Change Is Vital 1,098

TRAVELLING GOLFERS ROB SMITH SAYS… ASK OUR Q&A EXPERTS Change is vital golfers at the same time as safeguarding What is your favourite its long-term future. setting or location for a Working closely with both The R&A golf course? and leading architect Martin Ebert, there Alan White, Chester are five main changes. Referring to the While many golfers different hole sequencing that is used express a preference such for The Open, the first change is the as links or heathland, I raising of the 4th green to enable more would say that rather than pin positions. The 7th green has been The 13th hole on the London by a specific location, I am moved to the left, which also allows a Club’s Heritage course seduced by the visual new tee complex at the following hole. Christoph Stadler impact of individual holes There is a new run-off area by the 13th JEREMY ELLWOOD’S DIARY President, European Institute and the beauty of the s regularly stressed in our green with the existing run-off reshaped of Golf Course Architects setting. For example, Royal courses coverage, we are and the closing hole has two new tees, coronavirus put a stop to everything. Rob Lytham is easily the better extremely lucky as the bar, enabling it to be stretched to a Smith and I ummed and ahhed over a What challenges do course, but I‘d have more in terms of course design challenging 607 yards. A brief long-standing Scottish trip the week modern driving fun playing Enniscrone. Aand conditioning, continues to rise all The most significant change is the before Boris Johnson’s lockdown distances present to the time. Entry into our Top 100 and creation of a new short hole, the 17th, statement, seeking the opinion of the course architects? What are your thoughts Next 100 Course Rankings has become which is just 139 yards and located golfing Twitterati as to whether or not we should The shot-length gap on bunker reviews? ever harder, and no club can afford to around the site of the current 15th tee. go (see below). We did go, but things between top and weaker Rob Fear, Bridgwater rest on its laurels. Golfers will now play towards an developed alarmingly quickly, and we players has widened I am all for this for several One excellent and very prime example elevated green with the more dramatic window were glad to get home, with golf now enormously. This makes it reasons. I have no problem is the recent work undertaken at Royal backdrop of the Dee Estuary. rightly off the table for all of us as the increasingly difficult to with turfing over redundant Liverpool, which the year after next was Various other minor alterations have world focuses on more important things. defend the drive landing bunkers or those that are due to host The Open Championship for been made, all of which confirms that zones in such a balanced proving too costly to the 13th time. Hoylake sits proudly at even our most prestigious and historic In January and early February I, like many ■ Did you know? way that they cannot be maintain. Similarly, number 14 in the UK&I, but its forward- courses can continue to evolve and of you, resigned myself to not playing, The London Golf Club officially opened surpassed by long hitters although it can be very thinking members and management are improve. This is an important lesson to all but the bug eventually began to really in July 1994 with a Charity Challenge without making it unfairly expensive, I am all for new keen to make it even more attractive to clubs and great news for all keen golfers! bite. With an evening meeting at Stoke Skins Match between Jack Nicklaus, difficult for weaker players or revised bunkering to Park in late February, I sought out Seve Ballesteros and Tony Jacklin. on the second shot. cater for modern somewhere nearby to play that day, equipment and tastes. Not The new 17th hole enjoying Harewood Downs in What are the best at Royal Liverpool all bunkers need to be Buckinghamshire pretty much to myself solutions you have? purely related to strategy after snow showers on the journey. It Restrict the landing zone of – some can be visual. was far drier than most, with lovely views the long hitters by bunkers, when the sun came out. ponds, trees, deep rough, Do we have too many A week or so later, I squeezed in a etc in such a way that it golf courses? game at the London Club with GM seems wiser to lay up Alan Davison, London colleague Neil Tappin, and although the instead of bombing the Sadly, we do. The massive weather was changeable to say the driver. However, this is only boom in the game in the least and the course still pretty soggy, recommended on some par 1970s and ’80s led to too the vital areas of tees, fringes and 4 or par 5 holes. many new-builds, some of greens were excellent. which had little Just as we were all hoping spring Are developers now architectural merit and would usher in the golfing season, the more open to the idea of suffered from tight shorter courses? budgets. We know there The realisation that the are far more courses problems of stagnating closing than opening, but participation and increased hopefully the knock-on playing times can be effect is the remaining countered by shorter, more clubs will absorb those fun-to-play courses golfers and be better 184 184 requires a radical reversal of placed to survive. 1,098 127 the previous striving for Length, in yards, of the par-7 Length, in yards, of the 12th long, difficult ‘championship’ ■ If you have a course- 3rd hole on the Jeongeup green at the European Club in courses. On the basis of Mark Alexander, Jeremy Ellwood Jeremy Mark Alexander, related question for Rob & course at Gunsan Country County Wicklow. We’ve played numerous successfully Jeremy, please email Club in South Korea. It’s many shorter par 3s! completed projects, we are [email protected] stroke index 1! on the right track. Photography: 104 105.

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