Revisiting the Line of Charm

[Kyle Harris]

Kyle:

In my opinion, that gap in the trees and the slightly blind LZ might fool somebody a little bit the first time but not again. In those photos that hole looks tighter than it really is, in my opinion. To me the tee shot on #15 is pretty straight-forward once you know it.

Tom,

Now you're touching on one of the motivations of this thread. With a lot of lines of charm, once it has been found, it simply becomes a matter of execution on subsequent plays. #15 at Lancaster is a one and done sort of deal, and in some cases may never actually happen if the player is paying attention coming up the 14th hole.

Once a/the line of charm is found, is it possible that it can be lost again?

[Kyle Harris]

Too many bunkers is a common problem. I call it the throw-sand-at-the-design syndrome.

Jeepers!  I harp on about over-bunkering all the time.  Though I think it is not a problem which is archie specific (most seem guilty of this newish fad).  The problem is that most people (this site included) like to look at a sea of sand.  I don't know how many times I have seen:

A. 3-4 bunkers guarding a corner when usually 1 will work just fine

B. Bunkers next to water

C. Bunkers guarding inside doglegs with  trees on the inside anyway

D. Greens surrounded by bunkers

I long for the day when archies use the terrain (completely shape it if necessary) to create interesting "hazards".  The variety and inventiveness of hazards on older courses is one of the main reasons why I think the old guard hold up so well over time.

Ciao

Sean  

Sean,

How many of these bunkers are original and how many have been added through the years?

A Philadelphia area club has a VERY good golf course that has had some bunkers added through the years since it opened. Some of the additions make sense in regard to the individual hole, but after several holes become redundant. Some were added in order to stop a hooked shot from going on to a much worse fate as well.

It's interesting because very few people notice the bunkers lack of imagination or the overuse in general.

[Jay Flemma]

I'd go so far as to say a hole with hazards in the direct line between the tee and the green is a better hole than those without.

It naturally increases the number of viable playing options.

It's ALL about the line of charm.

[Kyle Harris]

Jay,

Which features do you consider hazards?

Can a bunkerless/waterless hole have lines of charm?

[Forrest Richardson]

Kyle — There are all sorts of things that can create interest (hazard) between golfer and target. Sand and water are but two. Knolls, bumps, trees, broken ground, pits of grass, terribly uneven ground, split elevations, walls, caged birds, lighthouses, old foundations, old car bodies, dead tree stumps, etc.

(You can delete a few.)

[Kyle Harris]

Forrest,

That's how I've always felt. It's extremely fun for me to find lines of charm around little features that don't stand out immediately - if at all.  

Speaking of old car bodies, there's a Driving Range down the street that has old cars as yardage markers... they get replaced twice a year. I'll have to create some lines of charm next time I go.

[Forrest Richardson]

For anyone listening, John Garrity's America's Worst Golf Courses is often available on Amazon for about $2. I highy recommend it. It is entertaining and a must-have for any serious golf architecture historian. I especially enjoyed his account of a NY course with prostitutes having huts in the deep rough.

[Kyle Harris]

Bumping this for kicks. Always a good thing to revisit... again.  

[Jay Flemma]

so then is there not a line of charm in this photo as well?  on the right...the direct line to the hole fraught with peril?

Sorry about the curvature of the Earth there:)

[Kyle Harris]

Good Lord Jay, I got dizzy just looking at that photo.