As one peruses various articles about golf courses or watch golf related TV shows about resorts and courses, I find that they present some information of interest but rarely fully capture my attention.  They generally highlight the following points:

• A fabulous layout

• Present a golf challenge

• Describe the length from the tips

• Describe the resort setting

• Promote the benefits of a stay at the resort

Based upon my own course and associated golf travel interests I can’t deny that the general overview items are worth hearing about but I want to know more.  I want more details that would convince me, an average golfer, to play there.  Since I don’t hear the kind of details I’m interested in I lose interest quickly.

My goal is to present a clearer picture of what attracts my attention and increases my desire to play the course – as an average recreational golfer looking for good golf value.  I hope the criteria helps you focus on what attracts your attention regarding golf courses.

I have used my defined criteria to evaluate some of the courses I’ve played.  Please check out other pages on my lifepast50 site to read my reviews.

With regards to a fabulous layout, what does that really mean to the average recreational golfer?

• Scenery – especially on a golf trip scenery is always important.  Mostly seeing something different than I regularly see at home with views of the surrounding landscape (or sea or lake views if you are near water) is tremendously pleasing.  For me, being able to see landscapes in the distance like mountains, hills, and views around water are most appealing.

• Mix of holes – I like to play courses that offer a mix of long and short par 3 and 4 holes along with a mix of dog leg left and right holes.  A course that makes you play all the clubs in your bag is way more attractive than simply hitting a driver and then a 9 or wedge to all par 4 greens.  As a right handed player with a tendency to fade the ball, I do enjoy the test of standing on the tee facing a hole that goes to the left.

• Consistency and condition – by this I mean the overall uniformity and regularity of the tee boxes, greens, fairways, rough and the dreaded bunkers or hazard areas across the entire course.  Being able to use tee blocks that aren’t really chewed up and that are reasonably level is a happy site.  Having quality and consistent sand in the bunkers allows you to feel more confident when facing those shots during a round.

• Character – not just a flat, shapeless course but a course that clearly provides many of the factors listed above and fits in with the surroundings.  Elevation changes, fairways with gently undulating terrain, greens providing some bendy and straight putts, and a look that complements the local geography provides memories.

The golf challenge for the average player directly pertains to the shots you have to make while playing along with the opportunity to make a good shot.  The layout factors I noted above do directly influence the golf challenge.  The average player will spray it around a little and having some room for an errant shot or three helps.  What does challenge mean to the average golfer?

• Fairway decisions – offers some generous and tight landing spots.  The occasional extra room in a landing area is required for an errant shot as well as varying lies (some flat, some uphill, and some downhill).

• Some challenging pin placements – to make you think about where to place your approach shot.  Some easy pin placements that give you a chance for a birdie and some tougher placements that force you to sometimes just aim at the middle of the green unless you’ve given yourself a great angle or look at the pin with your setup shot.

• Some challenging shot making decision – facing shots over water, hazard areas, interesting terrain like creeks, gullies and canyons always adds to the enjoyment but not on every hole though.  Providing options to hit it over or layup makes a course more memorable, especially when you are playing decently and know that you can make it given the playing conditions (like lie, wind, etc.).  Some days you take the risk and other days you stay safe.

• Fair bunkers – it isn’t so much a factor of the number of bunkers or where they are located, it is the fact that the average player can hit the ball out with an average sand shot.  A bunker typically penalizes the average golfer anyways in terms of distance you can hit the ball (in the case of a fairway bunker) or the ability to control the ball flight and roll (in the case of a green side bunker).

• Putting – consistency in the condition of the greens in terms of speed is important to the average golfer.  Seeing the ball run smoothly without humps, bumps and jumps allows you to concentrate on your putting touch.

• A chance to recover when in the rough – not every course has to have major championship rough because average players generally lack the skill to consistently strike the ball with the force necessary to make a miraculous recovery shot.  Playable rough that lets you have a chance once and a while to strike a decent recovery shot is appreciated instead of always just hacking the ball out to the nearest playable position.

The courses that offer at least 4 tee blocks on each hole along with at least a one or more club difference between the tee blocks provides players with options and choices.  With courses typically described from the tips, where the average golfer shouldn’t be playing from, I really want to know more about the middle tees and what the course offers from that perspective.  This just reiterates a key point about golf enjoyment – play the tees that match your ability – you will enjoy your round better and you maintain a pace of play that adds to the enjoyment of all on the course.

Information regarding the resort and the golf typically presents an attractive picture which usually comes with a more expensive price tag.  Looking for value includes accommodation comfort at a reasonable price.  Not that I look for playing on the cheap but it all comes down to attaining value…..sometimes a subjective quest but one that includes very objective measures.

Once the course is played, I can then add a couple of more criteria to the evaluation……..would I want to play it again, would I come back for another visit, and did I get my money’s worth.  Add to the list things like staff friendliness, the availability of the refreshment cart, and of course the cost and you cap off the details I want to hear about.  With this information in hand I can make a personal decision about playing the course and add it to my list that represents golf value – is it worth the money I will spend.

To move this back to the topic at hand, I feel that I don’t see articles that reflect the point of view I’ve described above.  I can’t speak for the vast majority of average golfers, I can only relate the feelings of the group of buddies I play with.  This small group feels pretty much the same as I do.

Lane Smith – Lane@lifepast50.ca