I just noticed one reason Tom Doak supplied why more clubs may never provide more short courses like Cruden's St Olaf---eg they generally compete for space with practice ranges.

Although the historical reasons are all obvious why they were almost never originally provided in maybe the first 3/4 of the entire 150 years of GCA, is there any doubt that the failure to provide space for practice ranges was the single biggest glitch in architecture's history?

No one can blame the early architects and golf course planners because practice balls and range practicing virtually never existed for so long but is there any single item in the history of golf course architecture that was responsible for the redesigning of old courses like the lack of practice ranges?

When I think of all the old courses in my area this problem has affected probably 90% of them at least, including my own.

The old saw in real estate is location, location, location. The historical saw in GCA should've been land, land, land.

Frankly, the only two courses I can think of right now that dodged this bullet right out of the box are PVGC and my old club, Piping Rock. Piping's massive practice range was originally two old polo fields next to the clubhouse that preceded the golf course.

Macdonald wanted to take those polo fields for golf holes and the club wouldn't give them to him which infuruiated Macdonald. Their refusal was obviously more fortunate than they ever could've imagined back then.  

Rich:

As usual, you seem incapable of comprehending reality and the reality of evolution which becomes our history.

Who was the idiot who came up with the idea of crisscrossing our beautiful countries with rail lines, and highways for automobiles, who defiled our air and our skies with airplanes?

Like most everyone on here it seems to be necessary for you to not just to look at some of our evolutions to understand why they happened the way they did but to always find someone to blame for them.

Driving ranges on the Boston Post Road jammed in between a Dairy Queen and a petting zoo are OK.  Driving ranges on or near golf courses are an abomination (although I must admit that the one at Gulph Mills is the least abominable one of that ilk that I have seen)."

Rich:

I see you're not just as unrealistic as ever, you're more so.  

A typical golfclubatlaser whose intention is always to simply "outpurist" the other purists despite lack of reality.

Furthermore, I did not realize the Interstate Highway System had any moral equivalency.  

Are there any courses that have decided to save on ground space by having an indoor warmup/practise/teaching area?  Nets/mesh, etc?

Are there any courses that have decided to save on ground space by having an indoor warmup/practise/teaching area?  Nets/mesh, etc?

Belgrade Lakes in Maine is one of the few modern courses without a driving range that I have played.  
If I remember correctly they provided a net next to the practice green.

"I can just visualise Tom Paul, John Van Der Borght and other Rules Nazis in paroxysms of conniptions as they read this..... "

Rich:

You're right about that. It would be better to just ruin a couple of the holes on that ultra famous Duane/Palmer, 1975 golf course, install a full blown practice range and play by the Rules of Golf once one tees it up on the first tee.

I know that may be a radical and foreign idea to you, but anyway.....

Rich:

Maybe you should lead a movement to abolish all the practice ranges in the world and install in their place little nine hole mini courses. How cool would it be to play a 17 yard long par 3 "Short" and a 79 yard long par 5 Road Hole?  

I am sooooo proud of you Grasshopper!  Finally you are beginning to understand the essence of the game of golf.  Keep it up!

Rich:

What is this 'Grasshopper' stuff? Isn't that the name the movie director told the rest of the Far Easterners in the cast that they should call that white boy in the unfortunately popular movie "Kung Fu Chicken"?

Quote from: Rich Goodale on April 11, 2006, 06:45:31 AM

When I was there, the club allowed mulligans off the first tee for competitions, due to the lack of a range, and some of my friends used hit a few tatty balls backwards off the 1st tee across the 18th and towards the Pacific.  I can just visualise Tom Paul, John Van Der Borght and other Rules Nazis in paroxysms of conniptions as they read this.....

My home course doesn't have a practice range although it does have an area about 120 yards long with 4 flags in it where you can hit your own balls.  Sometimes guys stray a little and hit drivers up the 17th or 18th fairways or across 11 and 12.

As for mulligans, I'd rather have you go to 18 at the Palmer course and hit them into the ocean before teeing off.

But, the best paroxsyms of Rules Nazis I've seen was at the 2000 US Mid-Amateur.  We were at the Cascades and had a 2 or 3 hour lightning delay.  The range is nowhere near the courses so it was decided by powers much higher than I that the players should be allowed to go back on the course and hit 5 shots backwards from their current location.  There were many Rules folks who where shocked beyond belief about this although it was the most practical solution to get the guys a little warmup and allowed us to finish the stroke play on time.

Great stuff, John.  And you know that I use the term "Rules Nazi" for you (and even TEP!) with respect and affection.

Play was suspended at the time that they were allowed to hit the shots, therefore players are allowed to practice in designated areas.  It just so happened that the entire course was designated for a specific kind of shot (full shots in a direction that wasn't the normal one for the golf course).  Nobody was hitting a shot to a green they hadn't played or in any direction they yet to play.  The only other option would have been to allow them no warmup and that was felt to be a worse solution given the length of the delay.  I was surprised by it, but in looking back at it I think it was a practical solution.

John Vander Borght:

The "Tournament Committee", or anyone on it, who came up with that 'practical' solution and thereby countermanded everything that is known and sacred about Rule 7, and in complete contravention of any known Local Rule or even any reasonable interpretation of any known Decison, should be brought back to St Andrews in hand and ankle cuffs and fed to the hungry dogs in the dark and dingy side-streets.

Just remember, when it comes to THE Rules of Golf, every single jot of them----"all roads lead to Rome!!!"