is this golf?

[jpjeffery]

The pros can do this but are the majority of us good enough with our distance control to deliberately leave an uphill putt from more than 50-60 yards out...?

Indeed not, and doesn't this tie in with this month's article about improving the pace of play? i.e. points were made in that piece about course set up, in particular the length of the rough, but that should include avoiding really tough greens.

I played Scarborough South Cliff course when I was on holiday in August, and on the 15th I was on the fringe about 8 feet from the hole. I hit a pretty good putt - I thought - which had good pace to drop but missed the hole by 1 or 2 inches...then kept going and going and going, almost off the green, but about 25 to 30 feet away. I felt very hard done by.

(Cue music from a very tiny violin.)

 

[davemc1]

I agree with Dave to a degree as mine was the course in question.

Many of the holes have big slopes and if the greens are too fast then some hole positions can become impossible, on the day in question the speed was faster than usual (as it was an open and a qualifier) and getting above the hole was a big no-no. But I'd say that only one hole was bordering on the unplayable and that was the sixth which is notorious when the hole is cut on the right side. (Although Fish holed a great right to left breaker for his par!)

But in my deference Dave, I did offer two bits of advice before we teed off.
1. keep your ball towards the left side on the first 8 holes as it's OB right on all of them.
2. Try and get below the hole when approaching the green as there are some big slopes,
While on the course I tried to state which way the green sloped if there was a big slope, I even did this individually to everybody on the 6th!

Think yourself lucky though, you only had to play it once, I have to put up with it week in week out.

Hi Nick. This really isn't a go a your course, which is a cracker mate. Hence the reason I never mentioned no names. Please don't feel offended, as I'd love to give it another crack next year.
You as a host were exemplary, and gave very good hole descriptions. Pity I wasn't playing well enough to heed!! I
Iveen this a couple of times this year, it just seems very unfair imo.