Is this bunker shot at Yale interesting/fun/exciting?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Jeff,

The Sand Wedge and Lob Wedge changed alot of things about playing golf.

Think of playing without the benefit of a Sand and Lob Wedge, at Yale and elsewhere.




I tend to think that golf in the 20's was not so democratic with an individual or oligarchy at the helm.

Pat, I used a sand wedge.  The problem is that the ball hits the green just after its apex, at about a 10 degree down trajectory as opposed to a 55 degree downward trajectory.  Not sure if I could have hit the Phil shot even higher so it would land soft!

I agree golf was tougher back then, although there may have been some compensating factors.  In this case, maybe the 1/4" green cut and 6 green speeds of the day might have helped compensate for the lower trajectory of the clubs of the day. 

After all, the average score doesn't go down even after years of tech improvement.  I am not even sure the average tour score has gone down, even as winning scores may continue to plummet.

As long as the hole remains at 4 1/4 inches, it remains a tough game.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jeff,

Agreed, but, scores would have plummeted had courses not been lengthened to compensate for equipment.

In reading Banks's description on how to play # 9 at Yale, he seems to indicate that the greens were firm and rolled rather well.

Remember, he declared the way to play # 9 was to hit the front level with a carry of 192 yards and let the ball roll down and back up the swale and then to the hole.

Hard to imagine that happening at 6 on the stimp.

[Keith Grande]

At our Sunday GCA outing at Yale, I was lying near the stairs on the left hand rough after a pulled 5 iron from the right rough.  The hole was on the right side so I needed a flop onto the green and a favorable roll towards the hole.  The blind shot and height required was a challenging, but fun shot.  It was a rewarding up and down par. 

[Patrick_Mucci]

At our Sunday GCA outing at Yale, I was lying near the stairs on the left hand rough after a pulled 5 iron from the right rough.  The hole was on the right side so I needed a flop onto the green and a favorable roll towards the hole.  The blind shot and height required was a challenging, but fun shot.  It was a rewarding up and down par. 

Keith,

Your ball barely made the green

We kicked it closer to the hole while you were still down in the bunker

[Carl Rogers]

Approriate level of challenge interesecting with your relative abilities in an interesting context (GCA) makes the game fun.