It seems most of us on this site grow weary of perfectly manicured, lush, green courses, where every lie is perfect. This is especially true of northeast parkland courses. I grew up on military courses where hard pan was a constant threat. I practiced picking them of the ground flopping them by hitting them a little fat, bumping them with a five iron or three wood etc. Now whenever I play hard pan is almost always eliminated. Sometimes, if it is in the fairway, it is even marked as GUR. I would like to see the return of hard pan in the rough. I'm not ready to picket for it but sometimes it is rub of the green and sometimes we just hit a bad shot that deserves a little punishment. It sure requires different skills, especially around the greens. We almost always associate rough with high grass be it cut or uncut. I always thought of rough as “rough to hit out of” and penalized a poorly struck shot. It could be hard pan, softish dirt, or a ball sitting in front of a clump of grass. I just grow weary of having only one or two options in the tall grass be it for a full shot to the green or a recovery shot around the green. How to get the membership to accept this is another question.
We certainly see it on some links courses. Any other hard pan lovers out there?