Robert
You have your right to your opinion, but then so do I. The design side of the game has been a mess for the last 50 years. Golfers have not got value for money. Of course there are exceptions but as a generalisation the last 50 years has seen the poorest level the game has ever been in. Why? Perhaps it’s down to money, perhaps it’s down to lack of control by the governing body and the continued lack of control over equipment technology that has rendered many a great pre WW2 course nearly toothless. The game of golf has suffered, its direction and commitment to playing golf has been eroded to the point that paying for new equipment will reduce ones score quicker than generating skill by practice.
The great new designs seem to regurgitate old template holes in abundance while we find shallow bunkers and island Greens surrounded by a mass of bunkers or water. The very idea of a challenge is watered down with many a player screaming foul if they feel they have to walk, use their own brains or believe the course is just too difficult.
Skill can only be achieved by rising to a challenge, courses being well designed produce that challenge. I believe one sit should generate skill through practice never should it be allowed because you can afford to buy the latest high tech equipment.
And We Wonder What Is Wrong With The Modern Game Of Golf – seems more than a fair question.
You may not like or agree with my opinion, so what, at least I am looking at the game trying to understand where I believe the errors have occurred. It’s down to others to agree or not or more hopefully to realise that golf has an underlying problem.
Melvyn