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Tim Martin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Should a reachable par 5 be reachable for all good players?
« Reply #25 on: July 15, 2020, 10:34:11 AM »
"Good"players get it in the hole. There are a number of ways to do it and I would offer up Zach Johnson in the 2007 Masters as an example. I think just about everyone on this board has taken their lumps from a player who hit it consistently shorter than them but who also got more out of their score.

jeffwarne

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Should a reachable par 5 be reachable for all good players?
« Reply #26 on: July 15, 2020, 05:51:59 PM »


But my wife feels the opposite - she thinks the par 5's are the 4 most boring holes on the course, because her smartest route stays unchanged 95% of the time she plays them. So her score distribution is much narrower than mine, even as a 22 handicap. She usually makes pars if she plays the hole according to plan, bogey if not.


This is all leading to my question for the group: Are all categories of similarly skilled golfers "owed" the same decision making puzzles on par 5's, regardless of their age or physical abilities? Should course design and setup provide the same opportunities for occasional eagle putts (and double bogies) for lady golfers? how about for seniors? or juniors? 

Thanks,
Michael


First of all, I want ANY 22 handicap on my team who pars a hole when all goes to plan, and only a bogie when it doesn't-especially given they are getting at least 1 shot, maybe 2.


Awfully hard to provide the same challenges for all "similarly skilled"golfers regardless of age or physical abilities-because the scale is so different. You could move the tees up for an older woman so she could reach in two to say 350 but the fairway and target scale would be way out of whack(almost twice as wide as the Back tee guy), and many/most targets wouldn't be deep enough to hold their flat trajectory.
The game is different for different people with similar skills and people get their thrills on different holes.
It doesn't all have to even out on every hole and terrain often dictates that it won't.
"Let's slow the damned greens down a bit, not take the character out of them." Tom Doak
"Take their focus off the grass and put it squarely on interesting golf." Don Mahaffey