Nix Rakes & Other Suggestions

[Forrest Richardson]

The discussion on abolishing the wooden tee has been interesting.

What "little things" would you suggest (how about an even 10 suggestions from each of you) to make existing courses play tougher -- The criteria is that your suggestions may not involve changing the structure of the course; i.e., adding hazards, changing grades, overall lengths, etc.  The items that are fair game are rules, procedures, conditioning, pin placements, etc.  Abolishing rakes for sand bunkers would be a good example.

The idea is to see what simple things this group might suggest to those who would say some courses are no longer a challenge for certain types of competition.

[Jeff_Brauer]

My bride says we should eliminate the convention of being quiet while golfers play to make it more difficult.

[B. Mogg]

1. No yardage markers or yardage books.
2. Flags and pins different sizes, from 10 feet high to 3 feet. Flag sizes adjusted accordingly.
3. Jeffs suggestion, coupled with sudden movements by opponets in the periphery of one's vision.
4. Flags pinned anywhere on a green, up to 1 foot from the edge of the green.
5. No shoes of any description - in fact lets make it mandatory to play in flippers (OK so we allow you to take off the flippers to walk between shots)
6. Greens at different lengths throughout the round
7. Introduce poisonous snakes throughout the course - for added incentive for quick play (especially when you dont have shoes on). Other feral animals and man-eating wildlife could also be used especially in areas where it is too cold for snakes (e.g. grizzlys or mountain lions would work)  

[A_Clay_Man]

Forrest- I think that there has been so much done to courses to make them easier, that inorder to toughen them up with slight tweaks shouldn't be that hard. As a matter of fact the more I type the more I think of the Maintenance Meld. Which is to imply that each hole or section of a hole could be optimized for difficulty. In general, I think removing the notions and justifications for containment as a good place to start. i.e. Low mow to allow eerant shots to bound further into "real" trouble. (my sw bias is showing)

The best example I can give is the exact opposite of what you asked for and that's at the San Juan CC's 5th(?) hole, a dog leg right uphill par 4 w/ trees up the right side and ob left. The slope of the land is to the left and in the winter the probability of rolling OB is high. So, what does the archie suggest? A bunker to catch the balls headed out.

Sad but true, enlightenment would enchanting.

[John Nixon]

I would disagree with eliminating the rakes. Not that I necessarily think the pros need to have pristine bunkers to play from all the time, but not being able to re-groom the sand after one player hits from there would make it too easy for the first few players in a round to intentionally tear up the bunker excessively and make it even tougher for later players.

[Forrest Richardson]

OK, Nixer -- How about, instead of eliminating rakes, adopting the Oakmont theory of furrowed rakes -- or otherwise nasty rakes with deep prongs?

[John Nixon]

Forrest - that would be fine with me. My concern was only that all the players be required to compete under similar conditions.

[RJ_Daley]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Tiger run away with the 2000 open at TOC?  Wasn't the second best score only about 2-4 under par?  What did they do to make the course play difficult for all but the one greatest player?  They allowed it to get near cement hard!  The course was not tricked up from its' normal presentation.  They raked bunkers, they mowed the wide fairways, they didn't add more bunkers, just deepened the RHB.  However, they did move a few tees back.  Yet, TOC would have played enjoyable and competitive for most of us mortals from the regular everyday tees the day after the Open.  Just turn off the water and mow the intermediate roughs wider, leading to untamed real rough.  Couple that with the lack of yardage markers and no pin position indicators, and you have your answer.  Combine that with a  competition ball and we really don't have an issue.  Forrest, I admire your attempt to call attetion to RTJII's ideas about the banning of wooden tees.  But, without the ball changes, that won't cut it in the long run.

Had the TPC Sawgrass been rock hard in fairways last week, and if they would have been playing with a ball circa 1980s, the winning score wouldn't have been much better than par to 2 under.  That is respectable.  

[Jim_Kennedy]

Forrest,
After this question gets settled how about figuring out how to make courses easier for the rest of mankind??  

[Dunlop_White]

Mr. Daley is right! Firm, fast conditions through the green is the answer. Dry, lean conditions require golfers to make a multitude of strategic decisions including club selection, shot trajectory and preferable angles and diagonals of approach. The challenge is more complex than simply determining where the ball will land. Instead, where the ball will come to rest is the ultimate dilemma. Today, golfers give very little thought to quirky bounces or extended rolls caused by native ground game contours as surfaces are too often lush and plush. Let's bring back the Mental challenge by reviving the bounce and the roll.

[Gary_Smith]

RJ Daley,

I think 2nd place at TOC in 2000 was more like 10 or 11 under, under relatively benign conditions for the week. The 1995 Open at TOC had considerably higher scores. You're right that hard and fast is the ideal.

[Dunlop_White]

Other design techniques create a mental challenge. Chief among these is the visual test. For example:

1. "Remove Vegetation Behind Greens":  
Typically a backdrop of trees aids golfers by visually assisting them with shot direction, club selection, and shot execution. These trees navigate golfers by operating as points of visual reference. Trees effectively orient golfers of the shot suggested or required. Furthermore, tree backdrops evoke a sense of scale and dimension which is comfortable and pleasing to the golfer's eye......... A green without any visual assistance requires golfers to possess the aptitude of sensing the depth and distance to the hole. This effect can be achieved by removing backdrops of trees in favor of vast expanses of open space. Whether the view is of an ambiguous skyline, an open body of water, or a vast span of land, golfers lack visual orientation and must trust their sense of depth in the approach shot to the hole.

[Brad Klein]

1. No yardage - that would really help
2. One color scheme for all pin flags - not red/white/blue
3. No rakes
4. Can't touch/clean the ball until it's in the hole
5. 12 clubs, not 14

[Dunlop_White]

2. "Depth Perception":
Other architectural elements induce depth perception problems. Cross-bunkers and carry bunkers could be reclaimed just shy of green complexes to camouflage the distance to the pin.  Golfers ordinarily cannot visualize the extent of the gap between these bunkers and the green. As flagsticks will typically appear just beyond these bunkers, approach shots will routinely fall short of the hole, regardless of the yardage.

3. "Misdirection":
Still other classical architects disoriented golfers by their use of unusual angles. For instance, an offset tee box, which has become aligned with the center of the fairway, could be repositioned aside to distort the angles of play through misdirection. Donald Ross employed this type of visual test as his tee boxes often deviated from the centerline of the fairway and seldom even faced the direction of play. Consequently, golfers must possess a keen sense of alignment or risk losing their bearing.

[Dunlop_White]

4. "Lateral Routes, not Direct Lines of Play":
The most fascinating golf holes are those where the best line to the flag is not the direct line. Today, the direct line to the flag is often the only route to the hole. Because of single row irrigation down the middle of fairways coupled with straight patterns of tree lines, many golf holes have become too linear. Where a clear view of the pin may be seen from the teeing grounds, golf clubs could recapture lateral routes to the hole through tree removal and broad mowing patterns. In addition, clubs could sever the direct line of play by reclaiming centralized bunkers. Difficulties will naturally arise because golfers instinctively favor the shortest avenue to the hole, often the direct line to the pin. Many golfers simply cannot ignore or avoid the sight line of play.

[Forrest Richardson]

I am surprised no one has gone down the "procedure" path. Limit time taken per shot/hole, etc. Also, how about pin positiones closer to the edge of greens? Any takers? Bring back the stymie? Bushes in front of tees? Casual water? Humbug! Play it as it lies. Keep 'em coming.

[Jeremy_Glenn.]

Being Canadian, I'd allow cross-checking a player during his swing.  

[Forrest Richardson]

And would you permit curling stones to be lobbed into an opponent's head?

[Gary_Smith]

Has anybody suggested a few land mines planted in the rough every day? It would encourage straighter hitting and also alleviate crowded course conditions.  

I've sometimes wondered what effect it would have on golf to make the hole slightly larger or smaller.

[Forrest Richardson]

Gary -- I like this. Now, show me 9 more!

[Pete_Pittock]

1. Get rid of the stimpmeter and have greens with varied speeds.
2. Too much traction barefoot. Play in floppies. Scarily, I came up with this at the same time as BMogg, without knowing the thread existed
3. Caddie cannot be consulted to read greens.
4. Cart paths down the middle of the fairway to speed up play and benefit accurate shots, sort of a line of carom.

[Martin_Powell]

There were some real good ideas above based on architectural priciples. But since we have gotten foolish with this thread, l second the reducing of the size of the cups.

[Forrest Richardson]

The idea here is to be free in thinking. "Foolish" may very well have been the notion of suggesting that St. Andrews separate holes to avoid traffic challenges between outbound and inbound golfers. Ideas cannot be killed. They have a life of their own and continue despite the flogging of mankind.

[Mike Benham]

1.  Once the ball has been put in play, no touching it until holed out ... no marking of the ball on the green.

2.  No such things as a lateral hazard.  You lose it, you replay from the spot you originally hit it ...

3.  No free drops ... period ... don't want to hit it off the cart path, then don't hit it there in the first place ...

[Jim_Kennedy]

I don't know if I like some of these ideas, they would eventually flow down from the highest levels to drown the regular player under even greater hardships.  
I do think Pete Pittock has the best one yet, don't let the caddie help with reading the putt. It's one of the few ideas mentioned that wouldn't make the game harder for the average player, who is mainly without caddie, even if it trickled down from above.