Opinion & Analysis
The Wedge Guy: Has the game gotten too hard? (Part 2)
First of all, thanks to all of you who chimed in on this discussion I began in last week’s post. In general, the comments seemed to fall into two groups—those who agreed that the game has gotten too difficult around the greens, and those who stated that modern equipment has made the game easier, and that fast, smooth greens are a godsend.
To those who espoused that latter position, I don’t totally disagree with you…but only for more accomplished players (but I do think green difficulty has gone too far). I guess I missed making my key point, which was that too many modern green complexes have shifted the historic challenge of golf from the full swing striking of a golf ball to make it go where you want, to the highly sophisticated skillset required to pitch, chip and putt around and on these
heavily protected, super-fast and mostly undulating greens.
It seems most of us agree that modern equipment and teaching technologies have dramatically streamlined the learning process so that achieving quasi-mastery of making a golf ball get airborne in the general direction you want it to go has been made more efficient. My point was that while striking the golf ball has become exponentially easier, the act of making it go in the hole from the last 20-30 yards has become exponentially harder. And I don’t think this
is good for the game as a whole.
It’s no secret that golf participation is not enjoying any positive vibes. Not enough new golfers are taking up the game, the majority of courses are struggling to stay viable, and many are even closing. I would even suggest that Topgolf and its clones are enjoying success because their activity is totally focused on hitting golf shots…and the challenges of finishing the hole are not part of the picture.
But for all of us who love golf, recruitment of new players is crucial to continued access to our favorite courses. If the game cannot attract and retain new participants, those of us who must support any given club or public course is a declining population. And that can only lead to closures and loss of facilities that we enjoy. So, I contend that if you love golf, you simply have to be part of the solution.
The USGA initiated the “Tee It Forward” campaign, which was certainly a step in the right direction. Who wants to play a course where you cannot reach the par-4 holes in two shots or the par 5’s in three? I am a huge proponent of every golfer choosing a set of tees that allow them to do that, and it has nothing to do with “Ladies” or “Seniors” tees. It only has to do with your own physical abilities – how far can you hit driver, 5-iron, etc. For Pete’s sake, play the tees that make the game play like it should.
But teeing it forward doesn’t address the topic I have put forth for discussion: Even if that lady/senior/beginner plays the forward-most tees to match their strength profile, they still have to contend with the same heavily bunkered, undulating, lightning-fast green complexes as the championship golfer. That makes no sense if we are trying to attract new players.
I watched a few holes of a high school girls’ tournament Sunday, with some of the top teams in South Texas in the field. On a windy weekend, scores ranged from (+6) 148 for the eventual 36-hole champion to several scores over 300 for two rounds; what we should be concerned about is that well over half the field did not shoot under 200 for the two rounds.
Many of these young ladies exhibited very functional tee-to-green skill sets, but they got killed by our green complexes, taking 4-5 strokes to navigate from greenside more often than not. And I have witnessed the same disparity between the elite players and the bulk of the field in boys’ tournaments as well.
If we think any of these kids are going to continue to play golf recreationally after high school, we are delusional. Very simply, this cannot be fun. In fact, it is downright humiliating to take two swings to move the ball 250-350 yards or more, then twice that many–or more–to get the ball in the hole from there.
So, here is my offer of a solution…Green it forward.
If courses would construct a very simple, un-bunkered, relatively flat “beginners’ green” somewhere out front and/or to the side of the regular green, with a speed that runs 5-7 at the most, and maybe even with a larger cup of 6-8”, beginners and less skilled players could enjoy a day of golf without fear and frustration. When their skills have advanced sufficiently to play the regular greens, they can take them on. This just might be a way to reverse the trend of losing players, or not getting them at all.
We let little kids graduate from tricycles to training wheels before we turn them loose on a bike. We let them play soccer with much fewer rules to get them into the game. We lower the basket to 7-8 feet for youth basketball. We let the tykes play T-ball, then coach pitch, to get them ready for Little League baseball.
Why can’t we do the same to get them into golf?
Opinion & Analysis
Brandel Chamblee PGA Championship Q&A: Rose’s huge McLaren risk, distracted LIV pros and why Aronimink suits the bombers
PGA Championship week is here, and Brandel Chamblee did not hold back in our latest discussion ahead of the season’s second major.
In our 2026 PGA Championship Q&A, golf’s leading analyst made the case that PIF pulling LIV’s funding has left its players competing in a state of confusion, called Justin Rose’s mid-season equipment switch a huge risk at 45, and explained why Aronimink will be a bombers’ delight this week.
Check out the full Q&A below.
Gianni: With the PIF confirming that they’re pulling funding from LIV at the end of the season, what impact do you expect that to have on the LIV players competing at the PGA Championship?
Brandel: I would imagine that they have all been thrown into a state of confusion, and will be distracted, not knowing where they are going to play next year and not knowing exactly their road back to either the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour. Or in Rahm’s case, being tied to a sinking ship for the next few years, likely playing for pennies on the dollar in events that no one cares about or watches.
I doubt this would put him in the best frame of mind to compete at his highest level. Keeping in mind, however, that majors are the only time that LIV disciples get to play in events that matter, so never disregard the motivation they have to prove to the world they are still relevant.
Gianni: Justin Rose switched to McLaren Golf equipment mid-season while playing some of the best golf of his career. What do you make of the change?
Brandel: I don’t really know what to make of Rose switching equipment. It seems a huge risk on his part, even though it is likely, in my opinion, that the clubs he’s playing are similar, if not the exact grinds, to what he was playing previously, with a McLaren stamp on them.
Having said that, at best, it is a distraction when he seemed to be as dialed in with his game as any 45-year-old could be and trending in the majors to perhaps do something that would definitely put him in the Hall of Fame. At worst, given the possibility that these clubs aren’t just duplicates of his old set stamped with McLaren on them, he’s made an equipment change that would take time, and 45-year-old athletes don’t have the time to do such things.
Gianni: Aronimink has only hosted a handful of professional events since it hosted the 1962 PGA Championship. What kind of test does it present, and does a course with less recent major championship history tend to level the playing field?
Brandel: Even though Aronimink has only hosted a handful of meaningful professional events, it has been fairly discerning in who can win there. When Keegan Bradley won the BMW Championship on the Donald Ross masterpiece in 2018, he was the 2nd best iron player on tour coming into that week. When Nick Watney won the AT&T at Aronimink in 2011, he was 2nd in strokes gained total coming into the week.
In 2020, Aronimink hosted the KPMG Championship, and Sei Young Kim won. On the LPGA that year, she was first in greens in regulation, putts per green in regulation, and scoring average on the way to being the LPGA player of the year. And then there is the 1962 PGA Championship won by Gary Player, who eventually became just one of a few players to win the career grand slam on the way to winning 9 majors. It is a formidable test, and if it’s not softened by rain, it will bring out the best in the upper echelons of the game.
Gianni: Is there a specific hole at Aronimink that you think will do the most to decide the winner?
Brandel: The hardest hole at Aronimink in each of the three tour events that have been played there since 2010 has been the long par-3 8th hole, with the par-4 10th being the second hardest, so most of the carnage will happen around the turn, but with the par-5 16th offering opportunities for bold plays and the tough closing holes at 17 and 18, the finish is likely to be frenetic.
Gianni: The PGA Championship has always sat in the shadow of the other majors. What does the ideal PGA Championship look like in your eyes, and what would it take for it to carve out its own identity?
Brandel: The PGA Championship, to whatever degree it suffers from the comparison to the other three majors, is still counted just as much when adding them up at the end of one’s career. Almost 1/3 of Nicklaus’ major wins were the five PGA Championships he won. Walter Hagen won 11 majors, five of which were PGA Championships.
Tiger Woods twice in his career won back-to-back PGA Championships, and those four majors count just as much as the other 11 he won. The PGA may not have the prestige of the other three, but it carries the same weight. Having said that, I preferred the identity that it had as the last major of the year.
Gianni: You nailed your Masters picks. Rory won, Scottie finished solo second, and Morikawa surged to a tie for seventh. Who are your top 3 picks for the PGA Championship and why?
Brandel: I am not a huge fan of majors played on golf courses that have been shorn of most of the trees, although I understand some of the agronomic reasons for doing so and of course the ease with which it allows members to play after errant drives. However, at the highest level, it all but eliminates any strategy off the tee and turns professional golf into an even bigger slugfest. That means that it will likely be a bomber’s delight this week, but fortunately, Scottie Scheffler is long enough to play that game and straight enough to play it better than anyone else.
The major championships give us very few surprises anymore, going back to the beginning of 2012, so the last 57 majors played, the average world rank of the winners has been better than 15th in the world. So look at the highest ranked and longest drivers who are on form coming into the PGA Championship who also have great short games as the surrounds at Aronimink are very challenging. That’s Scottie Scheffler by a mile and then McIlroy and Cameron Young with a far bigger nod towards DeChambeau than I gave him at the Masters.
In this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, we dive into one of the most interesting flatstick releases of the year with a full review of the new TaylorMade SYSTM 2 putters. After spending time on the greens, I break down what makes this design stand out, where it performs, and why it has me completely torn between loving it and fighting it. If you are into feel, alignment, and consistency, this is one you will want to hear about.
We also take a look at some of the putters in play on the PGA Tour last week. From familiar favorites to a few surprising setups, there is always something to learn from what the best players in the world are rolling with under pressure.
To wrap things up, I walk through the process of building a set of JP Golf Prime irons paired with Baddazz Gold Series shafts. From component selection to performance goals, this is a deep dive into what goes into creating a unique custom set and why this combo has been so intriguing.
This year my 50th birthday. Gosh, where has the time gone?
As a teenager in rural Missouri, some of my junior high and high school years felt interminable. Graduation seemed light years away. But the older I get, the faster life seems to fly by.
I’m also increasingly aware of my mortality. My dad died recently. Earlier this year, a friend and fellow PGA of America professional and I were texting about our next catch-up. The next message I received was news of his unexpected passing at 48. Shortly after, a woman I dated in college succumbed to cancer at 51.
Certainly, one can share perspective at any age. Seniors help freshmen, veterans guide rookies. But reaching this milestone feels like as good a time as any to do one of those “what would I tell my younger self?” articles.
I’ve had a uniquely varied career in golf. I started as a 27-year-old, average-length-hitting, 14-handicap computer engineer and somehow managed to turn pro before running out of money, constantly bootstrapping my way forward. I’ve won qualifiers and set venue records in the World Long Drive Championships, finished fifth at the Speedgolf World Championships, coached all skill levels as a PGA of America professional, built industry-leading swing speed training programs for Swing Man Golf, helped advance the single-length iron market with Sterling Irons®, caddied on the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, and played about 300 courses across 32 countries.
It’s been a ride, and I’ve gone both deep and wide.
So while I can consult and advise from a lot of angles, let me keep it to a few things I’d tell the average golfer who wants to improve.
1. Think About What You Want
Everyone has their own reason for picking up a golf club.
Oddly, as a professional athlete, I’m not internally driven by competition. That can be challenging, as the industry currently prioritizes and incentivizes competition over the love of the game.
For me, I love walking and being outdoors. Nature helps balance my energy. I prefer courses that are integrated into the natural beauty of their surroundings. I’m comfortable practicing alone. I’m a deep thinker, and I genuinely enjoy investigating the game, using data and intuition to unearth unique, often innovative insights. I’m fortunate to be strong and athletic, so I appreciate the chance to engage with my abilities. Traveling feels adventurous. I could go on.
You don’t have to overthink it like I do. For you, it might be as simple as hitting balls to escape work, hanging out with friends, and playing loosely with the rules and the score.
The point is to give yourself permission to play for your own reasons, and let that be enough.
But if improvement is your goal, thinking about your destination—and when you want to get there—is important, because it dictates the steps you need to take. When I set out to go from a 14-handicap to the PGA TOUR as quickly as possible, the steps I needed were very different from those of a working golfer trying to break 90 in six months. That’s also different from someone who just wants a few peaceful hours outside each week, away from work or family.
None of these goals are better than the others, but each requires a different plan that you can work backward from.
2. There Are Lots of Things That Can Work
One of the challenges of golf is that, although there are rules for playing, there aren’t clear, industry-wide standards for how to best play the game. There’s a lot of gray area.
You might hear a top coach or trainer insist that a certain move is the best way to swing or train. Then you dig a bit deeper and, much to your confusion and frustration, another respected coach or trainer says something completely different. I don’t think anyone is trying to confuse you—at least I hope not. It’s just where the industry is right now.
You have to be careful with advice from tournament pros, too. They might be great at scoring, but they’re also human and sometimes just as susceptible as amateurs to believing things that don’t really move the needle. Tour players might describe what they feel, but that’s not always what they’re actually doing when assessed with technology.
I recently ran a test on my YouTube channel (which connects to my GolfWRX article “How to use your hands in the golf swing for power and accuracy”), and, interestingly, two of the most commonly taught hand actions produced the worst results in the test.
Coaches can certainly help. If you find someone you connect with to help navigate, that’s great. But there are many ways to get the ball in the hole. In the current landscape, you may need to seek multiple opinions, think critically, and use your own intuition to discern what seems true and whose advice resonates with you.
I’d recommend seeking someone who is open-minded and always learning, because things constantly change. Absolutes like “correct” or “proper” should raise a red flag. AI can be useful, but it tends to confidently repeat popular advice, so proceed with caution.
3. Get Custom Fit
If you’re serious about becoming a better player, getting custom fit is hugely important. There’s no sense fighting your equipment if you don’t have to. Most better players get fit these days and, if they don’t, they’re usually skilled enough to work around clubs that aren’t ideal.
If you plan to play for a long time, it’s worth spending a little more upfront to get something that truly fits you and your game, rather than continually buying and discarding equipment.
Equipment rules haven’t really changed significantly since the early 2000s. To stay in business, manufacturers keep pushing those limits. If you pull a bunch of clubs and balls off the rack and test them, you’ll find differences. I’ve tested two new drivers and seen a 30-yard total distance gap. Usually, the issue isn’t bad equipment; it’s that the combination of components simply isn’t the best fit.
It’s like wearing a new pair of floppy clown shoes. Sure, they’re shoes—but you won’t sprint your best in them compared to track shoes that fit perfectly.
Be wary of what’s called custom fitting, too. Sometimes the term is used as a marketing strategy rather than an actual fitting. In some retail settings, fitters may be incentivized to steer you toward higher-priced components. That doesn’t automatically mean it’s not the best fit, but you should be aware of potential biases.
I learned a version of this lesson outside of golf. Years ago, I bought a tennis racquet at a big box store from a seemingly knowledgeable employee who thought it would suit me best. The racquet gave me tennis elbow, and I spent months recovering with rest and acupuncture. The next season, I invested more time and money to find what actually fit me, and I walked away with something amazing that I still play with years later.
So if you’re going to get fit, be smart about it.
Find someone you believe has deep knowledge—possibly with certifications, but not necessarily. Make sure there’s a wide inventory across many brands. Check recent reviews for the individual fitter if possible. Make sure you trust that the fitter has your best interests at heart. If they’re wearing a hat or shirt with a specific brand’s logo, proceed with caution. Unless you specifically want a certain brand or look, be wary of upsells, especially if two options perform nearly the same.
Also, while golf is called a sport of integrity, there’s a thread of manipulation in the industry. I once drafted an equipment article for an industry magazine, structured just like one of their previous popular stories, with matching word count and great photos. The assistant editor loved it; it was useful to readers and required little work on his part. But the editor-in-chief nixed the story. When I asked why, I was told it was because I wasn’t an advertiser. It turned out the article I’d modeled mine after was a paid ad cleverly disguised as editorial content.
I really dislike games, clickbait, and fear-based manipulation. I hope this changes, but golfers deserve to know it exists.
4. Distance and Strategy Matter
There’s a real relationship between how far you hit the ball and your scoring average, even at the PGA TOUR level.
I experienced this early in my pro career. I started as a power hitter, swinging in the high 120s and breaking 200 mph ball speed with a stock driver.
Back then, some instructors advised swinging at 80%, so I tried slowing down for more accuracy. That worked fine on shorter, tighter courses. But on longer setups, I was coming into greens with too much club, and par 5s stopped being
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Carl
Feb 13, 2020 at 8:23 am
Making new greens is an expensive proposition, in a game that is already getting too expensive. I’m 65 years old and whe we need are greens a little slower and not quite so undulating. We also need affordable golf. When I was growing up, golf was a rich mans sport and it’s getting back to that again. You need kids to play and to bring in new people, make it affordable and playable. Everyone wants a tour caliber course, why? I was a top amateur in my day and the course I played on was enjoyable for all. All this extra bunkering and super slope greens came in during the Pete Dye era… ridiculous golf. I prefer the older architects, but we shouldn’t be taking Donald Ross greens and making them a 12 on the stomp meter! They weren’t designed for that. We need to make golf affordable and fun for beginners. I started my kids off at the 150 yard markers of each hole and halfway close on par 3’s. I taught them the etiquette of the game and to respect the course. We let faster groups through and fixed divots and ball marks. I had them play a nice little 9 hole course that wasn’t too hard and had moderate greens.
Then I played with them! Most kids want to be with their parents and golf is a good game to do that! Spend time together. Make it fun!!
Michael
Feb 12, 2020 at 9:58 pm
I know this is a little off the topic but addresses part of the question of getting new golfers in the game. One of the problems I found for young players is that all kids golf clinics in my area are during the week at hours that people work. Most kids would rather learn in a group setting with other kids.
8thehardway
Feb 12, 2020 at 7:11 pm
Build one nice, easy green; mark distances of 5 to 30 feet to the hole in chalk and reserve it for those who want this option 30 minutes prior to their tee time. They can record their putts on a hole-by-hole basis prior to their round and avoid on-course greens once reaching them unless their approach shot lands close to the hole, in which case they have the option to attempt the putt.
Dedicate part of the existing putting green to this or computerize putting if building a green dedicated to beginners isn’t feasible. With any of these setups, beginners could come any day prior to their round and record their efforts.
Rascal
Feb 12, 2020 at 5:23 pm
Just setup some temporary courses in big spaces not being used, like stadiums or sports fields. Don’t need that much room, but perhaps insurance will be the real obstacle.
Acemandrake
Feb 12, 2020 at 1:49 pm
Let play/practice be determined by the time spent rather than the number of holes played.
I like to play between 2 & 3 hours and then I want to go do something else. I’ve been playing for 50 years and at various levels of the game.
There are a lot of formalities in golf that are intimidating and unwelcoming to non-golfers. “How many hours do you want?” vs. the standard “9 or 18?” might be an enticement.
Loosen up and play the way you want.
G
Feb 12, 2020 at 12:47 pm
Obviously, courses can’t build 18 new green complexes.They could simply mow an area near the green down to a 7 stimp length and let those that want to, play out there. As one of the above commenters noted, he has his beginner children putt out on the foot golf green. The problem is human nature, most people want to play a championship course, regardless if their skill. They want to play like the pros from the back tees on fast greens. It’s stupid, but that’s how most people think-its ego. I really feel like making greens slower would help tremendously. It would also lower costs. I had a friend who owned a course, he was struggling to keep it open. And his biggest expense was the chemicals for greens. As greens get faster more chemicals are needed to keep those greens healthy. The cost from a 9 green to a 12 aporox.doubles just in the chemicals. He eventually closed his course.
myron miller
Feb 12, 2020 at 12:41 pm
I play a moderate amount and a fairly large number of different courses each year (50-75) different each year so I see a lot of differences. I see very very few super quick greens, maybe under 5 a year at pro speeds and twice that number at under 7 stimp. There’s one course locally that regularly is at 4-6. Do you really understand how hard you have to hit a ball with a stimp of 5? I can’t do it with a putter. I had to use a wood to get the ball going fast enough to roll to the hole from 30-40 feet away. From what I’ve seen a stimp of 7-10 is adequate for the average golfer and that’s what is found at a lot of courses, especially muni’s. And for resort type courses in Florida that range is pretty much most of them try to keep the courses. I’ve been told by many greenskeepers at resort courses that when they speed them up the average resort golfer has problems and then 4-5 putt and that’s 5-6 hour rounds on the average. Remember the average resort player in Florida probably hasn’t played in 1-3 months (it’s winter up north and generally they can’t). SO they haven’t had a chance to play due to one reason or another.
Better players don’t encounter fast greens so they struggle for their first round or two on them. But most can adjust somewhat. Now I can’t speak for that tournament in Texas but I’ve seen a number of junior tournaments in Florida, including state high school and there are very very few players that don’t break 90. Most are breaking 75 with the leaders somewhere in the low-mid 60s almost without exception. In fact, at the high school level there are very few kids not breaking 50 for 9 holes with most in the lower 40s.
I’ve played courses with two pins and they are a major pain the posterior to putt on. Usually one or the other unused pin is in the way and people have to take drops to avoid the wrong pin.
But moving up is very doable. Most in Florida have senior tees at 5100-5500 which are reasonable for most seniors, even if they can’t reach all the par 4s in 2. On One course I play a moderate amount and regularly shoot a low 18-20s index which gives me a course handicap of 9. Now I know I’m NOT a 9 handicap now, I’m a 18-20 realistically if not more, but courses like these are easy enough (or at least the USGA thinks so) to be very playable. And the course is pretty busy and has a lot of events where players with minimal skills are playing and having fun. But the key is not a gimmicked course but one that is playable for everyone.
So I strongly disagree with many of his suggestions. Besides the old school teaching was to teach putting and then chipping/pitching and not until the student was comfortable with those go to the longer clubs. Also the suggestion not to move back until one broke 80 consistently at that tee box still makes sense.
J. Arnold
Feb 12, 2020 at 11:34 am
Played a fun event a while ago, and each green had 2 holes cut; one reg size, one 12″ and everyone loved it. The 0-10 hdcp players loved the faster play, and the 11+ hdcp ‘newbies’ could sink some putts!
Took some new players to a local course, and told them they could a) tee up on the fairway only play or count shots starting from the 150yd marker. More enjoyable for them (they could hit greens in 2 shots) and me too (faster play).
Golf is one of the few sports that asks everyone to play the ‘pro’ rules. Baseball has slow pitch and aluminum bats, men’s hockey has no hitting and no slapshots, skiers don’t learn on double black diamond ‘Olympic’ caliber runs, there are ‘touch’ or flag football leagues, Pickleball (small court tennis) is booming.
None of the above is costly and it brings more people into the sport, which helps pay to keep courses from closing.
Bob Jones
Feb 12, 2020 at 10:01 am
I can’t identify with this problem, because the daily fee courses where I play (NW Oregon), even the recent constructions, are nothing like the ones you’re describing. The problem sounds like designers wanting to make their reputation designing Tour-quality courses and not realizing? caring? that golf is played by millions of people who are anything but Tour quality. But maybe there’s no money in designing courses that can be played by the masses. Or course owners demand a difficult course instead of a playable one.
As for all those high school and junior tournaments, I just wouldn’t hold tournaments on courses that beat up and probably discourage hard-working young players like that. Is that so hard for adults to figure out?
PSG
Feb 12, 2020 at 9:31 am
This guy always has awesome solutions to problems nobody wants solved. I don’t even know where to start with this “take”. Let’s spend millions of dollars on this nonsense.
Terry, the best way to research an article is to do research. Do you have anything at all to back up your claim that greens are harder now than before? Make sure your hands and brain are connected before you type another one of these.
Greg
Feb 12, 2020 at 9:05 am
Shawn
Agreed
Probably the least costly and objectionable would be two separate pin placements per green. Additionally, fill in a few of the needless, penalizing bunkers. Two cost effective measures which simplify and speed up play would be the first steps at progressing our game.
Fiorenzo
Feb 14, 2020 at 11:23 am
I agree with the placement of two separate pins. Players can decide which pin to play for at the start of the round. I presume that the use of these tees will mean that the round would not be acceptable for handy capping purposes but casual golfers and beginners , I am sure, would not be phased.Filling in bunkers I am not so sure, even if they are the bane of my life.
sroooooch
Feb 12, 2020 at 7:54 am
1) Stop making golf 18 holes, real people do not have time or money to play that long. Don’t even make them 9, make places that have 5,6,or 7 holes. Who cares? Just make them short and quick, blue collar people have a lot on their plate. Golf doesn’t fit in.
2) Build pitch-n-putt courses in urban areas all across the country. The PGA has no problem buying courses that no realistic person is ever going to play and then have the nerve to say they’re “growing the game”. Take the game to kids and stop trying to take kids to the game. It will never grow with that mindset.
You don’t need to make the game easier, just more accessible, the more people who start at a young age makes the game easier for a lot of people. Building muscle memory at youth is far easier than at an older age. People in golf don’t understand the real world and have made no actual attempts to grow the game. Even the first tee is a flawed system that will not grow the game.
Cheers
MP Fritze
Feb 12, 2020 at 7:43 am
I watch the Pro’s on weekends. I really have nothing in common with them, not clubs, balls,etc. i do have the same enthusiasm, though.
I’m 76 and shoot to a 16 on public courses. All the new equipment that will come out will not help me get better, but its fun to think it will. Love this game.
Vincent Collier
Feb 12, 2020 at 7:25 am
Unworkable… the average cost of adding a green to an existing course is over $75k. So that is a $1.3m improvement before the annual cost of fertilizer and reseeding.
Shallowface
Feb 12, 2020 at 7:11 am
Not sure why, but my comments don’t seem to post on this section of the website on a consistent basis. Trying again.
As I mentioned in my comment on Part 1, the onus is on the people setting the hole locations to put them in places that are flat as possible for three feet around the cup. Often times the guy cutting the holes (who often times doesn’t even play golf except for the kind with clown mouths and dinosaurs) thinks it’s cute or funny to put them in places that are impossible. At one course I frequent, they were sending out a couple of teenagers who were visibly gleeful at the places they were cutting the holes. That stopped after I threw a fit in the clubhouse. If a course doesn’t have flat spots available for pin placements, it deserves to go out of business.
Dan’s post above was spot on as well. It’s a golf course, not a grass farm.
Tim Kozlow
Feb 12, 2020 at 6:28 am
We have a bunch of Muni Courses around my area. Easier wide-open courses with no sand. They have a decent length to them but not too many hazards.
They are always crowded. There are several 60 and 70-year-old men and women who play these courses and maintain single-digit handicaps on them.
During the summer, tons of younger kids flock to these courses also.
This is how I started. I played a par three course for a year until I got the guts to play a bigger course which looking back on this it was an easy course but I didn’t know it.
I’m a single-digit player and I can tell you my club’s course is difficult. Greens are tough to hit. Most are surrounded by hazards. They putt tough and have tons of break.
Half the people there cannot break 100 or 90 ever. I wonder what they get out of it?
One of the issues besides what was said above is to maintain a 3 handicap I have to practice and play an awful lot to the downfall of doing other things in life.
The game is just too hard for most people. Many do not have the time to put into it. It is also to dam expensive. That is another reason these muni courses are always busy. You can get a summer pass there for less than 1000 dollars for the whole season.
Kids pay 300 for a summer pass and go out there all day.
I can’t imagine what I have spent on golf in the past 40 years since I was 16.
Half the kids on these courses spend half the day in the woods looking for balls because they are too expensive.
The equipment companies, Ball companies and all of the rest of this industry have no perspective besides catering to the affluent rich. That is what it is all geared toward.
Look at the Pebble Beach pro-am over last weekend. Playground for the rich. It doesn’t promote the game. It just tells all the regular joes that you can watch but don’t touch.
Maybe it would be nice if they let regular people play for free!!! Talk about promoting the game.
Golf is a joke the way it is marketed.
It’s too late for me at 56. This is the game I play but if I was young again and knew what I knew now. I would never play. I would find something else to do.
Moritz
Feb 12, 2020 at 4:34 am
The problem is that many courses (at least over here in central europe) are already fighting financial troubles. 18 extra greens (which equal a LOT of maintenance costs) might kill them entirely. Plus: around here, too fast greens are very rare. Most of them could be a bit quicker for my taste
Radim
Feb 12, 2020 at 3:29 am
I let my children putt into those footgolf holes. They are usually on the side, no hazards around.
Putt Stuff
Feb 11, 2020 at 10:06 pm
The game used to be taught and learned from the green to tee. Now we focus too much on tee to green. Turning three shots into two is attainable for players of all shapes, sizes, and athletic aptitudes when done greenside.
Golf professionals that focus on the short game are always in demand and can charge a premium compared to full swing only teachers. Teaching players a short game technique will always result in better full swing impact whereas working on the full swing will rarely directly influence short game performance.
Public facilities also lack good short game learning areas because they are difficult to monetize.
Cory
Feb 11, 2020 at 8:20 pm
I think these ideas are great. I bet if you took a few muni golf courses in any city and turned them into beginner courses with no bunkers, no rough, and larger and flatter greens people would be lining up to play it. Even better, make it three 6 hole loops so people could play 6 holes in under an hour or tackle all 18 if they’re feeling up to it.
Jesse
Feb 11, 2020 at 7:26 pm
The Superintendent at my course needs to hear about the 3 foot flat area. The Sadist at my club loves to put holes in places that if you are above the hole and miss the putt the ball rolls off the green.
Agreed – The green complexes at the local clubs not hosting PGA/LPGA/Korn Ferry Tournaments need to be designed in such a way that the local sadist cannot have a laugh at those of us who are looking for the clowns mouth and windmills on the holes he has setup
JThunder
Feb 11, 2020 at 5:32 pm
It sounds like the author is referring to specific greens on a specific course. Does this “problem” exist everywhere? If so, I haven’t seen it on the dozens of courses in my area. But I do not have access to private courses.
Private courses have a long, long history of disproportionate ego. “Protecting par”, as a concept, most often stems from these locations – Augusta National is a perfect example. Between the membership, the designers and the record holders, they constantly and consistently want to make courses tougher. This is a constant direction of discussion at the pro and top amateur levels.
I don’t tend to see it reflected at public courses, where the management is in more direct contact with their clientele, and they see and hear every day whether people are “having fun” or not. And they receive feedback that gets the attention of their wallet before their ego.
On the other hand – look at all the “elders” of golf talking about how golf is “too difficult”, and how “everyone is leaving the sport”. Have you ever heard the phrase “self-fulfilling prophecy”?
Maybe these “elders” should be finding a way to present the *challenge* of golf as “the fun”, and presenting the rewards of golf as overcoming those challenges. Though many will refuse to believe it, young people are ready and willing to accept challenges – assuming those challenges are within the realm of fairness and equity.
A non-challenging game will lose players faster than a challenging one.
All that said, golf is NOT for everyone. The early years of Tiger Woods gave the golf industry a taste of ludicrous “growth” and a lot of cash. That is over and we cannot expect it again in our lifetime. Golf is time-consuming, expensive, and – at it’s very heart – difficult and challenging. It also survived for hundreds of years before Tiger, and will after him too.
Shallowface
Feb 11, 2020 at 4:09 pm
As I mentioned in my comment on Part 1, the onus is on the people setting the hole locations to put them in places that are flat as possible for three feet around the cup. Often times the guy cutting the holes (who often times doesn’t even play golf except for the kind with clown mouths and dinosaurs) thinks it’s cute or funny to put them in places that are impossible. At one course I frequent, they were sending out a couple of teenagers who were visibly gleeful at the places they were cutting the holes. That stopped after I threw a fit in the clubhouse. If a course doesn’t have flat spots available for pin placements, it deserves to go out of business.
Dan’s post above was spot on as well. It’s a golf course, not a grass farm.
Shallowface
Feb 11, 2020 at 4:00 pm
As I mentioned in my comment on Part 1, the onus is on the people setting the hole locations to put them in places that are flat as possible for three feet around the cup. Often times the guy cutting the holes (who often times doesn’t even play golf except for the kind with clown mouths and dinosaurs) thinks it’s cute or funny to put them in places that are impossible. At one course I frequent, they were sending out a couple of teenagers who were visibly gleeful at the places they were cutting the holes. That stopped after I threw a fit in the clubhouse. If a course doesn’t have flat spots available for pin placements, it deserves to go out of business.
Dan’s post above was spot on as well. It’s a golf course, not a grass farm.
Golf is golf
Feb 11, 2020 at 3:53 pm
That s why cooking, cleaning or kniting exist …people who shoot 300 for 36 holes can go play putt putt after a nice day shopping at the mall
Cory
Feb 11, 2020 at 8:14 pm
Based on that comment, I’m guessing you
A) don’t have daughters, or even a wife
B) don’t remember what it’s like to begin learning a new skill
His ideas are fantastic and would create a path for beginners to graduate to more challenging courses as their skills improve without the fear of being shamed by douchebags.
Flog You
Feb 12, 2020 at 3:38 pm
Wow, just wow. I am glad those of your viewpoint are becoming fewer and fewer everyday. I hope you enjoy your mom’s basement, neckbeard.
Jesse
Feb 11, 2020 at 3:36 pm
There should be easy courses and hard courses and it seems to me we already have that. I’m a 6 handicap and I play a lot of my golf at a relatively easy muni course. The green’s aren’t blazing. The only forced carries are in the <100 yard range… and if you plunk it in the river you can drop on the other side.
I've really only played on one course in the past 3-5 years where I felt it was tricked out too much and honestly, of the 12 people who were on the golf trip, most were pissed about the ridiculous number of fairway bunkers making it feel unfair to get penalized for piping one down the middle.
I do not think tricked out greens are a big problem. If some course did that to a bunch of high school girls for a tournament, well, that's on the course superintendent for being an idiot.
Kumat63
Feb 11, 2020 at 3:13 pm
I agree with you Wedge Guy on all points! I’m an accomplished player, competitive junior golf, some amateur tournaments over the years, low single digit HC, been playing 50 years now so I can affirm what you say: in the 60’s-70’s greens were rarely over 5-8 on the modern stimp. Most were flat, gentle bunkering if any (exceptions being the major hosting venues, Augusta, Winged Foot, etc.). Even the green speeds at Augusta in the 70’s were rarely over 10 for normal play as my late father could attest (he was a fabulous putter, great short game, former college golfer scratch to plus HC). The game was about striking the ball and if you hit the green in reg you were thinking birdie and par was virtually assured for a decent player. But today… even the top country club courses and better public courses in my area (North Carolina) run 12+ on the Stimp! Regularly! Even in the winter! And the greens on newer course are huge and undulating. I played a local public course recently (Tobacco Road, Sanford NC) with a friend who is a top amateur (played in US Senior Open not long ago) and he figured the greens that day (it was December!) were running 13 on the Stimp. We each 3 putted from 25 or 30 feet a couple times. There were some short shots that were simply impossible to get close. And I’m a good putter! It took a lot of the fun out of the game. You hit an excellent drive, solid approach and walk away with bogey? And we’re accomplished scratch or near scratch players! It’s certainly part of the reason I practice much more than I play these days. I saw my father nearly stop playing in his mid-late 60’s (early 2000’s) because lightning fast greens helped him develop the yips and the game went from joy to torture for him. You see so many pros with claw, arm lock, weird grips. That didn’t used to happen. We wouldn’t need long putters or arm locks if the greens were never over 10 Stimp. Ben Hogan thought the hole should be 8″ pack in the 50’s! I don’t disagree! For everyone! Love your idea of beginner greens. I think I’d play them myself though, so maybe we should just tone down the madness of lighting fast huge, undulating greens insanely bunkered and make the game fun for everyone again.
Tom S.
Feb 11, 2020 at 2:41 pm
Meh. You could just design the greens to have some easy pin placements instead.
I find heavily protected elevated dome greens on every hole where any shot not on target is punished pretty severely followed by a required mastery of a high and soft pitch shot (where you have to make a pretty high risk hardish swing) to be no fun to play. I’m sure it separates the really good players from the just good players but it punishes everyone else. These courses have their place. Good golf course design for the rest of us can have bail out areas on most holes, the ability to run it up onto long par 4’s, and non-psychotic pin placements on flat areas.
Bob Evans
Feb 11, 2020 at 2:29 pm
There is a significant difference between everyday recreational golf and tournament golf. Adding a second set of greens would create an environment of additional expense to the golf course, added sustainability issues, and potentially confusion by the player as to which green to play. There are several things that can be done to make daily play easier without major alterations to the course. First, the superintendents can make the greens easier by using more forgiving pin placements on the existing greens and using lower stimpmeter readings (i.e slow-medium) for recreational play. Second, the superintendent can lower the grass height and width of the second cut of rough for the fairways and around the greens (but leaving the third cut as punitive as required to maintain the integrity of the course). This would have the effect of making iron and wedge shots easier and potentially helping hold the greens better. Finally, you can have a local rule regarding the sandtraps to augment the latest USGA rules to make them less punitive for recreational play. All these can be adjusted for more challenging play by the superintendent for tournament or championship play without much additional cost or effort.
Cletus
Feb 11, 2020 at 2:12 pm
Yeah, I think this is the point of muni golf courses. At least where I live there are plenty of options for beginner golfers with slow easy greens. As a scratch golfer I would never play a gimmicky course like stated above with the two sets of greens. Also, in my experience there are plenty of beginner golfers that like being challenged and play the wrong sets of tees. I think it would be difficult to get them to not want to play the faster more difficult greens when they’re right there.
Thomas Steed
Feb 11, 2020 at 8:23 pm
You, my friend are an ostrich with its head buried in the ground. There are some players who want to be challenged at the start, but a majority won’t. If you don’t agree m, you lack experience in managing millennials and gen z.
SV
Feb 11, 2020 at 2:11 pm
I agree that new green complexes have gotten out of hand. However, with faster greens older courses not designed for these speeds have gotten harder also. Adding to the problem is beginners starting out playing the harder courses. It seems no one starts on Par 3 courses and works their way up to a full size course any more. If they did they would have less frustration, enjoy the game more and continue to play.
Dan
Feb 11, 2020 at 2:01 pm
Another thing I’ve noticed is that it seems like ever practice green anymore has a no chipping sign up! If the the superintendents had their way, the course would be closed 6 days a week. You wonder why people can’t hit wedge shots from 30 yards in these days?
Shallowface
Feb 11, 2020 at 8:54 pm
As I mentioned in my comment on Part 1, the onus is on the people setting the hole locations to put them in places that are flat as possible for three feet around the cup. Often times the guy cutting the holes (who often times doesn’t even play golf except for the kind with clown mouths and dinosaurs) thinks it’s cute or funny to put them in places that are impossible. At one course I frequent, they were sending out a couple of teenagers who were visibly gleeful at the places they were cutting the holes. That stopped after I threw a fit in the clubhouse. If a course doesn’t have flat spots available for pin placements, it deserves to go out of business.
Dan’s post above was spot on as well. It’s a golf course, not a grass farm.
Tacklingdummy
Feb 11, 2020 at 1:47 pm
Golf has gotten harder with tougher tracks and tougher green complexes. However, tougher tracks have their place. As your skills progress, you move to tougher courses. If the scores are getting to high at some tracks for some tournaments, then they should move them to easier courses.
Beginner golfers get eaten up by tough tracks and really good players would eat up easier tracks too much. So it is best to have a good balance of difficulty of courses in every area. Then golfers can play more difficult courses as their skills progress.
Shawn
Feb 11, 2020 at 12:11 pm
My first thought to this is how would the standard muni get this done? Our local is already struggling to find enough people to mow and maintain the current course, and now building 18 entirely new greens plus having to maintain them? I don’t see that happening. I heard another idea from an older guy at our course one day- cut two holes on each green. Put one in the easiest location on each green, and one in a more difficult location. Players can decide at the beginning of the round which hole locations they’ll play that day, much like they decide which tee boxes to play.
As for the state of golf for younger players, I completely agree. I have coached high school golf for 20 years now and we constantly tell kids the quickest way to move up the leaderboard is through short game improvement (especially for the girls). They just nod and spend the next hour trying to sneak back to the driving range with their driver…