What golf can do without

[Thomas Dai]

Reading the top100 sustainability thread - https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,72545.0.html - does kinda ask the question "what golf can do without".
Thoughts and things that are done that the game can do without?
atb

[Adam Lawrence]

Winter

[Niall C]

Winter

soft southern lightweight !

[Adam Lawrence]

Winter

soft southern lightweight !

I freely admit it. My days as a hard northerner are long behind me.

[Peter Sayegh]

Probably 50% of its Rules.
Cart paths.

[Mark Pearce]

Winter

soft southern lightweight !

He's soft, and Southern, and getting there on lightweight.

[Adam Lawrence]

I'm thinking of changing my name to Jessy.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Reading the top100 sustainability thread - https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,72545.0.html - does kinda ask the question "what golf can do without".
Thoughts and things that are done that the game can do without?
atb

The one thought that came to my mind while browsing the list was revetted bunkers. Whenever I see videos of the work and amount of sodding needed to create a revetted bunker wall, I think it's such a shame to waste perfectly good turf sods on such an artifical construction. I also think they look totally unnatural and look out of place on links courses.


Don't get me wrong, I think the workmanship and effort put in to creating revetted bunkers is very impressive, but I just feel that there must be a better and more sustainable method of maintaining bunkers on links courses. RCD (which was included in the list for this very reason) and Royal Dublin don't have revetted bunkers, so why don't others follow suit. We've become so used to them that it would be difficult to transition to a more environmentally friendly alternative. Besides, many courses are synonymous with pot bunkers; take them away and these courses would become teethless. A start would be to use wooden planks - as seen at the European Club - for shallower bunkers, but I'm not sure how you'd replace the sodded wall on deeper bunkers like the Road Hole bunker.

[Adam Lawrence]

I have to say I prefer revetted to sleepered bunkers, though obviously the revet wears out a _lot_ more quickly than timber would. I have always felt that putting a hard substance like timber in a bunker face is an accident waiting to happen.

[Philip Gordillo]

For those that compete at their local club.....sandbaggers.

[Joe Hancock]

The list could be long, so I’ll try to show restraint:


Committees
Wall-to-wall irrigation
Stripes
Patterned/ intentional manipulation of sand characteristics in bunkers
Ultra-low mowing heights
Ultra-deep rough

[MCirba]

The Stimpmeter Arms Race


Carts playing Music, particularly "Today's Country Music"


Driver Heads the size of Canned Hams


Grip It and Rip It


Everyone's a Golf Instructor Online Videos


Island Greens (I think we've reached critical mass)

[Ian Mackenzie]

1. Slow Play....duh!


2. New driver technology every year


3. Golf bags that last two seasons


4. Out of bounds


5. Perfect bunkers


6. Dumb rules that DQ a player if you make a scorekeeping mistake.

[Greg Krueger]

+1 on Carts Playing Music, I love music but not on the Golf Course!!!

[John Kavanaugh]

On most days, me. My negativity can become toxic.

[Bernie Bell]

Snobbery

[Tim_Weiman]

1. Slow Play....duh!


2. New driver technology every year


3. Golf bags that last two seasons


4. Out of bounds


5. Perfect bunkers


6. Dumb rules that DQ a player if you make a scorekeeping mistake.

Ian,


I agree with your point on new driver technology every year. I may well fall victim having recently purchased a Callaway Paradym driver and am now viewing videos on the new Callaway Paradym AI Smoke and am already at least half way inclined to buy one.


It is like the early days of the latest iPhone.


Crazy!

[Niall C]

Reading the top100 sustainability thread - https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,72545.0.html - does kinda ask the question "what golf can do without".
Thoughts and things that are done that the game can do without?
atb

The one thought that came to my mind while browsing the list was revetted bunkers. Whenever I see videos of the work and amount of sodding needed to create a revetted bunker wall, I think it's such a shame to waste perfectly good turf sods on such an artifical construction. I also think they look totally unnatural and look out of place on links courses.


Don't get me wrong, I think the workmanship and effort put in to creating revetted bunkers is very impressive, but I just feel that there must be a better and more sustainable method of maintaining bunkers on links courses. RCD (which was included in the list for this very reason) and Royal Dublin don't have revetted bunkers, so why don't others follow suit. We've become so used to them that it would be difficult to transition to a more environmentally friendly alternative. Besides, many courses are synonymous with pot bunkers; take them away and these courses would become teethless. A start would be to use wooden planks - as seen at the European Club - for shallower bunkers, but I'm not sure how you'd replace the sodded wall on deeper bunkers like the Road Hole bunker.

Donal


Can't agree. A nicely weathered and partially degraded revetted bunker looks like it should belong on a links course. Indeed, hard to imagine a links without revetted bunkers in some form although I confess to never having been to either RCD or Royal Dublin. Neither do I think timber shuttering looks anymore natural and as Adam says is inherently dangerous.


If I have a gripe about revetted bunkers it is the modern thinking that they have to be redone every few years. I'm pretty sure they didn't get redone nearly as often than they do now. I blame that on TOC holding the Open every 5 years.


Niall

[Kalen Braley]

Winter

Unlike the other items on this list...this is well underway to becoming wish granted

[Jeff Schley]

Winter

Unlike the other items on this list...this is well underway to becoming wish granted

Yes good reality check Kalen. In a couple more decades England will be making better wine than France supposedly. Disaster for pub culture.

[Joe Hancock]

Winter

Unlike the other items on this list...this is well underway to becoming wish granted

Yes good reality check Kalen. In a couple more decades England will be making better wine than France supposedly. Disaster for pub culture.

Give it another couple thousand years, it’ll be ok…..none of which has to do with the thread

[MCirba]

How did I forget slow play?   That's clearly number one on my list.   


I'm an advocate for the death penalty for any rounds over four hours but people think I'm being facetious.   

[Charlie Goerges]

How did I forget slow play?   That's clearly number one on my list.   


I'm an advocate for the death penalty for any rounds over four hours but people think I'm being facetious.   

I assume by "death penalty" you mean being sent off the course at 4 hours and not a literal firing squad.

[Jeff Schley]

Continued increasing environmental restrictions. There has to be a middle ground, but it is so far left hard to see it swinging back to even the middle.

[Dan_Callahan]

How did I forget slow play?   That's clearly number one on my list.   

This has to be the top choice.