Monday
Aug142017
"Roasted Quail - Overcooked redesign seared joy out of PGA"
My honorary membership into the over-redesigned Quail Hollow won't happen in this lifetime following this Golfweek column.
And while some day the course might crack a big ranking, it's hard to see following this PGA and since the folks who keep making it worse will undoubtedly be called for the next redesign.
Monday, August 14, 2017 at 11:59 PM
Reader Comments (38)
Doesn't make sense unless the writer had an agenda to bash Fazio and QH from the get go...
1. Likely the hardest, (but fair) opening hole in tournament play. 2. The Green Mile is the hardest final 3 holes in tournament play. 3. The 18th is very hard, but not impossible to birdie. 4. The 14th is among the best risk reward driveable 4s on the tour (GS will pick #10 @ Riviera, & it may be, but QH #14 is outstanding) 5. There are long tough par 4s that require ball movement right, left, & straight (see #1, #2, & #3 as examples of each - there are more). Is it perfect, or even ANI, of course not - # 8 is weak, #12's FW is in flood plain that doesn't drain well and produces mud balls, #4 is bland, etc, BUT perhaps to get us posting and because most others were praising QH, Geoff did what he did. It worked for me. I don't know what is the right green speed for a major, others seem to play about this fast, but that is an adjustable feature not a design flaw. I like many I have read felt QH was a big winner and I'm disappointed GS went the other way, at least he described all the good things about Charlotte and the support the players received.
It's almost like we were watching two separate events. Why are we pushing this narrative right now? Why does everything have to be sensationalist and controversial? It was a great event with a deserving champion. The winning score was 8 under par, lots of guys in the red. Majors are tough! At least they used to be. It was a refreshing change to see the guys have to earn their pars for a change and I've seen a whole lot tougher and penal setups than this.
On a slightly different tangent, the gulf between the short and long hitters has never seemed wider. Kudos to Kisner for keeping in touch until the seventy-second hole. He was playing a different game from the other contenders.
I wonder if Day could have taken his drop much farther back and got it into the fairway behind him?
That, IMHO, doesn't make for fantastic finishes. None of the top nine were under par for these three holes, and only two birdies among 27 holes (one a bomb by Louis, other fantastic 2 by JT on 17). Some might argue it's a major...well, even most US Opens gives up more birdies.
dig
The blame can be spread around quite nicely, thank you, but ultimately the manufacturers should sit down in a room with the USGA/ R&A and discuss the big picture....but, that won't happen in my lifetime...but, somebody, somewhere will finally listen to Jack - not only the best golfer in history, but holder of the highest golf IQ....
Right up there with the Masters for number 1 in 2017 as far as majors go.
2) think Quails last three are hard? Wait tilmCarnoustie
3) soft fairways hard greens equals tough
4) any Fazio course will be roasted. Some justifiably,some not. Coore and Crenshaw could build a turd and some would dawn over it
5) Philadelphia shot out of pine straw on 13 at Augusta was heroic. jason Days was stupid. Winners write history
munihack....why do you believe the longer and straighter ball necessitates "arbitrary" set ups to separate scores? What is the logic behind that assertion? It's a complaint we have heard in various forms as long as we've had golf writers. Shotmaking is dead, skill is dead, the ball goes too far....not buying it. It's groupthink and a false narrative.
Skill is dead, the ball goes too far and the art of Golf Course design has totally lost its way - its a fact, that is, if we care to look back at the history of the game.
Worst still all three have been affecting not just the game but our great courses and their brilliant designs, for no more reason than to pamper a few who are only in it for the money.
Golf is not about Championship courses, its about the challenge, and yes the actual willingness to face what's ahead while using our own God given gifts and not reliant on technology or outside information. Golf is about overcoming the tests be they Natural or Man made from within our minds and bodies.
So the use of carts and aids defines our total unwillingness to play Golf. Our minds and bodies have no need to bother anymore because we use carts instead of walking, losing the feel and the understanding of the design under our feet, with assistance from an underactive mind which today is so reliant upon outside information that it affects our skill levels. Penal was once about testing the golfer, today its a swear word to many players as it requires them to commit to the game.
Today many play their game in parks - not just Parkland but courses so immaculate that they look like gardens from some stately home rather than a golf course. Christ, many here have never experienced a true links courses so how can they say they understand the game of golf.
The game today and many designs from the late 20th Century are a poor example of what once was - now that's a poor reflection upon the modern game of golf.
How was Merion tricked up for the 2013 Ooen? 2 of the 120 bunkers were moved. The rough was less than 4 inches. On Sunday 17 of 18 hole locations were locations regularly played. Green speeds were appropriate for the hole locations and just a bit faster than everyday. Yes, several fairways were narrowed. Is that the tricking up you are referring to?
BTW - what is your perspective? How many times have you played the course over what span of time?
I guess the pictures of "fairway bunkers" 10+yards in the rough made Marion look kind of silly.
When a ball has a gyroscope feature to straighten itself out the way today's balls do the margin for error is increased. So a player must mishit the shot more to be punished. I do not know if you played golf with a wound ball and dimples that were made before computer modeling but it was much more sensitive to mishits. Likewise to maximized distance a player had a much smaller window of optimum strike. So if a player took on a specific shot either forced carry or side to side variance was a big concern- inducing fear. That has now been replaced with confidence because the player has a wider margin of error. The result is forcing architects to turn to trickery and gimmicks to separate players.
Clearly the architects are not doing a good job - they have failed in their quest.
To completely green up a full spread of Bermuda after 3 solid months of heat stress requires a ludicrous amount of water and chemicals. The PGA claim they will definitely return to QH and perhaps both will benefit from May date (the Wells Fargo Tour stop usually has top drawer conditions).
Let the cart carry your clubs but you have to walk, - its not about stimulus - its about engaging with the course, the nature and the design, that can only be accessed by walking feeling over the contours and seeing the lay of the land as you walk - that's Golf, not riding, that's just pure blasphemy and a total lack of understanding, commitment or the desire to honour the traditions of the game of golf.
Of course it's about stimulus and response. That is basic human physiology and psychology.
I did understand your post, the part about walking, it was clear - As for my " zeal and haste to moralize" I would point out that you have advocated that you would not give up your cart ( - is that because you have age/medical issues - if not) which questions your very ability to understand let alone play the Royal & Ancient Game of Golf - let me remind you of the Rule on TOC at St. Andrews - "The Home of Golf" re carts and their use: -
"Buggy Policy (Carts)
Old Course
Golfers who are registered disabled with a permanent condition of disability and relevant supporting documentation may request a buggy for use on the Old Course between April and October. It will be driven by a qualified caddie driver. The buggy is provided free of charge but the appropriate caddie fee is payable. Golfer's disability documentation should be provided at the time of booking or when entering the Old Course ballot."
I again do not agree with the use of the word stimulus relating to options for the designer/architect - if that is what modern designers require to produce modern courses then I can understand why the majority over the last 50 years are way more than just 'somewhat wanting'.
Posted without any intention to show my zeal and haste to moralize - just trying to show that carts are not part of the real game of golf, but can be used for age/medical reasons as defined by St Andrews Links web site.