Course designs inviting "gamesmanship"

[ward peyronnin]

In an effort to maintain my playing privelages on this site I cogitated on a recent article i read regarding gamesmanship and the receptiveness of golf to this particular facet of play.

The anecdotes were entertaining and a treatise on this aspect of the game published n the UK in the '40's i believe was quoted to satisfying effect. To me gamesmanship can be an entertaining addition to a contest if tastefully exercised but can also devolve into a vulgar departure from the honorable underpinnings of the game and we all have have stories to support  both manifestations.

One question i would pose ,of GCA's in particular, is when/where do design elements reflect an opportunity for gamesmanship; the encroaching branch of a tree adjacent to the tee but nominally out of play or at MIke Kaisers Dunes club where tee markers don't exist but those with honors choose from where to tee and on the ninthe the teeing ground has been maintained to include  a rather tight space between the trunks of two very large , and peripherally influential when addressing a tee ball, trees.


Give it up boys; stories or instances. 

[RJ_Daley]

I love the idea of a course where the fellow playing competitors can decide to have some gamesmanship like you describe Ward, of the guy with honors selects the teeing ground position.  I guess a vulgar extreme, but could be mutually fun if the idea is to just have a fun game of something that resembles golf, would be like our Reverse Jans GCA players did, and decide to play the course, in something of reverse, on a total hoot.   But, of course the most famous of that variation and a course that seems totally suited to such gamesmanship would be TOC played in Reverse, on April 1 as I understand it.  Surely that design begs for gamesmanship variations. 

But, all on the course have to be somewhat ammenable to the gamesmanship of the participants that wish to depart from the normal course of the rules and procedures.  In that regard, I think it is as much to do with the others that use the course to be ammenable to some folks gamesmanship, as it seems to me that mutally agreed gamesmanship within a playing foursome or a few 4somes, may go contrary to the rest of the players on the course, if it inconveniences their normal expectation of how to play.

I guess, wide open courses, not hardly being used by others, no specific design elements other than hole corridors in close proximity would seem to me elements that are conducive to gamesmanship.  We all have seen some real variations of gamesmanship, I'd bet.  Once I saw some fellows having a great time with a game where wedge or some sort of short iron was required to be played off of every tee. 

[Rich Goodale]

Good topic Ward.  When we hold the GCA.com AGM I'll vote to keep you as a member.

I like the idea of selecting the teeing ground, but I think it should be based on a rotation rather than the honor.  That way everybody gets an equal chance to play to their own strengths and/or screw their friends.

You could design a course which optimised such a game, but it would probably be more bizzaro than biarritz.

Going slightly off topic, course set-up could be used for gamesmanship.  There is a story from a venerable Scottish course where whenever the pro/greenkeeper played a match against the leading amateur he would have all the pins set as close as possible to the right side of the green.  Needless to say, the pro was an accomplished fader of the ball and the amateur relied on an equally accomplished sling hook......