[Jason Thurman]

All golfers talk about how they would improve this hole or that hole. Some suggestions are ridiculous, some surprisingly interesting. Some are made by PGA pros, and some are made by 34 handicappers.

What are some of your favorites that you’ve heard? All favorites are welcome, astute and enlightening or stupid and hilarious, though I personally get a much bigger kick out of the latter.

[Bill_McBride]

Mow the thick rough in front of bunkers to fairway height. 

[Peter Pallotta]

I always got a kick out of the "Blow it up and start over", 'cause I thought "yeah, right, as if -- as if the hole is THAT bad, and as if even if it IS somehow that bad, someone's gonna blow it up". But then I read about this happening quite a lot, which just goes to show that even in a recession there's MORE than enough money to go around, apparently. Also, with the success of Streamsong on an old mining pit type thing, the catchphrase should now actually be "Blow it up and START"

Peter

[Bruce Katona]

Fewer sand bunkers, more grass bunkers mowed to 1st cut of rough height.  Weekend players many times don't get out of the sand in 1 stroke, slowing play; but they can easily get out of a grass bunker, especially if the ball is sitting up like nit would if mowed to 1st cut height.

Better players would prefer sand to grass as the lie is more consistant and predictable, so this is the best of both worlds; easier for the aerage player and more of a challange for the better player.

[Sam Morrow]

Kill all the gophers.

[JESII]

Fewer sand bunkers, more grass bunkers mowed to 1st cut of rough height.  Weekend players many times don't get out of the sand in 1 stroke, slowing play; but they can easily get out of a grass bunker, especially if the ball is sitting up like nit would if mowed to 1st cut height.

Better players would prefer sand to grass as the lie is more consistant and predictable, so this is the best of both worlds; easier for the aerage player and more of a challange for the better player.

Bruce,

I always hear this and scratch my head...sand may be preferable to 5 inch gnarly rough but 1.5 inch fluffy first cut? To me the best reason to convert sand to grass (of any length) is reduced maintenance costs and the potential for the ball to move further from the green or fairway if the ground is firm.

I agree that fewer bunkers is a good thing, but not that it has the inverse difficulty you refer to.

[Mike Hendren]

Measure twice then don't cut.

[Jim Hoak]

Recognize that trees and growing grass are usually incompatible, and that trees grow.  So limit the trees used on a course to what is absolutely necessary--or clearly out of play.

[Thomas Dai]

That pond would look good with a fountain in it.

Let's plant heather in all the bunker faces.

A white painted picket fence around the putting green would look nice.

atb

[Jaeger Kovich]

Build more bathrooms

[Garland Bayley]

All greens on the course must Stimp exactly the same as the others all the time.

[DMoriarty]

"I wouldn't change a thing."

[Bill_McBride]

Kill all the gophers.

"You want me to kill all the golfers?"

"No, Carl, I want you to kill all the GOPHERS!"

[Joe Sponcia]

"I wouldn't change a thing."

"So you wouldn't remove any trees?  All of them are pretty much in perfect spots?" 

"Yes, like I said, I wouldn't change a thing".

"But you wouldn't add any more either?" 

"No, the course is fine, just leave it".

[Greg Clark]

Better irrigation planning so that green surrounds don't become muddy bogs.

[Steve Wilson]

More benches for aging walkers. 

[Jim Hoak]

To GJ Bailey--Are you serious about the same Stimps for all greens?  If so, why?
I know, in talking with one really good architect, that he would prefer to have different speeds on greens if it meant preserving hole locations on classic greens.  At least varying speeds would be his preference if the only other alternative were to rebuild the great, old greens.  You disagree?

[Garland Bayley]

To GJ Bailey--Are you serious about the same Stimps for all greens?  If so, why?
I know, in talking with one really good architect, that he would prefer to have different speeds on greens if it meant preserving hole locations on classic greens.  At least varying speeds would be his preference if the only other alternative were to rebuild the great, old greens.  You disagree?

I simply am quoting a green committee member at my club. He perhaps didn't understand that the reason he was on the committee was that he had discount or free access to some building materials the club could use.

[Tom_Doak]

My favorite was the member at Crystal Downs who wanted to lengthen the silver tee on the 11th hole by five yards so there'd be more tee space. 

The professional busted him -- he really wanted to lengthen the hole because the length was between clubs for the guy.

[Keith OHalloran]

My personal favorite is in The CG and refers to the greens at Tam O'Shanter on LI. I don't have the book in front of me, but it was basically advice on blowing the greens up.

[Bill Brightly]

As a former Grounds Chair, a few of my buddies think I still have influence... So they tell me we should build a stone wall around our fake liner pond, remove the weeds (natural grasses/plant buffer to keep people from walking near the edge, causing the liner to collapse...) and plant flowers along one side. I say sure, we'll make them pansies and they can do the weeding.

[Peter Galea]

Turn off the water.

[Jason Thurman]

My favorite one recently wasn't so much a suggestion as it was a lament at another suggestion. The borer has come to our club, and we have some trees that need to come down. A few are on the inside of the dogleg on our 7th hole, a shortish par 4 with a great greensite with a lot of slope.

I was in the pro shop a week or two ago when the pro was breaking the news to one of our members. The guy threw a bit of a fit, claiming that it would "completely change the strategy of the hole" and "make it easy" and that "we need to replace them right away." Apparently he thinks we have Augusta money and resources and can just plop down new fully grown trees in their place. In my mind as I browsed our merchandise I'm thinking "This guy couldn't par the hole 5 times if we gave him 10 tries, and he's worried about making it too easy."

And for the record, my wager is that the scoring average on that hole doesn't change at all after the trees come out. They're in play, but no worse than the awful downhill lie just beyond them that they dissuade players from hitting toward currently.

[BHoover]

Square tee boxes and fairway-height chipping areas around greens.

[Matthew Essig]

I have spent so much time on this site reading opinions that I can't tell what is legtimate and what is sarcastic any more...  

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