Surprise me ?

[louise_a]

I play a lot of opens and often play the courses blind, however if it is a competition that "means something" then I like to get a sight of it first if possible.

 

[Foxholer]

Don't really care, but would prefer a 'pre-comp' look.

Many of the Opens I've played have actually been done in order to play a 'desirable' course at a decent rate, so have often been 1st/only times anyway.

@Bob Who would have thought some idiot would stick a pond there (it wasn't Colt btw!)! Trusting the Marker Post on 10 is hard enough!

 

[davidy233]

I don't generally care - one of the biggest pleasures of golf for me is walking off the first tee on a new course, most opens I play are to get a cheap round on a course I've wanted to play - I'll usually buy a stroke saver (disclaimer: other course guides may be available) but I like the adventure of a first visit to a course.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Not bothered either way

It has helped me out a few times ( the other week at Northampton County perfect example ) but generally enjoy being surprised

 

[Deleted member 1418]

Not fussed really. Playing a new course totally blind is quite enjoyable.

 

[TheClaw]

I voted for practice round because it felt like the most sensible answer but now I'm not sure. Thinking back to some difficult tee shots I've played really well because I didn't know how much trouble was around

Also, GPS in hand it shouldn't matter to me.

 

[sev112]

Google Earth, print it out, plan your strategy in advance, take it with you and £50 and 5 hours stuck behind a 4 ball in the rain saved

What's not to like ?

 

[stevek1969]

if asked the same question 5 years ago i would have said, yes a practice round. But in hindsight all the opens i played my first year where first time on the course and usually resulted in a cut.

I think sometimes you can have pre conceived idea's and then what do you do if your plan does not work..?

Were they short Parkland Courses by any chance?

 

[garyinderry]

In our OOM last year I played a practice round at each of the 5 away rounds. the final luckily being at my home club. I improved my score by at least 2 and up to about 6 points in every round apart from one where I played like a twonk and still scraped 31 points.


Everyone enjoys teeing it up on the first at a new track. Every hole is blind the first time you play it. For a comp, it pays to have course knowledge.

 

[richart]

Playing a course once or twice before an Open, is good for getting a bit of local knowledge, especially if there are blind shots. More than that though, and you start to get to know where all the trouble is, and once you know where it is I personally can not avoid it.

 

[Qwerty]

I tend to play well on courses the 1st time I play them. Mainly driving the ball well probably because I'm relaxed on each tee, so I'd go for not playing it first. Although the sensible option would be to gain a little local knowledge.