Gentlemen Golfers let’s not forget the reason why so many courses were built with different numbers of Holes. The land available was not suitable or limited for any more Holes and you will note that many an early course, some surviving through to this day have criss cross Holes.
Look through the early history of many a club records and you will see clubs that started off with 6 Holes, 9 Holes, 12, Holes 22 Holes plus many in between. Yet not forgetting the number of Holes required to play their early monthly competitions, inter-club and the Great Matches all were based upon 18 or rounds of 18 i.e. The Open 36 Holes (1860).
Now some want to curtail or reproduce 12 Hole courses perhaps 6 Holes again, the problem being that to play over the same hole two or three time per round is not a receipt for success and may result in boredom/frustration by the majority of players, rendering that course useless except for those who wish to play a limited number of Holes.
It’s a non-starter IMHO because loops of 9 Holes would IMO qualify while still leaving the wholes course available to all golfers.
Just when are we humans going to take responsibility for our actions, understanding our mental and physical limitations and show some very basic common sense and consideration for others? We can’t play or sustain 18 Holes due to age or medical reasons after a life time of the game, then either use carts (the only time they should be allowed on any course) or like myself stop playing, period or until the Doctors have resolved the problem. WE should certainly know our limitations and not force the majority of golfers to accommodate us. Because we have the technology and money (well we did have the money once) we think that gives us the right to play with the basics of the game, compromise it or abuse it, all because of our own weakness in being NOT able to live up to the real game of golf, that’s the walking and thing game that has been around for centuries.
Age and Health are outside forces that we have very little control over so why try and force the Game of Golf to compromise (yet again), accept the inevitable or hope for a miracle and if it has been good enough for you over the last XX amount of years, then it should be good enough for the next XX amount of years.
The game and many of its courses are being killed by the march of uncontrolled technology. The Governing Bodies like many on this site sprout crap statistics that mean zero when defining the game. Nevertheless we all seemed memorised by them just like the list that keep appearing on “the Best 100 Courses in the World, USA, GB etc. In the great game of Golf they are unimportant, they are required to sustain what many think is important today within the game yet just looking back over the history of the game and also to many of the old golf courses proving it’s a totally load of bullshit. How come the past generations of golfers and designers never bothered, and while thinking on, how come many of our great courses were built without all this bullshit. Come on wake up, stop craping over the game and start build courses that will stand the challenges of time as well as test all skills of future golfers.
!8 Hole per round is just fine, it’s just right and enables the game some connection with its own history.
Until we face up to our own abilities and limitations with a touch of consideration for others, our lives, game and quality of life will continue the long slow decline we have inflicted into our modern lives.
Melvyn