Challenge
Let's say that you want to give your golfers a break. You design a nice
straight 350 yard par 4 with plenty of fairway between the tee and green.
You then open the hole expecting the golfers to thank you for looking out for
them and giving them what amounts to a golfing slam dunk. However, you'll
soon find that the hole does not have the desired effect and that it is even
having a negative impact on their mood. Why? It's because they are
bored! The hole is too easy, even for your duffers.
The trick is to provide a break for the average golfer, without him or her
knowing it. Take the hole in our example, should it be scrapped
completely? Not necessarily. Instead try to make it look more
challenging without actually making it so. For example, run some water
across the fairway 50 yards out. Almost all of your golfers will have no
problem clearing an obstacle 50 yards out, but they feel that they've made a
harder shot. Now place a small hill off to one side of the fairway -
errant shots that hit the hill will bounce back onto the fairway. Add a
bunker behind the green - most players won't try to play the green long
anyway. Your golfers will probably walk away from the hole with the same
score as before, but they'll feel that they beat a challenging hole and will be happier
for the experience.
Now what about the good golfers playing your course? They won't be
fooled as easily as the masses of duffers. The secret to pleasing both
groups of golfers is to provide different ways to complete a hole. Give
the pros a challenging shot, but also give the duffers a way out. For
example, try creating a par 3 0f 150 to 200 yards with water from the tee to the
green. Place fairway along the water's edge and have it curve from the tee
to the side of the green. Good golfers will love the challenge of
precisely landing their ball on the green on the other side of a lake.
Average golfers have the option of playing the hole around the water, giving
them a larger margin of error. One hole, two approaches, and everyone is
happy.
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