51 a hundred years or more. The real challenge comes about as a side-effect of the equipment changes that have made courses so short for elite golfers. There are now plenty of players out there who are capable of giving the ball an almighty thump, but who have little or no idea of where it is going to go. “I regard the long inaccurate wild golfer as his own inherent problem,” says Forse. “His biggest issue may be getting sued by fellow golfers or owners of passing cars!” “Random shots are hard to predict,” says Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design. “I do think I give a lot of thought to the very forward tees, but I leave it to the players to show some common sense once they have set off from the tee. I know it is difficult to predict where it is going if you’re that much of a novice, but you have a responsibility to yourself to make it easy on yourself if you have the choice. Very poor golfers ought to limit themselves to simple courses until sufficiently experienced, otherwise they’ll just put themselves off.” Golfers of all standards are prone to blame architects for their own failings, says Smith. But there has to be a line drawn somewhere between what is the architect’s fault and what is the player’s. “That line usually emerges during a member or town hall meeting,” he explains. “Someone will pick upon and continue to criticise a simple design issue, because it affects their personal game. I have made the comment a few times after someone like that continues to complain: ‘I can’t design for that!’ There has to be some level of skill to meet me part of the way and that’s why facilities have golf professionals.” Texas-based designer Kurt Bowman, who worked for Nicklaus Design for many years, remembers a memorable line from his old boss. “I was once at a grand opening with Jack, and he was asked, ‘how do you do strategy for a 20 handicap?’ Jack answered, ‘You can’t’. He said if you don’t know where the ball is going, how am I supposed to know? He said all you can do is limit forced carries and give them a lot of space. I do think you can do both, mind, so long as you have ample space. Augusta National and Royal Melbourne are proof.” Hell’s Half Acre looms in the distance, as an almost insurmountable hazard, for those setting out on the seventh at Pine Valley. But founder George Crump had designed the course specifically for very good players Photo: Jon Cavalier/@LinksGems “ There is a point where some players ought not to be pandered to” Photo: iStock/jvoisey
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