Golf Things That Gladden The Heart

[Slab]

Was able to play a round at Glenbervie GC last week as the guest of a member

Really enjoyed his hospitality and playing his course. I doubt he's a forum member but just repeating my thanks to him

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

That looks great, really pleasing to the eye. Do you think the SI will change with the added difficulty?

I hear we may be reassessing the SIs in about 18-24mnths time. Certainly our new bunkering all over the course and other changes have made some holes a lot harder than they were when indexing was last done.

This hole is already SI 3. Our SI 1 is same side of course and a tough and long par 5 into the prevailing wind and with rising fairway for tee and second shots. Our SI 2 hole is a 467yd dogleg par 4 with a blind second shot round the dogleg after a tee shot into a rising fairway…

 

[sunshine]

That looks great, really pleasing to the eye. Do you think the SI will change with the added difficulty?

I assume you mean slope index? This is an interesting point because I'm sure many courses carry out remodelling and I wonder what the plans are to revisit slope ratings across the country after their initial rating - bet lots of courses need tweaking!

One of the experts will be along soon with a proper answer, but stroke index is not a measure of difficulty so I doubt there would be any reason to alter it.

 

[sjw]

I assume you mean slope index? This is an interesting point because I'm sure many courses carry out remodelling and I wonder what the plans are to revisit slope ratings across the country after their initial rating - bet lots of courses need tweaking!

One of the experts will be along soon with a proper answer, but stroke index is not a measure of difficulty so I doubt there would be any reason to alter it.

This comment prompted me to look into exactly what stroke index means, and it is much more in-depth than I thought!

 

[Deleted member 31467]

Cleaned my clubs thoroughly this afternoon. Little wire brush in the grooves, scrubbing pad and fairy liquid on the grips, lovely and tacky now ready for the midweek medal tomorrow.

Quite therapeutic really

 

[Jigger]

Cleaned my clubs thoroughly this afternoon. Little wire brush in the grooves, scrubbing pad and fairy liquid on the grips, lovely and tacky now ready for the midweek medal tomorrow.

Quite therapeutic really

I always use a plastic brush for fear of scratches and get the same results. I tend to buy the dual sided brushes and pull the wire side out after too many times of it sticking into me from my carrying days.

 

[Jigger]

I assume you mean slope index? This is an interesting point because I'm sure many courses carry out remodelling and I wonder what the plans are to revisit slope ratings across the country after their initial rating - bet lots of courses need tweaking!

One of the experts will be along soon with a proper answer, but stroke index is not a measure of difficulty so I doubt there would be any reason to alter it.

We’re constantly remodelling and the club have had to bring out the officials to have to course reassessed. We’re also a good few years into the new course also so had the old and new stroke indexes re-assessed also. As many will know, SIs are not just rated on hole difficulty.

 

[sjw]

I always use a plastic brush for fear of scratches and get the same results. I tend to buy the dual sided brushes and pull the wire side out after too many times of it sticking into me from my carrying days.

This literally described my experience at the weekend. Wire brushes can be vicious little things!!

 

[Neilds]

Cleaned my clubs thoroughly this afternoon. Little wire brush in the grooves, scrubbing pad and fairy liquid on the grips, lovely and tacky now ready for the midweek medal tomorrow.

Quite therapeutic really

I recall reading somewhere that a top caddie/pro once said that if you need to clean your clubs after a round, you are not doing it properly during the round - I took this to heart and never clean them at all (unless I get a large clump of mud/grass during the round)

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I assume you mean slope index? This is an interesting point because I'm sure many courses carry out remodelling and I wonder what the plans are to revisit slope ratings across the country after their initial rating - bet lots of courses need tweaking!

One of the experts will be along soon with a proper answer, but stroke index is not a measure of difficulty so I doubt there would be any reason to alter it.

Just on this, the answer in our case is both Stoke Indexing and CR/Slope.

This specific hole will likely play a lot harder than before, but probably only now merits it’s existing SI in respect of difficulty relative to other holes - it has been a low SI for indexing reasons other than difficulty.

But our work on the course over the last few years has made a few specific holes and bunker shots in general much more challenging. And for that reason we may look at our stroke indexing in a year or two as the changes bed in, and also may request a revision of our CR and Slope.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

And so hopefully for the last time at least for a good while, and as it has for the last 6months, today‘s course status update contains the words …’There is a temporary green on the 14th’

 

[Slab]

Just on this, the answer in our case is both Stoke Indexing and CR/Slope.

This specific hole will likely play a lot harder than before, but probably only now merits it’s existing SI in respect of difficulty relative to other holes - it has been a low SI for indexing reasons other than difficulty.

But our work on the course over the last few years has made a few specific holes and bunker shots in general much more challenging. And for that reason we may look at our stroke indexing in a year or two as the changes bed in, and also may request a revision of our CR and Slope.

just pondering,
if a course changes one or more bunkers from relatively shallow to bunkers of roughly same size & location but steeper faced... would that necessarily change the course rating? or is a bunker just a bunker ?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

just pondering,
if a course changes one or more bunkers from relatively shallow to bunkers of roughly same size & location but steeper faced... would that necessarily change the course rating? or is a bunker just a bunker ?

That is the very good question I ponder also. Our rebuilt bunkers require at least a half decent handicappers technique to get out of first time (all things being equal and from a decent position in the bunker). No more simple low face ‘splash’ bunkers. Higher handicappers can really struggle.

With us though, we have not only rebuilt every bunker on the course, we have taken the opportunity to reposition and toughen up their positioning on fairways and as part of green complexes. Plus we’ve made the bunkering, on some of our shortest holes especially but also in general, much more visually challenging, almost intimidating. See my photo in post #374 as an example of what we have done with rebuilds, repositioning and visual challenge.

 

[Neilds]

That is the very good question I ponder also. Our rebuilt bunkers require at least a half decent handicappers technique to get out of first time (all things being equal and from a decent position in the bunker). No more simple low face ‘splash’ bunkers. Higher handicappers can really struggle.

With us though, we have not only rebuilt every bunker on the course, we have taken the opportunity to reposition and toughen up their positioning on fairways and as part of green complexes. Plus we’ve made the bunkering, on some of our shortest holes especially but also in general, much more visually challenging, almost intimidating. See my photo in post #374 as an example of what we have done with rebuilds, repositioning and visual challenge.

Hope members don't start moaning about the pace of play now

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Hope members don't start moaning about the pace of play now

They moan about the bunkers being too small, and they are ‘too small’ because more often than not we have to be able to get our bunker shots ‘up’ pretty quickly…no more low hit chip outs. They think that if a bunker was bigger there would be a longer slope back from the face and so a lower trajectory shot out would be all that is required. Yes…that’s all true…but is remedied by learning how to hit a bunker shot using the bounce of the club.

And I also occasionally hear similar moans about the size of our greens…they are traditional and quite small and often quite narrow side-to-side, requiring a more accurate approach shot. Clearly a bigger and wider green would enable us to not bother being so accurate….

 

[venger]

A downhill par 5 with the wind behind you. Green in two here we come (hopefully)

 

[venger]

A downhill par 5 with the wind behind you. Green in two here we come (hopefully)

Green was reached in two and somehow I managed to get an eagle.

 

[Billysboots]

Just had it confirmed that a group of us are playing JCB at the beginning of May. Can’t wait.

 

[Pin-seeker]

Just had it confirmed that a group of us are playing JCB at the beginning of May. Can’t wait.

Nice

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Playing this morning and really looking forward to playing our reconfigured 14th hole, only yesterday having been reopened after 6months of work on it.