Jim Tang,
I understand, and the fact is, that can be accomplished with different width fw. Put a green at a 5 degree angle, and the fw doesn't need to be as wide as if it was at a 15 degree angle.
Pat,
I understand your point, which is why I encouraged you to post relative to your most played course. Wind (and drop shot tee shots) both affect width. Not sure about consequence - to the confident golfer, hitting a 45 yard wide fw should be about the same difficulty in ball control, no matter if the side hazard is 4.5 deep or 45 ft deep, no? Granted, the mental aspects are a bit different, but technically, the chance of hitting the fw is the same no matter how hard the hazard.
Mike Nuzzo,
I understand your point.....I wonder if many superintendents would say that mowing an extra 100 yards of fairway (or even 10 yards of fw!) is a good idea if its not a great idea to hit it there?
Michael,
It would appear that 15 is partially hidden by the bunker, changing the perception of fw width at MGC. OB is a mental obstacle, of course. Basically, if you figure your margin of error on the hook side is X, the close OB takes the first 1/4 to 1/3 of the FW out of consideration for aiming in this case.
However, always funny here - and in politics - how the debates often go to the extreme examples to make a point. I am sure every course has a few holes that play narrower than they are, or maybe even wider than they really are.