Those of you proposing a 20% roll-back… Do you realize how huge that is? Rory McIlroy is second on the PGA Tour for 2019 at 317.2 yards. He'd be hitting it less than 253.76 yards. 254 yards! That would have ranked 111th on the PGA Tour for driving distance in 1980.
Average driving distance is a fairly irrelevant statistic Erik, as it is only calculated over a couple of holes. Doesn’t mean much when there may be another 12 two or three shot holes where driver is used but not calculated. The real issue is that so many of them can regularly smash it 330-360 yards.
For me there is no issue playing a shorter ball, because in these conditions, the shorter ball doesn't affect the enjoyment of the game.
Unless the unholy trinity of kids, age and a desk job has unduly affected your game David, I'm not sure someone who can drive 275 metre par fours can pontificate over a shorter ball. I notice you aren’t advocating for a reduction in driver clubhead size, which would obviously affect you much more (and obviously involve RM buying more houses).
Mark,December will be a bit of a tipping point. When the President's Cup is played at RM people will see how much the game has changed. RM has no more land to push tee's back. Unless the ball is rolled back they will need to start buying land if they want to remain relevant.
Brian,There have always been long hitters though. Joseph Johnson's book on RM mentions an Argentinian player hitting a six-iron into 17 East, and driving the 3rd East green during the World Cup in 1972. It just happens more often these days. And 2 and 4 West were never designed to be true par fives.
Why don't RM just play them as par fours, as they have been in various tournaments over the years?
Since I first played there more than 20 years ago, holes 2,6,11,12,13 & 18 have new back tees, and there are possibly more holes that do (14 & 16?). The new tees in 2 & 13 could not have been added should boundaries not have been extended. The course still plays quite short for elite amateur competition, much less Tour pro events.
Surely lengthening 2 and 13 just shows how misguided golf club committees are (even those like KH, which get it right more often than not). 2 and 13 are bog ordinary holes anyway, and lengthening them just makes the dreary journey along them more soporific. And whilst 12 is obviously a better hole, it was surely a short par five even in 1985?
Maybe the course plays short because a number of long holes run over a horizontal ridge, which is always going to advantage anyone that can carry it, whilst there are also a large number of short/medium par fours.If you had a course with ten par fours, and the four long ones were Foxy, Sea Hedrig, the Road hole and Carnoustie 17, would you not think that those long holes would always be a significant test?
Yarra Yarra is hopelessly troubled by boundary issues.
YY has always been a short course though. It's boundary issues are more related to building a course on a small, irregularly shaped block in suburbia. And too many members.
Royal Melbourne has been stretched significantly. East and West.
Which holes? 2 has been lengthened a little, 4 has gone back maybe 40 metres? 6 maybe 15? I know East 17 and 18 have been lengthened, but it’s surely no more than 20 metres in either case (unless they have recently changed). Hardly significant.
The Club purchased a property beyond the original course boundary, and in recent years has extended the 15th tee onto what was a neighbouring residential property as recently as 2015.
See above comment in regards as to golf club committees. Lengthening 15 West is just stupid.
Dr John Green’s residence was purchased, the old home demolished, and much of the block now serves as a safety buffer from errant long second shots into the second green in East.
You need to stop taking David down there then. He is the epitome of the long but wild hitter that gives poor Ian headaches.
Several clubs have incurred significant cost in erecting safety fences and nets on their periphery. God knows what insurance premiums Woodlands deal with, due to balls going onto White Street off holes 1 & 2. Same with Victoria on holes 2 & 3.
That is mostly due to the Ponzi scheme economics of both governments of this country in the preceding decades. Australia has more than doubled it's population in the last forty odd years.Mordialloc used to be a dreadful suburb. The only thing a ball flying over the fence on White street was likely to hit in days gone by was a painter and docker staggering home from the Rose and Crown. Now, it’s more likely than not to be a pampered princess wheeling little Mikaehleeahya in a $1500 pram.
Is the issue at Woodlands and Vic the balls going over the fence, more traffic or more rounds? Who is hitting them over the fence?
The issue might be more significant than you think. And that’s to say nothing of a loss of strategic intent.
I notice that, despite both your and Brian’s professed concern for restoring the original intent of the architect via a rollback, that even during a casual round you are still smashing driver on 2 West.
You blithely proselytize that slow speed swingers can move up a tee, yet you two could both hit a four wood to play more like the architect intended, but it would appear, even during a casual round, you both value shooting the lowest possible score more than your principles.
Polly Farmer died during the week. He was a 189 cm ruckman. Now you need to be 200cm.
Most of the great golfers in the 1970s were 175-180 cm. Now, most of them are six feet at least, with a substantial number between six -two and four. Just because holes have been lengthened doesn’t mean they should be. I don’t know if you have played the North or South courses yet, but 1,3,9,10 and 17 have been lengthened on North. It’s worthwhile on 3 and 17, dubious on 1, and unnecessary on 9 and 10.Similarly, South has had 1,4,5,6,9,10,11,14 and 18 with new tees. Do they all add to the course?