Having been afforded the privilege to golf for the majority of my life (going on nearly 20 years), I've seen the game evolve for the better/worse in a multitude of ways. Nothing was better than getting to the course @ 6:30 when school was out, being first off the tee, in complete seclusion, the first to render footprints in the dew down the middle of the fairway. Finshing the round by 9:30, the whole day was still for the taking, be it a non-golf related event, or back out for another 18, 27, as much golf as one could take in. While I did not belong to a completely private golf course, golf was not the egalitarian American sports centerpiece it has become, and was more relaxed and less rushed. Some trends I have found disturbing in the American golf landscape.
- Exaultation of the grandiose over minimalism. Forced carries, multi-tiered greens, demand for putting surfaces stimping above 10+, what could almost be termed "Extreme Golf" (the cliche's cliche'). I find it refreshing to play a classic course with fairways that bend, rather than jut, and don't mind if trees overhang holes to block pin positions, requiring working of the golf ball. A classic layout does not whore the blind shot or risk/reward mentality that prevades newer courses. By risk/reward, I don't mean a good shot played to an exacting pin location, rather a pin tucked in the elbow of a sloped green where a slightly errant strike carried green, fringe, deep rough, hazard in the span of 5-10 yeards. Hazards should be reached in an extended fashion, especially if the hazard is in the direction of a collection area.
My round at HarborTown (tic) comes to mind, as it required skill, course management, and creative thought. To succeed on a course of this nature requires the backwards thinking (green to tee) called for by Nicklaus. A well executed shot is not solely determined by distance (or carry as of 2005), but by shape and remaining swing (not yardage). "Swing" means the remaining shot must be played with a certain amount of spin, characteristic of a full swing or a 3/4 clipped approach. Shots from the rough must take into account lie and carry/roll, but when not played at the hole present the opportunity for recovery.
When I played at Hilton Head, I thought my brain out to the tune of 79. Did I follow my credo the entire 18 holes, hell no. But it was easy to see after playing a hole and viewing backwards from green to tee, what the hole dictates and where mistakes were made, delivering a penalized understanding for shots poorly played and poorly contrived.