Had an interesting conversation with some superintendents...

[crater_divots]

Play with some of the guys that run a few local courses. Great guys, incredible knowledge of the game and everything it entails. It can be entertaining to hear them comment on course conditions that I would never even notice...

 

 

Anyway...

 

 

Had a very interesting topic the other day I thought I'd continue on the forum. We were discussing horse racing, which lead us into talking about tennis, and how these sports differ dramatically based on the conditions of the event. For example, some horses run great on longer tracks or in the rain. Some tennis players play great on clay but poorly on grass, etc.

 

I mentioned that I thought that perhaps in the future, golf might evolve down a similar road. Certain spinoffs have already occurred (mini golf, executive courses, par 3 courses, etc.) but would golf be better if the variables were more pronounced on the highest levels?

 

Consider the PGA tour venues that you watch week in and week out. Sure there are some differences, but generally speaking they are all the same. 7000ish yards, thicker rough in the second cut, fast greens, soft bunkers, etc. Imagine if golf had "events" that differed, like other sports do.

 

 

A PGA event on an all par 3 course

 

A PGA event on an all par 5 course

 

Events where nobody putted (Score was based on # of shots to reach green combined with the distance in feet away from the cup)

 

"Battle golf" of some kind (Perhaps an event where players alternated playing the same ball with points awarded only to the player that gets the ball in the hole)

 

etc.

 

 

 

 

 

It's obviously a far-fetched idea, but it would certainly provide variety. I Imagine some players would emerge as great at certain events, just like in the other sports mentioned.

 

We have match play and stroke play, perhaps some more variety without going too extremely far away from golf would be good for the game?

[Ayoung19]

While I think its an interesting idea, I don't think you'll ever see it come to fruition. Golf is a game rooted in tradition, maybe more so than any other sport, and I just don't see the big wigs in golf signing off on something like that. As a novelty, perhaps. The analogy I would use is the NFL as compared to arena football. You could make the argument that they're both football, but clearly the NFL is still where 98% of the interest and ad money goes. You would also have to consider the logistics of this- if you have a tournament of just par 5s, where do you find a course to hold such an event? Like I said, its an interesting idea, but I doubt it will get off the ground.

[Medic]

OP, might be entertaining at that. Afterall one of the reasons we all enjoy match play tourneys so much is because they are something different.

I have another idea that might fly.

Have a few pros perform a target shootout at Top Golf. Start with best of 10 shots to a certain distance that must be completed within a certain (short) amount of time.
Then narrow the field by half and make the target further away while lowering the time allowed.
Now down to final 4 - same thing to narrow down to final two. And they have a final shootout at different targets chosen at random.

Would be great for Top Golf. Would be interesting to see just how accurate they can really be when their normal routine is a little messed up. And because TG has dart board like targets the winners would be those in the closest to the center on the chosen target.

And to add some spice to it have an Enter To Win - you choose who you think will win and if you do you are entered into a drawing for a golf prize of some sort. Everyone loves somehow being a part of the action.

[bushy007]

[quote name='crater_divots' timestamp='1433796417' post='11713352']

Consider the PGA tour venues that you watch week in and week out. Sure there are some differences, but generally speaking they are all the same. 7000ish yards, thicker rough in the second cut, fast greens, soft bunkers, etc. [/quote]

I think you nailed it right here. It's the fact that the cookie cutter 'American' golf courses that are being used aren't that interesting anymore. Long 7000+ yards, thick rough, bunkers surrounded by rough, greens that are 'soft' but running at 13+. It's a bit ridiculous. I could go on about how players only 'like' course they play well at and how the tour doesn't have the balls to do something out of the box but...

[thegrayman]

They could call it "PGA Tour: Altered Course"!


...oh wait.

[tatertot]

Golf is the best game/sport in the world. Why is someone always trying to "improve" it?

[eagle1997]

That's what the US Open and The Open Championship are for.

[teejaywhy]

[quote name='crater_divots' timestamp='1433796417' post='11713352']

Consider the PGA tour venues that you watch week in and week out. Sure there are some differences, but [i][b]generally speaking they are all the same[/b][/i]. 7000ish yards, thicker rough in the second cut, fast greens, soft bunkers, etc. Imagine if golf had "events" that differed, like other sports do.

A PGA event on an all par 3 course

A PGA event on an all par 5 course

Events where nobody putted (Score was based on # of shots to reach green combined with the distance in feet away from the cup)

"Battle golf" of some kind (Perhaps an event where players alternated playing the same ball with points awarded only to the player that gets the ball in the hole)

etc...
[/quote]

I think you are on with the idea that for the most part the tournament venues are set up in a similar fashion. BUT, I don't think it's necessary to propose silly variations in the game as suggested, just allow the different course designs to play to their intended characteristics and stop setting them up in the same manner week to week.

Interesting to read what Hal Sutton has to say on the subject. The PGA Tour wants to promote superstardom so it sets up courses to reward certain styles of play. Less on shotmaking and more on power.

Tournament golf does not have to be so homogenized. I applaud the USGA for seeking out new venues like Chambers Bay which will be VERY different from the weekly tour stops.

[crater_divots]

I'm not sure that they are "silly", but I would enjoy what you're proposing as well.

A few more ideas that would be enjoyable to me...

Have an event with the greens running slow and thick. See how the pros react.

Have an event at a $10 muni, in the same shape that the regular joe's play with. See exactly how the pros shoot on bumpy greens, through hardpan, etc. Everybody has an opinion on this anyway, it would be fun to see how it played out.



I like Medic's idea, and to take it even further, have an "all-star weekend" like in other sports where fans interact with players, players participate in skills challenges, and the environment is much more fan friendly than a typical venue.

[John L.]

Some of the most fun I ever had in golf, was playing a Par 3 course. [b]( Groton Ct. - Trumbull Golf Course) [/b]

I used to throw 6-7 clubs in the bag and play all day.

[bermuda]

I'd like to see tour pros play a one-club tournament, even if it's just one round.

[Mr. Herbert]

These ideas sound good on paper, but you're missing one important thing: none of the top tour players are going to take part in any of this without a gigantic purse. And you aren't going to get a gigantic purse for some sideshow of a tournament. You couldn't even get a Web.com tournament to do anything like this.

[holeintwo2]

reminds me of altered course, i can't tell if im gonna love that show or hate it....

[crater_divots]

[quote name='thegrayman' timestamp='1433818369' post='11716024'] They could call it "PGA Tour: Altered Course"! ...oh wait. [/quote] [quote name='holeintwo2' timestamp='1433871021' post='11719552'] reminds me of altered course, i can't tell if im gonna love that show or hate it.... [/quote]

Pretty huge differences between what I'm suggesting and that show.


I'm suggesting that the already great game of golf is broadened to the general audience, while keeping it golf. Not everybody plays on 7000 yard cookie cutter courses. I think that the golfing public would enjoy watching professionals play golf with more variety, like the rest of us do. I know that many golfers I talk to feel like the golf we play and the golf the pros play is apples and oranges. I'm just talking about ways to showcase what golf is without changing the game.

That show, and variations like it, change the game entirely. I'm not advocating playing dodgeball golf. There is a lot more to golf other than cookie cutter stroke play it would be nice to see it.

[jli2636]

I'd like to see more team play. Alternate shot and best ball. I really like the skills challenge idea. Maybe you add something like that to a lower tier event with an extra purse to attract some bigger names. It would be fun to see something like a pro-junior pro-am where some of the top juniors are paired with the pros. Kinda like pebble beach but only juniors. Would give a glimpse into the future of golf IMO