A Big Hole

bustercherry · 01-05-2014 01:18PM

It would reduce the skill of reading/making short putts. This in turn "should" speed up the pace of play on greens. It's a concept which won't appeal to the serious golfer but it's aimed at attracting more casual golfers to the game.

One of the biggest gripes casual ( and most

) golfers have is it takes to long to play a round. I'd be happy to play the larger hole in non competitive rounds if it was proven to significant increase in pace of play; not 2 mins a round but more around the 20/30 mins mark. Radical initiatives (maybe not this particular one) are probably the only way we will solve the slow play issue rather than arguing over the 5/10 seconds extra it takes the person putting out to replace a pin.

GreeBo · 01-05-2014 01:25PM

bustercherry wrote: »

It would reduce the skill of reading/making short putts. This in turn "should" speed up the pace of play on greens. It's a concept which won't appeal to the serious golfer but it's aimed at attracting more casual golfers to the game.

One of the biggest gripes casual ( and most ) golfers have is it takes to long to play a round. I'd be happy to play the larger hole in non competitive rounds if it was proven to significant increase in pace of play; not 2 mins a round but more around the 20/30 mins mark. Radical initiatives (maybe not this particular one) are probably the only way we will solve the slow play issue rather than arguing over the 5/10 seconds extra it takes the person putting out to replace a pin.

Why not just end the hole once you hit the green then?

Difficulty is what makes golf attractive to a lot of people, if it was simple who'd care? I dont think you'd have people playing all their lives if it was easy.

bustercherry · 01-05-2014 01:40PM

GreeBo wrote: »

Why not just end the hole once you hit the green then?

Why would you? It's still takes skill to get a 20 ft putt close regardless of the 2 hole sizes. You could still be 40ft away from the pin on the some of the US greens despite being on a green in regulation.

Unless we are all firing at the pins and finishing in that 6/8ft scoring range then I doubt it would make much difference in your (long) putting stats. Again proper stats will prove/disprove my assumption.

bustercherry · 01-05-2014 01:47PM

GreeBo wrote: »

Why not just end the hole once you hit the green then?

Difficulty is what makes golf attractive to a lot of people, if it was simple who'd care? I dont think you'd have people playing all their lives if it was easy.

So you think by increasing the hole size in casual rounds, it would become dramatically easier? You believe your putting stats would dramatically change?

Like I say if it sped up the game dramatically FOR CASUAL NON COMPETITIVE ROUNDS, then I have no problem as I believe the small decrease oin skill for short putts would be outweighed. I AM NOT ADVOCATING CHANGING FOR COMPETITVE GOLF.

spacecoyote · 01-05-2014 01:56PM

Read an article on it myself.

The guy writing it was essentially saying that, yeah, everything inside 10ft is essentially a gimme.

It is a gimmick, but I don't mind the idea of it as a way of getting more people involved. Golf playing numbers are down pretty massively in the last few years, so why not try something to generate some interest. If its a flop, then so what, at least its making an effort to bring extra bodies into the game who you would imagine would transition to the correct sized golf hole once they are hopefully bitten by the bug.

The writer was a golf fanatic. He said he was skeptical, but when the players all had a great chance to make a couple of chip-ins, & were stroking in mid range putts, everyone was enjoying themselves.

I'm assuming that they are not talking about changing golf so that there is a 15 inch diameter hole on every course, but rather that there will be courses available that will offer the possibility to play that game.

I would definitely see it as a great tool for getting young kids involved.

GreeBo · 01-05-2014 02:33PM

bustercherry wrote: »

Why would you? It's still takes skill to get a 20 ft putt close regardless of the 2 hole sizes. You could still be 40ft away from the pin on the some of the US greens despite being on a green in regulation.

Unless we are all firing at the pins and finishing in that 6/8ft scoring range then I doubt it would make much difference in your (long) putting stats. Again proper stats will prove/disprove my assumption.

Making the hole bigger removes a lot of the skill requirement for putting.
A bigger hole makes long putting easier, ball can travel at much more speed and still go in, thus less worries about lagging it up etc. Also you know your next putt is easier, thus less pressure on the long putt.

bustercherry wrote: »

So you think by increasing the hole size in casual rounds, it would become dramatically easier? You believe your putting stats would dramatically change?

Like I say if it sped up the game dramatically FOR CASUAL NON COMPETITIVE ROUNDS, then I have no problem as I believe the small decrease oin skill for short putts would be outweighed. I AM NOT ADVOCATING CHANGING FOR COMPETITVE GOLF.

Then you have two different sports essentially though, with the casual round being significantly different than the competitive round.
If you want casual golf to be quicker and easier, use the appropriate tee to your skill level, dont go digging up greens.

And its a lot more than a small decrease in skill for short putts...think of the difference when they made the ball marginally bigger.

bustercherry · 01-05-2014 02:56PM

spacecoyote wrote: »

Read an article on it myself.

The guy writing it was essentially saying that, yeah, everything inside 10ft is essentially a gimme.

It is a gimmick, but I don't mind the idea of it as a way of getting more people involved. Golf playing numbers are down pretty massively in the last few years, so why not try something to generate some interest. If its a flop, then so what, at least its making an effort to bring extra bodies into the game who you would imagine would transition to the correct sized golf hole once they are hopefully bitten by the bug.

The writer was a golf fanatic. He said he was skeptical, but when the players all had a great chance to make a couple of chip-ins, & were stroking in mid range putts, everyone was enjoying themselves.

I'm assuming that they are not talking about changing golf so that there is a 15 inch diameter hole on every course, but rather that there will be courses available that will offer the possibility to play that game.

I would definitely see it as a great tool for getting young kids involved.

I'd like to see the stats to back it up first on that. Lucan's greens can be unreal at times, even with the 15 inch holes I wouldn't be saying anything under 10ft is a gimme :P

Ultimately it's about increasing the profile of the game to attract new bodies so I'd say it has been a success so far if you look at the amount of coverage it has had in the press.

Golf can be a very negative game at times. I sometimes wonder why certain people play when you spend 4 hours plus listening to them bitch and moan their way round a course. Certainly when the are giving out about misses when statistically the odds are way against them making it. I don't find it any way enjoyable and cannot see how anyone taking up the game would be bothered listening to this tired old rhetoric. It is a gimmick but I can see how it could inject more fun into a round.

bustercherry · 01-05-2014 03:10PM

GreeBo wrote: »

Making the hole bigger removes a lot of the skill requirement for putting.
A bigger hole makes long putting easier, ball can travel at much more speed and still go in, thus less worries about lagging it up etc. Also you know your next putt is easier, thus less pressure on the long putt.

That may be so but I would like to see the stats to back it up rather than base it on assumptions. I'd be of the opinion the stats wouldn't be dramatic people think they would be. Also you won't attract new people to sport if it's not fun.

GreeBo wrote: »

Then you have two different sports essentially though, with the casual round being significantly different than the competitive round.

Complete over reaction as usual. No one is advocating it's enforced that all casual rounds are played using the larger hole. I'd be happy for it to be in play on a course I was playing if it meant a significant increase in pace of play. It just means I focus on something else on my casual/poractice round.

GreeBo wrote: »

If you want casual golf to be quicker and easier, use the appropriate tee to your skill level, dont go digging up greens.

Surely the same argument can be made for the choosing the appropriate hole?

Or maybe it's a dig at me?

GreeBo wrote: »

And its a lot more than a small decrease in skill for short putts...think of the difference when they made the ball marginally bigger.

[/QUOTE]

In your opinion. I'd like to see the stats from this across a wide range of player levels. IMO I don't think the stats will be as dramatic as everyone thinks they will be.

hrigsby2 · 01-05-2014 03:29PM

Some of ya'll are hilarious...you nitpick the hell out of why the game is too slow, but when something comes along that could actually make a difference in speeding things up, you are completely against it for the integrity of the game.

Funny enough, the size of a golf hole was an arbitrary decision from the start. It's 4.25" because the first ever hole cutter, which was used at Musselburgh, just happened to be 4.25". What if they'd made it 15 cm (it's currently 10.8) from the start? Would there be complaints on a daily basis that the hole should be smaller because the game is too easy?

Just some food for thought. Personally, 15" is way too big, but I wouldn't mind a move to a 5" or 6" cup. The disparity that is being created by longer equipment between good golfers and mediocre ones is something that no one discusses when they look at the extra 10 yards on their drive rather than the fact that it's 10 yards further off-line...so a larger hole would be a decent way to counteract that.

And bustercherry, you should consider not coming into every discussion so hot! Not everyone is out to take shots at you...they're just trying to get their point across, relax!

What we really need to do is regulate the hell out of golf balls. Golf club technology is actually not doing near as much to change the game as balls are. People are still going to use and lose golf balls, so why are we continuing to allow manufacturers to make them longer and longer just to take command over the market, when it's making the game take longer and making some historic golf courses obsolete?

Dayor Knight · 01-05-2014 05:48PM

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

**** Off Taylor Made.

Never buying from them again.

Golf Industry ****.

I had a hole in one with that hole today

Is that really you, Fix? Sounding a bit more angry than is normal for you!

A Big Hole

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