Ideal number of holes?

[AliB]

Sorry if this one's been round before, but have just read a book* whose author suggests golf would be as good and less time-consuming over 12 holes. In view of how long it takes to play a round of 18 (on a Saturday on a busy course) and the problems some of us have escaping partners and families, what do you think the ideal length of a course would be?
My vote would go to 14 or 15 holes - giving time to get into your stride (or to lose it!)but knocking best part of an hour off the time required.
If eighteen weren't the rule what would you prefer (or are you all up for 36 at a time?)

AliB
*Book is Andrew Greig's 'Preferred Lies' -more about it on the blog, but this is not an advert - I gain nothing from sales!

 

[cosworth]

hi alib.
ive just got home from playing 12 holes which i play every wk.the course was a 9 but they later added the other 3.its a very good public course but not quite as well kept as their 18.
for me 12 holes is an ideal amount of holes.i like playing 18 but it takes an extra 1 hour to play which isnt always pleasing to my wife who doesnt like golf at all...i really mean not at all.the couse is 30 mins travelling each way so 12 holes can keep me out between 3 to 4 hours and 18 holes 4 to 5.only play with mates so this suits me.

 

[imanhacker]

Well since I've read the book and played the course - Shiskine Golf & Tennis Club on the Isle of Arran - I most definitely agree with Andrew Greig's view that 12 holes is the ideal number of holes for a round of golf. Shiskine is a quirky little course but full of great suprises and the book is a fabulous read - nothing like the normal golf books you come across.

I'll vote for 12 holes.

 

[birdieman]

18...end of...stop messing with our great game, just play a bit faster!!

 

[John_Findlay]

I have to agree, birdieman. But remember that the first ever Open Championship was played over 3 rounds of 12 holes at Prestwick. So there's a bit of tradition for 12 hole courses.

Never ever thought about a 15 hole course before. Maybe I'd fulfill my ambition of breaking 70!

 

[imanhacker]

It's not me that needs to play faster - it's the others!!

 

[DriveForShow]

Agree totally. 12 holes has always struck me as the perfect length - 9 can leave you wanting more but 18 can be a bit of a slog, especially on days when you're not playing well, the company is not congenial, the weather a bit iffy or whatever.

18 is a totally random number anyway. Early courses were over a variety of lengths. It's only because St Andrews has 18 holes that this became the norm. But St Andrews used to have 22 holes, until some were amalgamated. Had this not happened we would presumably now have had 22- and 11-hole courses - and all of us who reckon a dozen holes to be the perfect length would have been much happier!

With new courses being built, and others being redesigned, to cope with longer hitting, rounds will only get longer - both in yardage and time. Also new courses are going to require more land (and as Mark Twain said, they aren't building it anymore). So maybe accepting the idea of 12-hole courses, just as we have accepted the idea of 9-hole ones, could be a solution in some cases.

 

[madandra]

I once played Skelmorlie near Largs and it was 15 ... then you played 1,2,and 3 again.

Could you ever imagine asking if Christmas shopping should be cut to a few days?

The point everyone is overlooking is the most serious: 12 holes would take 2 and a half hours. That would mean getting home in time to be dragged round the shops

 

[ForeThought]

Haven't we all played, or come across, dull 18-hole tracks where the holes have been crammed into a small amount of space? The result has been a series of mediocre holes with a predominance of short par 4s. In these cases perhaps an interesting 12-hole course could have been created on the land instead.

Wouldn't we all rather have 12 interesting holes to play than 18 dull ones?

 

[DriveForShow]

ForeThought - you're dead right. Quality not quantity!

Not only that, but some of these cramped courses are dangerous in that you are driving off far too near other players on other holes. Chap I knew lost the sight in an eye when hit by tee shot. He was standing on a tee which was near another one and almost facing it. Although the tees were slightly offset it was not enough so that a slight hook from one tee could not mow into the group on the other one. Which is exactly what happened...

 

[RGuk]

I often find 18 a bit of a hassle....what annoys me is having a few rubbish holes in the middle of a course (at a place I don't know) and it then spoiling the overall enjoyment.

12 would be a funky idea......and a lot easier on the legs.....then again 36 used to be OK....just getting old!

Dave

 

[lefty74]

finally someone with a bit off sense, golf is 18 holes thats it, if your partner doesn't let you out for the day then maybe your problem is not the 5 hours too play a round of golf but the hassle you get when you return home, shut up & grow a back bone......

 

[cosworth]

lefty are you single or crazy.show back bone to a woman and life gats far worse

 

[RGuk]

maybe your problem is not the 5 hours too play a round of golf but the hassle you get when you return home, shut up & grow a back bone......

Oohh, harsh!

Being keen on Golf carries quite a few problems for married/family folks.......that's why midweek competitions are sometimes more sociable for home life.

Dave

 

[lefty74]

not single or crazy just have an understanding with my partner i have my time she has hers but we also do have common interests

 

[lefty74]

yes i do understand people have commitments but a few hours a week for a game of golf come on it cant be that difficult to get a day pass.....

 

[RGuk]

I do OK on a day pass! sure....even had the odd 2/3 day pass too!!

Since the thread is about how many holes to play, I'd rather enjoy 9 and see my kids some more than play 18 "just because".
that's all.

Dave

 

[lefty74]

ok i vote for 18 holes then go home and see my girls, p.s i had a nightmare on the sat medal couldn't hit a cow with a banjo...........

 

[AliB]

Hi Imanh
Lucky thing to play on Arran - hope the weather was good. Made the mistake of taking up golf after leaving 'my ain country'. Confess I haven't finished the book (yet) but like the vibe, especially the stuff about how golf in Scotland is (was?)not about elitism or business deals, but mainly old guys in 'gardening clothes' prodding their shots towards the hole and hopefully avoiding the sheep...
cheers
AliB

 

[viscount17]

realgolfer, you have to employ a bit of subtle - confuses them no end!
Told mine I was going to buy a m/bike, then bought clubs and started golf instead. So, this weekend, entirely unsolicited, I got . . . 'why don't you get 7-day membership next year, then you can do what you usually do on Saturday on Friday afternoon and play on Saturday's!'

Now is that a win?
Oh, and 18!