What's responsible for narrow fairways ? Budgets, Ignorance, Agendas or TV ?

[Patrick_Mucci]

After spending a day at NGLA saturday, and marveling at the work that is being done to the golf course, it made me wonder, why aren't other clubs embarking on similar programs that will only enhance the look and playability of their golf couses for their members ?

Is it that they don't know any better ?
Is it that they don't have the funds to pursue these projects ?
Is it the "competition" mentality fostered by TV ?
Is it the USGA-PGA set-up mentality ?
Is it other reasons ?
Is it a combination of the above ?

NGLA & Shinnecock, two clubs next to each other, but light years apart in many ways.  Both spectacular tests, with Shinnecock being one of the most challenging tests in the world, for the best players in the world.

Yet, their respective fates are pushing them in different directions.

NGLA is expanding their fairways,
Shinnecock in narrowing theirs.

Their goals are a product of their intended function.

But, once the USOPEN comes and goes, will Shinnecock return their fairways to their previous configutation ??
And, will Shinnecock embark upon a continued expansion of their fairways consistent with Flynn's design intent

What determines a club's perspective and actions with respect to fairway widths

[Joe Hancock]

Pat,

As a local public, golf league type facility, we determined our fairway contours soley on the irrigation coverage. With the amount of cart traffic we have, it would be ompossible to have any fairway height turf survive outside of the irrigation coverage. FYI, our system is a simple single row, 90 foot spacing, so no fairway landing area is wider than 80 feet. It's not elegant, it's what we have to work with.

Joe

I should add that I know many clubs have reduced fairway acreage over the years due to maintenance cost factors.

[A_Clay_Man]

Here in the land of, if you don't water you don't get caca, narrowness is primarily a function of the cost of the irrigation system combined with the lateral nature of past designs.

Black Mesa's has a perceived width caused by angles. I don't know if they have to irrigate more turf, and I suspect not.

I also view the Chicago school as being largely responsible for the proliferation of the tree myth.

[noonan]

Laziness.....our dogtrack has a 150 middle of the fairway marker out in the rough now .....they have narrowed the fairways alot........true story.
JK

[Dunlop_White]

1. Single Row Irrigation: down the center of the fairway where widths were determined by the extent of the water's throw.

2. Maintenance Budgets: Its expensive to groom fairways. In order to lower maintenance budgets, clubs sometime sacrifice total fairway acreage.

3. Tree Planting and Beautification Committees: planted trees along old fairway lines. Hey, trees grow!

4. Liabilty Awareness: everything open and wide has been buffered and separated by trees, because of liabilty concerns effectively narrowing the playing field.

5. Mowing Patterns: fairways creep in every year through normal mowing patterns. The tendency to round edges and staighten contours will always be there with riding mowers.
 
6. USGA's Treatment of Championship Venues: championship courses defend par by maintaining narrow fairways and landing zones. Country clubs tend to emulate champioship venues.

7. Television & Media: perceptions are fine-tuned by the media's treatment of narrow fairways. They color-coated the 18 yard wide 18th fairway at Bethpage. It was the "talk-of-the-town". Unfortunately, the media treats it as a positive, thereby influencing the public, who in turn treats it as the norm.

8. Lush, plush Conditioning: no need for wide fairways if the ball sticks where it lands..... is the philosophy.

9. Earthmoving Equipment and Construction Technology: Classic courses utilized the natural contours of the land. There was no earthmoving equipment available to level steep inclines. Here, the ball could run laterally hundreds of feet. Unfortunately, the modern architect utilizes his ability to level such awkward slopes with advanced construction equipment and technology. Today, the ball tends to roll very little in a lateral fashion, because landing areas are manufactered with less pitch. Hence, many believe that wide fairways are no longer needed.

Dunlop

[RDecker]

Dunlop has covered all the bases very well but there is one more issue that I have experienced on many occasions as a player and a superintendent that I believe plays a role.  Most American golfers don't understand, respect or acknowledge the ground game as a valuable part of golf.  It seems to be relegated to being percieved as some part of golf's past and when the modern golfer thinks about the field of play he/she visualizes some sort of point A to point B target range.  This mentality has greatly influenced the way courses have been maintained in recent years.  This could be a function of the way TV covers golf but it is an important factor IMHO.  It's to the point that when a player makes a nice bump n'run or run up shot on TV the announcers act like it has never been done before.

[Don_Mahaffey]

The best players in the world play on courses with narrow fwys, thus we should narrow our fwys also. TV golf has a hugh impact on how we set up and maintain our courses, IMO.

Don

PS Mowers don't change shapes and sizes of golf course features, people do.

[JohnV]

I'm sure that budget restrictions are a pretty big part, as well as some peoples perception that narrow fairways make for a tougher test.  My club, Hannastown, has taken a different approach to saving some money.  They are shortening the fairways.  In other words, next year the fairways will be starting anywhere from 10 to 40 yards further from the tee than they currently do.  They have painted dashed lines on the fairways so that the grounds crew knows where to mow and are letting the areas behind this grow into rough.  This just makes for a longer carry over some regular rough than before.  It will probably cause some crying from the higher handicaps and the ladies, but for most golfers it won't make a big difference.  Any man who can carry it about 160 from the regular tees shouldn't have a problem and anyone who goes to the back had better be better than that.

[Bruce Katona]

We look at it in a slightly different light.  Landing areas need to be wide 120' (min) at the turning points to allow for our customers the opportunity to hit the fairway.  If they hit the fairway, they spend less time looking for golf balls, thus increasing the speed of play for everyone.  It's economics; the quicker the round, the more rounds played.  Twisted Dune is the perfect example, the fairway corridors are 50 yards wide, making finding a tee shot , even if slightly mishit, fairly easy to find.

An exception to decreasing the landing area width to 30-35 yards would be a drive and pitch short par 4, designed to be plyed witha long iron or fairway metal off the tee.

[CHC1948]

I agree with many of the arguments expressed in this thread.  However there are some solutions without driving up cost.  First, I have played several courses that had fairly standard size fairways, then twenty or thirty additional yards on each side of very modern rough (sometimes not exsistent during droughts).  Some might think this is ugly or takes away the shape of the course, however, the strategy comes into play with your approach angles.  These courses are older and appear to have more thought put into them.  Sometimes with newer courses it appears that the architect only is worried about how to protect his course from the fairway, and in return, the courses are forced to protect the 2nd and 3rd cut areas with punishing rough, as oppose to challenging angles.   I know this doesn't apply to all modern golf courses, but many daily fee and so called resort courses.  

CHC