Interesting Idea

I read today in the February 12th issue of GOLFWEEK magazine Bradley Klein's article entitled "Eyeballing It." Bradley is the architecture editor for the magazine and writes frequently about course reviews and architecture. His article in this issue posed the question as to what if we removed all yardage indicators on golf courses and forced players to rely on feel and experience when playing a course.

Now, at first, especially in light of the USGA's recent recent rule change allowing the use of distance measuring devices, one would wonder why we should jump back years in time. But think about it. As he described in the article, wouldn't it be something to hear the discussion between Phil Mickelson and Bones (his caddie) on the 15th fairway of Augusta contemplating what club to pull NOT KNOWING FOR SURE the distance to the pin? I for one would love to see how the best in the world deal with a little uncertainty.

In fact, unless the wind is absolutely still, there is always a degree of uncertainty in every shot. Wind effect, softness of the greens, not to mention our own ability to strike the ball consistently. One more factor would NOT overly change the world of competative (or even recreational) golf, it would only encourage us to continue to rely on our feel and perception as we play this game. While I am not suggesting we roll all the way back to the feathery ball and wooden shafts, I think the skill any player posesses to be able to judge his or her shot and rely more on feel is a good thing. Do you know EXACTLY your yardage to the pin everytime you play? Or how about the distance to a bunker you think you can carry. I know I don't, but I still enjoy playing. Before we know it we will be reading the greens with some sort of device, too. Although we ultimately STILL NEED TO EXECUTE THE SHOT, I for one like the idea of relying on feel and trusting our own abilities to direct our courses of action.

Now with all of this said, do I expect this to happen? Hardly. I can't see any chance that courses will remove all yardage markers, yardage books, or anything else helping us. I love using the Laser Link system at our course, and I want to know when a bunker is such-and-such a distance to carry instead of guessing. HOWEVER, I know one thing I will try is playing the course WITHOUT these aides and see just how good my feel and perception really is. When I get into a situation in a tournament when both my judgement AND the yardage guide tell me the same thing, I will be that much more confident hitting the shot. And, when I get into situations where I cannot know exactly what my distance is, I will be better prepared to make my guess and see a better result.

One thing I feel is consistent about my view on the game is that we should only play for OUR OWN ENJOYMENT AND PURPOSE. And when we really play this way, we are not afraid to try new things, including trying to rely on our eyesight and see just how good or bad it may be. Again, what matters is NOT the results, but the reasons and the efforts we put into it. Try playing this way sometime. Heck, just do it once to see how you do. Ultimately golf is still a game, and we should always enjoy playing and experimenting with this game. Let me know if you do, and what the results were. I can't wait to "eyeball it" myself.