Golfuture... I think I like it

[Slab]

Just from the article I could go for this... but I'm not sure if I'd want it to replace the range or the course (or neither or both)

In summary:
Hit all your par4/5 tee shots on that part of the complex (1)
Then move and hit all your 2nd shots & par 3 tee shots (2) (which are based on results of your drives)
Then move to short game and putting until you hole out (3,4,5) (which are based on results of your approach shots)

Bigger than the usual range, much smaller than a course. Time to play '18 holes' is under an hour

I think the guys behind this might be onto something, what say you?

edit to add link and pic:

https://www.golfuture.net/concept/

 

[Grant85]

Just from the article I could go for this... but I'm not sure if I'd want it to replace the range or the course (or neither or both)

In summary:
Hit all your par4/5 tee shots on that part of the complex (1)
Then move and hit all your 2nd shots & par 3 tee shots (2) (which are based on results of your drives)
Then move to short game and putting until you hole out (3,4,5) (which are based on results of your approach shots)

Bigger than the usual range, much smaller than a course. Time to play '18 holes' is under an hour

I think the guys behind this might be onto something, what say you?

edit to add link and pic:

https://www.golfuture.net/concept/
View attachment 26428

Interesting. Obviously will have to change the culture somewhat and very reliant on players getting on with it as a group of 4 players will have 72 shots to play from area 2. Assume this will also have to be artificial turf as 1 area could never hold up to any serious traffic without getting absolutely shredded within a week or so.

Does seem a bit extreme, but could do some business in metro America where land is too expensive and courses are far more valuable as development sites.

 

[Imurg]

It has it's place in the grand scheme but it's not really golf is it..?
It's an expanded TopGolf, in itself not a bad thing, but this isn't going to replace the real thing anytime soon.
It's very flat, wind blows the same way every hole, limited hazards and.....
A big part of golf is the social aspect on the course. Walking with your playing partners, chatting. Also, there's the lack of exercise.
It's a nice idea but it's not the revolution they think it's going to be

 

[Slab]

I think in many countries it could be embraced more readily than it might be in the UK (comparatively speaking) I also wonder if this might be more social than proper golf (a pair or 3 go off and not seen again for 4 hours) here there would be the entire field to interact with, to follow and support also. I do think the topography might get samey but plenty on here say they don't get bored with the same course

Its interesting for sure

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Seems to me just another kooky range idea. I don’t see it taking off or lasting.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Seems to me just another kooky range idea. I don’t see it taking off or lasting.

Yep it’s just a range , it’s really golf beyond hitting the ball - don’t see the point and can’t see the appeal anymore than something like top golf.

 

[Capella]

That's awful.

 

[need_my_wedge]

I'd give it a go to try it out, but I don't think I'd want to play it 4 times a week. Certainly not much in the way of walking exercise, and not a lot of adventure, i.e. no exploring parts of the course most people never see .

People harp on about slow play and speeding the game up, but I'm quite happy to spend my sunny afternoon at the weekend ambling around the course with family or friends. My only bone of contention with slow play is waiting for ages on shots, not specifically how long it takes to play 18 holes. If it takes 3 hours or 5, it doesn't matter as long as I'm moving shot to shot without standing around for ages. If I want a shorter round, I play 9 holes instead of 18.

 

[Orikoru]

So how many balls do you have to carry, 9? (Assuming 9 hole 'course'.) And you do all your putting in one go? You say it takes only an hour, but they can't book people on every 8 minutes like golf courses, because you need all the 9 greens to be clear at the same time, so you only put people on in like half hour slots surely?

If you're hitting all your drives, then all your approaches, then all your putts, then that's nothing more than a practise session to my mind. You're not actually playing golf. I see this as nothing more than a fancy practise facility.

 

[Slab]

So how many balls do you have to carry, 9? (Assuming 9 hole 'course'.) And you do all your putting in one go? You say it takes only an hour, but they can't book people on every 8 minutes like golf courses, because you need all the 9 greens to be clear at the same time, so you only put people on in like half hour slots surely?

If you're hitting all your drives, then all your approaches, then all your putts, then that's nothing more than a practise session to my mind. You're not actually playing golf. I see this as nothing more than a fancy practise facility.

It could well be nowt more than fancy practice (but as practice goes its pretty cool) although I'm not sure you've picked up on what users actually do in each zone, you don't need all the greens to be clear

 

[Orikoru]

It could well be nowt more than fancy practice (but as practice goes its pretty cool) although I'm not sure you've picked up on what users actually do in each zone, you don't need all the greens to be clear

From what I read in your post, you play all your tee shots, then all your approach shots, then all your chips & putts, no? Did I misunderstand?

 

[Grant85]

From what I read in your post, you play all your tee shots, then all your approach shots, then all your chips & putts, no? Did I misunderstand?

That looks like the way of it.

Still think you could only have a limited number of people on the property at any time and not sure of the tech required to measure each shot that people play.

It's probably going to appeal to regular golfers more than a simulator and like I said, might get off the ground in a few urban areas where the cost of land being used for golf is prohibitive.

 

[Slab]

From what I read in your post, you play all your tee shots, then all your approach shots, then all your chips & putts, no? Did I misunderstand?

Yeah I did only type out a summary
From what I see (& much like a range) you are not using your balls, as you say it would be ridiculous to send 10 bays of players off to pick up their tee/2nd shots and would prevent everyone else playing

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Golf is so much more than just hitting the ball. It is the 5 mile walk, the 4 hours spent with friends, playing new courses etc etc. There is probably a place for this but it's not for me.

 

[sunshine]

Looks like a good idea as a range / practise ground. More variety than bashing balls at the range. That's about it.

This could work in America, where people don't like walking around a course.

 

[Curls]

Apart from the short game stuff I do this anyway at a normal range as a game. I play one ball around my course, tee off imagining where the fairway of the first extends then depending on my shot I know roughly what yardage I have left etc etc. I get a pretty good visualisation of how I intend to play and roughly how many GIRs I could expect. It generally bears absolutely no relation to how I actually play. But its a bit of fun, gets you to play with lots of different clubs.

What that lacks, as does this, is playing from the rough, or behind a tree, or upslope, or to a blind green or as has been mentioned with wind variation.

I get the idea and I'd probably give it a go if it were local, but I'd rather spend an hour around my local course practicing a few things so I think it'd be once for the novelty.

Best of luck to them, they might have a decent audience, it just isn't me.

 

[Grant85]

Apart from the short game stuff I do this anyway at a normal range as a game. I play one ball around my course, tee off imagining where the fairway of the first extends then depending on my shot I know roughly what yardage I have left etc etc. I get a pretty good visualisation of how I intend to play and roughly how many GIRs I could expect. It generally bears absolutely no relation to how I actually play. But its a bit of fun, gets you to play with lots of different clubs.

What that lacks, as does this, is playing from the rough, or behind a tree, or upslope, or to a blind green or as has been mentioned with wind variation.

I get the idea and I'd probably give it a go if it were local, but I'd rather spend an hour around my local course practicing a few things so I think it'd be once for the novelty.

Best of luck to them, they might have a decent audience, it just isn't me.

Must be a bit awkward having to simulate a 'chip out sideways from the trees' when you are on the range?

 

[Trapdraw]

It’s not really golf, just a gimmicky top golf variant. Golf is more than hitting the ball, as said by others. It’s the walk, it’s the elements, it’s the joy of a well executed shot, it’s the disappointment of a bad shot!
You won’t get any of that at a range.

 

[Curls]

Must be a bit awkward having to simulate a 'chip out sideways from the trees' when you are on the range?

Not at all, when I'm on the range I stripe every drive down the middle.

The ones I slice into the next field I just say "na I wouldn't do that" and rack up another

 

[Wolf]

Can't say I'm a fan of this idea as a game. I like top golf for its fun interaction and is good for getting my kids involved, I just see this a slightly pointless extension of that. Much rather beout on the course playing different holes and layouts instead playing the same shots over and over again and segmenting the game into sections the fun for me is you okay different shots every hole not 18 tee shot thew 18 approach shots etc.