Fairway Width vs. Playing Corridor Width

[Ian_L]

Do we pay enough attention to the width of playing corridors?  It seems that fairway width is discussed often on this board, but to me at least, relatively wide fairways are meaningless if there is grave danger lurking to either side. Do we give a free pass to designers who offer wide fairways that have death on both sides?

Having played the first three Bandon courses, one of the (very few) disappointments for me is the penalty off the tee for missed drives.  It seems that on too many holes an errant shot will be lost in the gorse or forest.  However, I hear few complaints about this, perhaps because the fairways are still quite wide?

Or maybe this is just the bias of an erratic driver...

[Sean_A]

Ian

It depends on how wide wide is.  In most cases if a fairway is 60 yards wide I would think an 80 yard wide corridor is ample if there are fairly large trees about and less if on open land.  However, it seesm to me that more often we may see fairways 30-40 yards wide with an extra 20 or 25 yards for the corridor.  It all depends on what the buffer is between the fairway and the edge of the corridor.  In my experience, almost every course I see is a combination of one or more of the following: fairways too narrow, corridors too narrow, trees not kept properly trimmed, rough not properly maintained, tree undergrowth not properly maintained.  The more harsh the buffer zone or edge of corridor, the more width should be required.  If wind or sloping terrain is involved an extra 20 yards of fairway width (and hence corridor width) or light rough buffer is often missing.  Links in the GG&I are often described as wide when in truth for most of the big guns (read championship courses or wannabe champiosnhip courses) this is not true in relation to the penal rough and bunkering.

Ciao

[Adam Clayman]

Recovery opportunities ultimately decide if the golf is fun, and a good or great course, or, just a series of frustratingly searching for balls on every hole.

If designers only think about one type of player, the product suffers. Mixing up the widths is an important tool to create variety. But then it's the movement on the ground (and wind) that can dictate where's the best spot, to ease the next shot. Elasticity separates the great from the rest.