I understand that we can learn a lot about a course by watching others play it. It is poor substitute for playing it though.There are a bunch of courses that I have seen on TV for years. Playing them is different than watching pros play them. My game is really different than theirs so how I play the course doesn't resemble their play. I wonder how you would feel about PD if you only knew how a touring pro played it.
Hi Tommy,
While both being long-time members of GCA, I can't remember a time where we debated an issue.
I was intentionally a bit sarcastic when I commented about watching the pros play Muirfield Village. Kidding but not kidding, or I have heard it called, "Kidding on the square." Watching TV is no substitute for playing the course, or even watching a foursome of mortal golfers play a round. However, since I've been around here a long time, I felt like you should know that I know that.
When I first saw the list of courses with the highest GD shot values, I noticed two things. The ranking of highest shot values closely correlates with the total course ranking. Second, the shot values at Pacific Dunes were rated notably lower (29th overall) than other courses in the top 25. I chose Muirfield Village (12th in shot values) somewhat randomly because its shot values score was much higher.
I will restate my case for Pacific Dunes. In twenty years of watching the Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village, I can't remember the players ever altering the trajectory of their shots. On television, it looks like a course that requires long, straight drives and high, soft approach shots. The presence of several strategic water hazards on the course make high, soft approaches on those holes mandatory. Furthermore, I haven't been to Ohio, but typically courses east of the Mississippi River receive most of their 40 or so inches of annual rain in the summertime, and therefore much of the playing season features softer than ideal playing conditions.
As Sand Hills slowly rises in the ratings each year, Pacific Dunes seems to have stagnated. Although Sand Hills has always been rated a smidge ahead, ten years ago the two were essentially 1A and 1B among modern courses. The design variety at Pacific Dunes is hard to match. It still may be Tom Doak's best design I've seen for pure variety. Does any course in the world feature four consecutive par 4s with greater playing variety than holes 6, 7, 8 and 9? Played in the four primary directions of the compass, they possess vastly different approach play requirements.
If Golf Digest is defining shot values, through the use of words and guidance, in a manner that ranks the shot values of an Ohio parkland course over a first class, sand-based, windy and bouncy golf course, then there's something wrong with the definition. A sandy, windy course compels the player to consider trajectory and curve on most shots that aren't greenside plays. Seaside golf is a more complex game with more demanding shot requirements.
Thanks for hearing me out, and I'm sorry if the hint of sarcasm was off-putting.