A Good Walk........a core requirement?

[John Keenan]

While watching the Accenture Match Play over the weekend one of the commentators made the comment that all great golf courses start with a good walk? It made me think is this really the case or rather is this just a throw away line that sound quite nice but is meaningless.?

Is a core requirement to be a great course to first to be a good  or great walk?

John




 

[Bill_McBride]

While watching the Accenture Match Play over the weekend one of the commentators made the comment that all great golf courses start with a good walk? It made me think is this really the case or rather is this just a throw away line that sound quite nice but is meaningless.?

Is a core requirement to be a great course to first to be a good  or great walk?

John

Yes indeed.

And Dove Moiuntain is no good or great walk!

[Garland Bayley]

The USGA Walkers Handbook says it is.

[Jud_T]

John,

Can you name a great course that isn't?

[George Pazin]

It is for me, but certainly not for many others.

It sure isn't a throwaway line, unless voiced by someone who doesn't really believe it.

[John Keenan]

Garland

I would suspect that the USGA Walkers Handbook refers to an existing course.  I took the comment to refer to the land prior to being developed.  

Before it becomes a great course it must be a good or great walk first.

John  

[Garland Bayley]

John,

I take the comment to mean existing courses. If they aren't a good walk, then they can't be considered.

[John Moore II]

I don't think it exactly must be a good walk (meaning an easy walk) but usually they are. I mean, some courses on really hilly sites aren't good for walking. But they might be really great golf courses. I would also say that were you to play a course like ANGC or Seminole in the middle of summer (and you can't for this reason) they would not be easy walks because of really hot temperatures and such. So, what exactly do we mean by a 'good walk?' Scenic, nice looking, whatever or an easy 'walk in the park?'

[Bob_Huntley]

I think that Eastwood Ho is a superb course but for me, it is no easy walk.

Bob

[John Keenan]

Was AGNC a nice walk before it was a golf course ? I thought it was a nursery?

[Garland Bayley]

I don't think it exactly must be a good walk (meaning an easy walk) but usually they are. I mean, some courses on really hilly sites aren't good for walking. But they might be really great golf courses. I would also say that were you to play a course like ANGC or Seminole in the middle of summer (and you can't for this reason) they would not be easy walks because of really hot temperatures and such. So, what exactly do we mean by a 'good walk?' Scenic, nice looking, whatever or an easy 'walk in the park?'

Of course a course on a hilly site is a good walk. You don't have people travelling out to the great plains to take a hike. In reality John, you are simple talking about people becoming soft, not about good walks.

[Gary Slatter]

a great walk can make a good course better.  so can cart paths.   to me a great walk, wide fairways, lots of random bunkering and great greens (like Dove Mountain or the Old Course) and excellent food and drink (Prestwick, Muirfileld) are core requirements.
Cape Breton's Highlands is a great walk that can also be enjoyed by riding in a cart.

[John Moore II]

a great walk can make a good course better.  so can cart paths.   to me a great walk, wide fairways, lots of random bunkering and great greens (like Dove Mountain or the Old Course) and excellent food and drink (Prestwick, Muirfileld) are core requirements.
Cape Breton's Highlands is a great walk that can also be enjoyed by riding in a cart.

Oh my. I'll be the first to take note of this, I can't wait to hear the responses to this one. How dare someone mention enjoyment in the same sentence as golf cart. What's the world coming to. (Oh by the way, I don't mind carts)

[JMEvensky]

a great walk can make a good course better.

Agree completely.

Being a good walk is just one of the ingredients.It's more important than most,IMO,but not a deal breaker.

BTW-I believe the "good walk" quote in the telecast was from David Feherty.I thought it was made in answer to another announcer (Nantz?) commenting on the surrounding scenery as well as the golf course itself.

[Sean_A]

I think nearly all of the courses I consider among my favourites are at least decent walks - which is different from walkable.  A good walk only pushes the quality of design up higher in my estimation.  I really couldn't consider a course great unless its walking component is there and i do think it is an essential aspect of the best designs.  For instance, part of the reason I wouldn't call Tobacco Road a great course (though it is one of my favourites) is down to the walk.  I hit Lederach the same.  In fact, the only course I can think of which I consider great, but flawed as a walking experience (for reasons which I still don't quite understand) is Kiawah.  I give it a pass because for the most part the walk is good.  It has two long walks, but at least they are flat.

Ciao

[Dan Kelly]

Can you name a great course that isn't?

I'm sure there are those who would disagree on both counts, but I think ...

Sutton Bay is a great course.

Sutton Bay is not a great walk.

[John Moore II]

I don't think it exactly must be a good walk (meaning an easy walk) but usually they are. I mean, some courses on really hilly sites aren't good for walking. But they might be really great golf courses. I would also say that were you to play a course like ANGC or Seminole in the middle of summer (and you can't for this reason) they would not be easy walks because of really hot temperatures and such. So, what exactly do we mean by a 'good walk?' Scenic, nice looking, whatever or an easy 'walk in the park?'

Of course a course on a hilly site is a good walk. You don't have people travelling out to the great plains to take a hike. In reality John, you are simple talking about people becoming soft, not about good walks.

No, I'm not talking about people getting soft, I'm talking about some courses that are just generally hard to walk. I run half-marathons, lift weights 4 or 5 days a week, and do all the things people say make you "fit," but some courses just kick my butt when I walk them. Try to walk a course in the mountains on a hot summer day. Tell me how you feel. Flat courses like you see on the coast are easy walks for nearly anyone. Mountain courses can be hard for nearly anyone. Thats what I am talking about. Some places are just plain hard to walk around.

[Garland Bayley]

Can you name a great course that isn't?

I'm sure there are those who would disagree on both counts, but I think ...

Sutton Bay is a great course.

Sutton Bay is not a great walk.

Well if it were 35 holes (17 par 3s between the other 18), then it might qualify as a great course. Instead, it looks like a boring walk interspersed with some golf.

[Garland Bayley]

...Try to walk a course in the mountains on a hot summer day. Tell me how you feel. Flat courses like you see on the coast are easy walks for nearly anyone. Mountain courses can be hard for nearly anyone. Thats what I am talking about. Some places are just plain hard to walk around.

If you are golfing while walking, they aren't a hard walk. However, if they were built by the modern architect that has become accustomed to getting players up hills in a cart to access their tees, then they fall short on the great course category.

My saying is if you can golf it, you can walk it. This requires in the mountains that the tees are near the greens since you can't golf green to tee.
Indian Canyon in Spokane is all up and down, but with tees nearby, it is a good walk too.

[Rob Rigg]

Oakmont is a great course - but is the property a great walk if the course is not there?

Sandpines would probably be a better walk without the course but that is a different issue.

A site that is a good or great walk before the course goes in is a huge advantage for the architect - but great courses, that also work naturally with their setting, have been created as well - especially in GBI - even though the walk would only be "average" on its own.

[Mark Chaplin]

Chicago GC is one of my favourites but couldn't be described as a good walk, take away the golf course and it's a large field, fairly flat and featureless. Add CBM and it's great!

[Melvyn Morrow]

A Good Walk …………..a core requirement?

John, both a great topic and a sad reflection on how the quality aspect of the game has diminished over my living memory.

The first and fundamental requirement when playing golf is to walk, yet this topic raises the question asking if it is “a core requirement?”

Why would some consider it as NOT a core requirement? What serious arguments has been put forward that golf is no longer a walking game.

Do all the Majors require walking as the fundamental way to proceed around a golf course?
Do the Professionals want to give up walking when playing a Major?
Does the mere action of walking the course keep your senses in tune with the format of the land?
Is walking dangerous and damaging to ones health?

Can a Good Walk be regarded as synonymous with both the mental and physical wellbeing of the golfer? Does the added speed and volume of blood circulating the body improves circulation, allows more oxygen absorption improving human efficiency with the benefit of the mind being more alert?

Every course by its nature should be described as “A Good Walk”. As for ‘A Core Requirement? Well that my friends is simply down to you and how you define your own commitment to the Game of Golf. If walking was not ‘hand in glove’ with playing golf why does the Oldest and Greatest Championship require its Golfers to walk?

OR are you one of those people that believe the Rules do not apply to you and act accordingly?

A Good Walk …………..a core requirement? Yes, you could be betting your life it is, nothing else comes close let alone being worthy enough of being called ‘Golf’. Your heart know best, its what it need to keep going, so are you willing to allow it to die?

Melvyn

[Adam Clayman]

Melvyn, You clearly have never golfed with a handicapped person? Someone with only one, or, no legs?

I can tell you it's an amazing thing to see them golf their ball. The balance, timing, and the torque generated.

Walking is not an option for them because they need their crutches to get up to their ball. But once there, the crutch is put aside and the swing begins. Truly amazing.

[Dan King]

Melvyn Hunter Morrow writes:
Do all the Majors require walking as the fundamental way to proceed around a golf course?
Do the Professionals want to give up walking when playing a Major?

Melvyn, I tend to agree with you much more than I disagree with you.

I would not argue the tours or majors as keepers of the traditions of the game. IMHO, the game has been hurt much more than it has been helped by the examples set by the tours and majors. You could use the same argument you make about for slow play; excessive fairness; bland golf courses; immaculate conditioning; lift, clean and cheat, turning golf into a game of touching the golf ball, etc...

I think the walking aspect of golf is the most important element of golf. Everything else is secondary. Why even play it outdoors if the walk is trivial? Why not play virtual golf? Golf should always be a good walk spoiled.

Cheers,
Dan King

There are three types of golf - golf, tournament golf and major championship golf.
 --Grantland Rice

[Melvyn Morrow]

Adam

I speak from experience, I have difficulty these days walking more that a few hundred yards. I would not want to ban anyone from playing golf, but we must not either penalise golfers for the sake of the few. With careful planning and consideration most if not all can be accommodated on a golf course.

Nevertheless common sense must prevail and we all need to understand and accept our own limitations. Golf is about walking, so IMHO you play golf you commit to walking and the rules of the game, not to mention to comply with specific requirements of conduct upon a course. If you are unable to accept or operate within these policies I ask should you actually be on a golf course.

My answer is so very clear, I am required to put my own beliefs into practice, so being unable to walk and refusing to play and ride I have not been on a course for a few years. I do not wish to interfere, disrupt or slow down the game just because I have a right to play the game. The right to play does not translate into the right to disrupt or delay others something many seem to forget.

Some may well say it’s like my game, just a relic from the past but a bloody good and honest one which others would do well to perhaps consider. If only they could or would consider others.

Adam, certainly all are welcome but common sense must prevail for harmony to reign.

Melvyn

PS Dan, I accept that it was a poor example but it was the point that I was trying to make to the fans that follow the Pros yet ride.