[Kyle Harris]

Blind shots into a green are similar to having no pin to shoot at.  Only they are even harder.  You not only can't see the pin.  You can't see the green either.  That target, too, is removed.  

In any tournament without pins, news about hole locations would spread real fast.  I bet this is true for everyday play, as well, among good players and maybe others.  The guy who cuts the holes could set up a nice little side business each morning, selling "hole reports."

Are you all NOT reading my first post?

You're getting every bit of information about the hole location, just no flagstick.

[Jeff Doerr]

Kyle,

I tried a quick research of flagsticks but only found this as an old reference:

The Flagstick
First mention 1875, but certainly in use before then.

1875 either party may have the flagstick removed when approaching the hole.  This stayed in force until 1956.

I seem to remember seeing old paintings with flagsticks inplace, or even being carried by forecaddies.

[Jonathan Cummings]

The caddies at PVGC are damn near the best there are.  I find it hard to believe that what greens are in play for 8 and 9 on a given day isn't know by them before anybody tees off.  

Neither green at 9 is blind - they are both visible from the tee (page 48 on the PVGC Chronicle).  The fairway off the tee is more blind then the two greens.

JC

[James Bennett]

Jonathan

I agree, the caddies are great. My caddie was the one who reads you poetry.  On this particular day, it was as wet as a shag, so the groups in front had pulled out (so no sign of which green is in play).  There was no breeze, hence the limp flag.  And the actual flag location happened to have a flowering bush that matched the pin/flag colour directly behind it, camoflauging its location.  We thought we could see a pin on the right, just.  We were wrong.  It didn't matter, it was still a great (albeit wet) day.

James B

[ForkaB]

Due to family commitments later in the day, I play Dornoch once or twice a year in the very early morning when the greenkeepers are still cutting the holes. As others have said above, I do find (or think I find) that the lack of a pin to aim at calms me down and leads to more GIR's.  That being said, I wouldn't want to do this on a regular basis, or under competitive conditions.  If you do away with the pin, you might as well do away with the green--just hit it and hope you find a hole.

The lesson should be, when playing, to aim for the middle of the green  (unless you are a +2 or better player who can in fact hit the ball within 10 yards of where you intend to more than 30% or the time).

[JESII]

Kyle,

I have to ask, when playing at Huntingdon Valley...how often do you aim at the flagstick in the course of 18 holes? I believe # 5 is about the only hole I ever aim at the flag...every other hole calls for the ball moving enough once it is on the ground that you must aim somewhere else...removing the flag, but giving me all the other information wouldn't change much at all IMO.

[Kirk Gill]

I remember reading that golf changes from an inductive process (moving from the specific location of the teed ball out to all the potential locations that the ball can go) to a deductive process (moving from the wide and general dispersion of all possible locations for the ball back down to one specific place, the hole). So perhaps if it would be of interest to hide the specific location of the hole, it might be equally interesting to hit one's tee shot with your eyes closed. Am I making sense? Probably not.

Favorite Genesis song: Supper's Ready. To me, Abacab was a kind of deaths-knell, though that tour was amazing.

In regards to the note at the bottom of your posts - my wife bought me the Love album for Christmas, and I find it wildly disorienting to listen to. I think I may know the original recordings too well. It is an odd and interesting musical experience, and what may be the most amazing thing about it is that folks who are unfamiliar with the Beatles' catalog could listen to it, and enjoy it, and never know how it was put together. Please forgive the OT content........

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