At my conference today we heard from numerous people on the future of golf. A golf course architect spoke about his vision and opinion of golf. Many lower budget clubs and courses struggle to meet unrealistic expectations set by their members or customers. This particular architect talked about the history of golf and the original emphasis on match play. In his opinion, it was the focus on stroke play that created this struggle between golfers and superintendents. Once one's score became related to par, golfers developed a theory that they should have a fair shot to the green regardless of where their ball lied. If their ball landed in a bunker (hazard), they should still have a good shot at par. Their lie in the rough should be equivalent to that of a fairway. Compare this to match play where it didn't matter if you had a 4 or a 6; you either won or lost the hole. If you lost the hole, you got over it and moved onto the next. At the end of the round, your actual score didn't matter.
For most golf courses, this unrealistic expectation leads to unsustainable practices. The 'rub of the green' is essentially unheard of today as golfers expect every shot to be " fair." Think of golf from the year 1600 to 1970. During this period, that was never the case. But, as supers became smarter and technology developed, golfer expectations increased.
It was an interesting thought that may or may not have merit. Curious to know what your opinion would be!
