OK, I confess to golf heresy
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From: William Clark on 19 Jul 2010 20:04 In article <avO0o.11775$KT3.664(a)newsfe13.iad>, "Frank Ketchum" <nospam(a)thanksanyway.fu> wrote: > "Tim" <delaney.timothy(a)comcast.net> wrote in message > news:3531809c-a2d1-48d7-b044-0083ae2680a2(a)g35g2000yqa.googlegroups.com... > > The Old Course at St. Andrews may be steeped in history, > > but I would no more want to play it every week than I would > > want to drive a Model T. Quite frankly, it's ugly. > > > > The announcers made all the obligatory comments, and > > perhaps links golf has its place in professional competition, > > but the vast majority of golfers play the game for enjoyment. > > I don't know how one could enjoy playing a course that > > looks like a sheep ranch. > > I guess you don't understand much about the evolution of the game. There is > a reason that links courses look like sheep ranches, most of them were at > one point. St. Andrews is a course I would love to play before I punch out. > > > > > Treeless might be just fine for Easter island and Haiti, but > > a golf course without trees is just barren. (If it weren't for > > an occasional patch of gorse, how would you manage to > > take a leak?) You sound like so many of the US pros after their first visit to an Open on a true links course. After a round or two, in changing conditions, the good ones come to realize that this is actually a better test of golf, and the creativity it demands, than playing target golf on an artificial TPC layout, and come to love it. You have obviously never played a links course on a fresh day. Sea air coming in off the ocean, magnificent views, and an envigorating walk over the terrain. How does that compare with sweating round a 95 degree swamp in a cart as we are at the moment? Try it some time - you'll be a better person for it. > > > > This sort of terrain forces the architect to trick up the > > course with insanely punitive bunkers, and crazy slopes. > > What kind of sense does it make to penalize the player > > a full stroke for being one foot more off line than his > > fellow competitor when they both hit it down the > > middle of the fairway? Isn't there enough luck in the > > game? "Trick up" the course? The notion of St. Andrews being tricked up is so laughable that you must be joking. Other than adding some length to account for modern equipment, those bunkers are where the sheep put them several hundred years ago, and Tom Morris found them. "Tricked up" is what your local Pete Dye country club is - not St. Andrews. > > That is links golf dude. The "architect" in a true links course is God. > When old golf courses were built, they left the native terrain alone and > basically just made some greens. This was all done by hand and by horses > with scrapes. They did not have the technology to build or remove large > amounts of offensive mounding easily so they didn't. > > If you don't think there is any sense in penalizing the player by missing a > foot, then how in the world do you watch a US Open? They do it on purpose > there. > > > > But I must say that Oosty (I dare not attempt to spell > > his name) was just magnificent. I was particularly > > appreciative of how he played 17. Yes, that is what thinking your way round a course is about.
From: William Clark on 19 Jul 2010 20:07 In article <d9W0o.28870$4B7.5018(a)newsfe16.iad>, "Frank Ketchum" <nospam(a)thanksanyway.fu> wrote: > "Tim" <delaney.timothy(a)comcast.net> wrote in message > news:b693cdb2-6bd3-4ee8-ae8e-e2292ce6d037(a)w12g2000yqj.googlegroups.com... > > > I agree. It would be awesome to play it once. Great > > to play it a few times. > > > > Would you want it as a steady diet, however? Every > > Saturday? Not me. Ah, but yes. Because every Saturday you play it, it is a different course. On the same hole you might hit 5-iron downwind one round, and 3-wood into it on another. These courses are never the same two rounds in a row. That's their beauty. > > I couldn't say having never set foot on it. I know I couldn't afford it. > > > > But I'm an atheist. And I would prefer Augusta National > > as a steady diet. It's nice, but June through September? In that heat? No thanks, give me the fresh air.
From: William Clark on 19 Jul 2010 20:09 In article <8ai92cFjdnU1(a)mid.individual.net>, "dene" <dene(a)remove.ipns.com> wrote: > "dsc-ky" <Dudley.Cornman(a)eku.edu> wrote in message > news:c68c8d1c-98c4-42d5-af94-c5e8c9023598(a)m17g2000prl.googlegroups.com... > > > If you don't think there is any sense in penalizing the player by missing > a > > foot, then how in the world do you watch a US Open? They do it on purpose > > there. > > Furthermore, I get penalized very often for missing a putt by a foot, > when my buddy knocked his in. :) > > St, Andrews and all the old courses are different. Doesn't have to be > better or worse, more or less fair, etc... just different. I can see > that some people probably wouldn't like it... and that's fine. I'm not > sure what I would think of playing those courses all the time, but I > sure as hell would like to try it once. > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > > We have a links course in Portland. It's ok. Bandon is a few hours as > well. I'd play it if the price were right but I wouldn't trade it for a > good desert course or the ones in central Oregon. I like beautiful scenery > and being warm. My game is depressing enough without the addition of ugly > surroundings and cold, marine air. > > -Greg No, you don't. You have a course set up to resemble a links course, but it is not a links course in the sense that St. Andres, Carnoustie, Troon, Muirfield, and the rest are. That takes a couple of hundred years, a lot of sheep, and striking natural beauty.
From: William Clark on 19 Jul 2010 20:10 In article <8ajsnpFi5qU1(a)mid.individual.net>, "dene" <dene(a)remove.ipns.com> wrote: > "Eric Ramon" <ramon.eric(a)gmail.com> wrote in message > news:601a515d-a181-41ac-a1ff-04d6b8312f21(a)z15g2000prn.googlegroups.com... > > On Jul 18, 11:22 pm, "dene" <d...(a)remove.ipns.com> wrote: > > > "dsc-ky" <Dudley.Corn...(a)eku.edu> wrote in message > > > > > > > news:c68c8d1c-98c4-42d5-af94-c5e8c9023598(a)m17g2000prl.googlegroups.com... > > > > > > > > > > > > > If you don't think there is any sense in penalizing the player by > missing > > > a > > > > foot, then how in the world do you watch a US Open? They do it on > purpose > > > > there. > > > > > > Furthermore, I get penalized very often for missing a putt by a foot, > > > when my buddy knocked his in. :) > > > > > > St, Andrews and all the old courses are different. Doesn't have to be > > > better or worse, more or less fair, etc... just different. I can see > > > that some people probably wouldn't like it... and that's fine. I'm not > > > sure what I would think of playing those courses all the time, but I > > > sure as hell would like to try it once. > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > We have a links course in Portland. It's ok. Bandon is a few hours as > > > well. I'd play it if the price were right but I wouldn't trade it for a > > > good desert course or the ones in central Oregon. I like beautiful > scenery > > > and being warm. My game is depressing enough without the addition of > ugly > > > surroundings and cold, marine air. > > > > > > -Greg > > > > which course in Portland do you consider a links course? Heron Lakes? > > That's the only one I can think of that comes close. I'd like to play > > Bandon one of these days but that's pretty expensive, as you mention. > > We can get in 6 or 7 rounds at a city course for the price of one > > round in Bandon. > > Yep...Heron Lakes. I don't even think their Links course is work the extra > money, compared to their other courses. > > -Greg Which is why the great UK links courses are mostly public. I don't think you quite get it.
From: Alan Baker on 19 Jul 2010 20:18
In article <wclark2-53187E.19564619072010(a)charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>, William Clark <wclark2(a)colnospamumbus.rr.com> wrote: > In article <MPG.26aeaa107e9992f698a12d(a)news.giganews.com>, > BAR <screw(a)you.com> wrote: > > > In article <alangbaker-522FFA.10254819072010(a)news.shawcable.com>, > > alangbaker(a)telus.net says... > > > > > > In article <MPG.26ae009a7601a1ae98a12c(a)news.giganews.com>, > > > BAR <screw(a)you.com> wrote: > > > > > > > In article <alangbaker-50070D.02182719072010(a)news.shawcable.com>, > > > > alangbaker(a)telus.net says... > > > > > > > > > > In article > > > > > <0683d450-0dd1-42c7-acd6-3ceade5f7b7f(a)z10g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>, > > > > > crapyking <crapyking1(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > Not my cup of tee either. Golf is about hitting greens in > > > > > > regulation > > > > > > then taking TWO strokes to roll it in, that's how the scorecard was > > > > > > designed. Any course that has a 50yrd putting green is ridiculous. > > > > > > And > > > > > > 5-6 foot deep bunkers, get real. Not fun to play or watch in my > > > > > > opinion. We do play/watch the game for enjoyment don't we? > > > > > > > > > > Do you have any idea how stupid you come across from saying that? > > > > > > > > > > Scotland is where the game was *invented* and to suggest that a > > > > > scorecard is "designed" to tell you what strokes to play is just... > > > > > ...idiotic. > > > > > > > > There is debate as to origins of the game. > > > > > > There always will be... > > > > > > ...but it doesn't change the fact that they've been playing golf in > > > Scotland for nearly three times as long as there has been a country > > > called the United States of America. > > > > Have you bowed to your Queen lately? > > Alan wins. > > By a mile. If only it were much of an accomplishment... -- Alan Baker Vancouver, British Columbia <http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg> |