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The issue is really not the length or how many shots they have to get to the green but how interesting the journey is.
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Exactly!
This is why Low, et al, took the game astray with one, two, and three shot holes.
This is why links courses generally are better and more fun than the rest of the golfing landscape.
This is why Tom has failed us when he rates some of my favorite courses a 3!
Golf started as a match play game, and its true form is match play!
Medal play and par are aberrations!
JMHO