21 Since the 1950s and 60s, golf has become a stroke play game, leaving the less-suited for television format of match play behind. Protecting par governs the game. But the game was borne on seaside links – golfer against golfer – it was a match. Once upon a time, match play determined the best golfers. The golfer battled the opponent and ‘played’ the course. This was a duel played out across the landscape. The less able golfer had options and alternatives to combat the longer, more aggressive golfer. Match play golfers weren’t consumed with ‘fairness’, because the ‘rub’ affected everyone without prejudice. The opponent was the competition, not the golf course. The submission to stroke play has shaped a generation of golfers and the entire industry. Fairness is now a prerequisite, and the result is soaring maintenance requirements, a round taking too long, and the sport becoming more expensive and less fun. What if the golf industry forgot about length and its preoccupation of protecting par? What if designers were encouraged to defend a golf course with strategy, not distance or hazards? What if golf courses were judged on the merits of its design strategies, shot values and with a match play perspective instead of maintenance? Instead of slope values or length, golf would have a more wide-ranging appeal. If we reduce the impact of par, we can improve the pace of play, reduce the impact of hazards, and promote strategy, fun and creativity. Match play would moderate the need for contrived beauty and emphasize naturalized environments. It would also lower maintenance expectations, celebrate the unique and diminish the need for fairness. This perspective allows for more freedom and to build interest without protecting par. A match play perspective produces beauty, variety and balance. Holes should be conceived to foster the strategic instinct – compelling match play, while allowing for an honest treatment of the land. Golf is match play ASGCA Past President Greg Martin explains why he thinks the industry should focus its attention away from stroke play Photo: Larry Lambrecht way to 18, his high-risk design is ideal for when the stakes are down. “The eighteenth is the ultimate example of a par five, with players teased to go for the green over River Maigue in two to secure the win, or to tie the match,” says Marzolf. “The Ryder Cup has never had this level of idyllic setting for such a head scratching second shot option. The firm green perched atop a wall on the edge of the river is tough to hold with a wedge if you lay up. The smart play is to cross the river in two.” Marzolf says that a good Ryder Cup hole needs a strategy that makes a player think, but also allows for options in course setup. “Greens will need shapes that allow for a variety of pin positions so that different shot shapes can get close enough to win the hole. Everyone enjoys viewing a ‘sucker’ pin that is tough and risky enough to allow a heroic shot to win or the ultimate choke to lose the hole. The green at the par-three eleventh is one example. It is subtle enough that some may miss the virtues of shotmaking that exist there. A pin on the front half of the green requires a left-to-right ball flight. The back pin demands a draw, flirting with the river, to get close to the hole.” There doesn’t need to be a Ryder Cup at stake for a match playoriented design to make sense. Clubs that are looking to inject some variety, or have a site that might not accommodate a regulation eighteen, might find a match makes heaven. •
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