 


I opt for extended stays and like the golf culture of both Australia and Ireland,  as well as the courses.  I've played over 30 different courses in Ireland and close to 40 in Australia but now play about 90 percent of my golf at one club in Ireland and one in Australia.  Both clubs have multiple courses in wide open spaces with other playing options not far away.


I selected the places to travel back to over and over largely because I felt welcomed by the people and the clubs.  With respect to both destinations, there were options for play offered that were compatible with my preferences.  I get a lot of variety due to changing weather in both places, with large bodies of water near both areas, the Atlantic Ocean in the case of Ireland and the Bass Strait in Australia.  Both are in areas that have massive open space, so there is little feeling of claustrophobia.


I like playing new courses but am fine with the comfort of familiarity.  Playing new courses opened up doors for me that led me to go to places far away and return over and over.  Had I not played so many new courses, it would never have occurred to me to look at other options.


I share this because it is an option that worked for me, because I am not that encumbered with responsibilities at this phase of my life and am comfortable with solo golf travel.




Charles Lund

[jeffwarne]

So I go to Ireland (11 trips to date) and Australia (12 trips to date) a couple of times a year.  I now go to a primary destination in each country where I spend most of my time.  After three trips to each country, I had a pretty good sense of places I wanted to go to over and over and which courses I didn't get tired of playing.  For me, Donegal in Ireland and the Mornington Peninsula offered a good concentration of quality courses.  Donegal in Ireland is in a remote area but traveling there can mean a stopover on the way to or from.  The Mornington Peninsula offers access to the Sandbelt area which most people think of as the main place to play on a first trip. 


I opt for extended stays and like the golf culture of both Australia and Ireland,  as well as the courses.  I've played over 30 different courses in Ireland and close to 40 in Australia but now play about 90 percent of my golf at one club in Ireland and one in Australia.  Both clubs have multiple courses in wide open spaces with other playing options not far away.


I selected the places to travel back to over and over largely because I felt welcomed by the people and the clubs.  With respect to both destinations, there were options for play offered that were compatible with my preferences.  I get a lot of variety due to changing weather in both places, with large bodies of water near both areas, the Atlantic Ocean in the case of Ireland and the Bass Strait in Australia.  Both are in areas that have massive open space, so there is little feeling of claustrophobia.


I like playing new courses but am fine with the comfort of familiarity.  Playing new courses opened up doors for me that led me to go to places far away and return over and over.  Had I not played so many new courses, it would never have occurred to me to look at other options.


I share this because it is an option that worked for me, because I am not that encumbered with responsibilities at this phase of my life and am comfortable with solo golf travel.


Charles Lund

Living the dream Charles.

[John Kavanaugh]

With nine sets of tees you get the best of both worlds.

[Tom_Doak]

Excellent post, Charles ... and two of my favorite destinations.


The Gullane area would be another.

[Thomas Dai]

For many years I was a member of two northern UK links courses much beloved herein, both very high in the usual rankings. Both also had second courses, lessor length and quality. A round on the lessor course, or an away round on another course, every now and then made me appreciate how good the main course was. The cliche about "familiarity bringing contempt" exists for a reason.
atb