Thank you Mr Goodale;
I shall search for that.
A question for you. Is you name pronounced [goo-dale] or [good-ale
]?
" ........ Bandobras Took .......... knocked Goblin King Golfimbal's head off with a club, and it rolled across the field and fell down a hole; thereby winning the war and inventing the game of golf at the same time." Trying to remember the quote without reference, sorry. DR
My curiosity of golf's origions comes from an idea about what golf courses were 'intended' to be in the beginning. Did they have greens immeadiately? When did the fairway come into being? I suspect they ascertained a hole, a starting point, and tried to hit their ball as few times as possible to get in. The rest are ALL modifications of origional intent.
They certainly did NOT start by cutting down all the trees! Probably, it was played in a relatively open area [field?], but if trees were there, they were obstacles to be overcome. You could play around them. Perhaps even hit over them. But try not to hit them, as your total number of hits between start and hole would likely increase.
That being the likely case, arguements of the value of certain types of design vrs others is a process of relative worth to those involved, WITHOUT ABSOLUTE IMPERATIVES, except the hole and the starting point.
And I think THAT is a great starting point for the debate about what one percieves as a great course. We can state, and try to sell, preferences; but need to see that ideas do not represent immutable reality [dogma].
And if, while playing our favorite game, you should spy a tree between you and your goal, try not to hit it with you golf ball. The consequences could be drastic for next week's food budget!
Doug
PS: If you could not tell, Doug happens to think trees are a legitimate and worthwhile hazard in some designs. Another question, then: Is it called dendraphilia? I'll have to look that one up too.