Several recent threads (Weak Holes most prominently) returned us to the prevailing and recurring theme of “rules” and “principles”. I am a huge fan of Ross because his courses seem rational and balanced so therefore brilliant but well within rules and principles bound.
However, upon pondering the relatively small number of great courses that I have played, it struck me that for a few hole stretch, the genius of the design is in breaking the rules:
Ballybunion 13-16
Cypress 14-17
Lahinch 3-6
Pasatiempo 14-16
The Island Club 13-16
The above are audacious uses of the land on consecutive holes with little regard to par or distance. Is my sampling size too small? Are there modern courses that have similar
stretches? Do a few holes of rule breaking not matter all that much?
Thanks,
Ira