Matt Ward,
You wrote:
"You need to check with what Paul Turner wrote. Do you actually believe Colt would have narrowed the fairways in a number of areas at Dunluce to the point at which they become bowling alleys? I'm not a historian on Colt but I don't believe so."
I did read what pturner had to say, and I responded to it by saying that Colt could never have imagined COR and springlike effect. My point is, he may well have necked them in a little if he had known where technology would bring us. Maybe you should read my post before "firing back" with an empty chamber!
The club has responded to the changes in the most appropriate way IMO, not by adding length as is the knee-jerk reaction, but by asking more of the better player in terms of accuracy off the tee. I would love to bring Colt back today, and ask him to build a course in light of the technology available. Don't you think the fairways, just MAYBE, would be a little narrower than those designed in the 1800's. I mean, give me a break, with the whippy hickory shafts it was very difficult just to hit a shot that didn't have sidespin. Nowadays the clubs are built for the toe hit!
Yes, I will admit that the rough can be thick at times, but isn't golf about accuracy as well as brute strength. While I don't agree with the Open set up at Carnastie
, remember that only some of the holes at Portrush demand that you thread the needle, not all the holes as you kind of elude to in your posts. It is a mix of accuracy, strength and creativity - what more could one ask for. I guarantee if the fairways were wider it would become a bombers course - isn't that boring!
I'm not going to beat this to death with you - yes, the fairways can seem a "tad" narrow when the play firm, but I don't believe they cross the line into unfair. Yes, the rough can make it difficult to find you ball every time, but then again, that's why the rules of golf allow for a lost ball. Yes, the 1st cut of rough could be shorter - but it's not, so get over it. Portrush is a leader, not a follower, and the members are proud of that. Clubs around the world are trying to protect their assets against obsoletion, by speeding up greens, adding yardage, making par 5's into par 4's, planting trees at the dogleg ( a favorite of GCA regulars
). Portrush simply took approriate steps to protect the course.
Many on this site know that if Portrush cropped their 1st cut and widened their fairways, you would have shot a 74, and said that the course was lacklustre and lacked "the wow factor". Every course worth it's salt should have some teeth, and it sounds to me that Portrush bared it's teeth to you, and it won!