49 Back in the prehistoric days of golf architecture (otherwise known as the nineteenth century), courses were generally laid out with scratch, or at least high-quality players in mind, and a good course was believed to be one that provided the best test for the best players. That changed with the revolution that struck golf course design in the early part of the twentieth century. Architects such as Harry Colt wrote that the ideal course was one that provided a test for the top player and fun for golfers of every level of ability. And, even allowing for exceptions like Pine Valley, where founder and designer George Crump sought to make a course that was only suited to very good players, that viewpoint has remained dominant ever since. It is well known that trying to cover both these bases is harder now than it has ever been before, simply because the extreme distance achieved by elite players now means the gap between good and bad is so massive. Yes, it is possible to provide tees of radically different lengths so that the 330-yard and the 110-yard driver use the same landing zone. But then what? Suppose a hole is set up so that the landing zone leaves an approach shot of between 150-180 yards. That’s a very short iron for Rory McIlroy and completely out of reach for a typical super-senior. For course rating purposes, according to the new World Handicap System, a male bogey golfer is one with a handicap index from 17.5-22.4, who hits his drives 200 yards and can reach a 370-yard hole in two, while a female one has a handicap index of 21.5-26.4, hits her drives 150 yards and can reach a 280-yard hole in two. Very useful for its purpose no doubt, but completely irrelevant when designing a golf course, even as far as playability for the bogey player is concerned. Because a bogey player, in reality, could be someone who hits a very short ball, perhaps a man who can only drive 150-160 yards, but almost never misses a fairway. Or it could be a young man who takes a fearful swipe at the ball but has only the vaguest idea of where it is going to end up.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=