Do you score better on a nicer course?

[Jackal]

we play an older course that was converted from a cow pasture, to a golf course.

The layout isn't hard, but the natural stuff is.

Lack of grass, rocks everywhere, just neglect.

A few years ago my Son joined the school team, and has been playing at nicer courses.

  He can shoot +\- 2 on a lot of the good courses.

On this old course he can usually shoot 3 or 4 under per 9 holes.

Sometimes, he'll go +5, and it's because of the ( trouble???).

Large rocks close to the green, big spots of hard dirt with no grass.

I thought I hit a sprinkler head the other day on a pitch shot.

After going up to the spot, it was some kind of metal linkage that had fallen off of a mower.

Some of the people drive right up to the greens, and others drag their feet so bad that you can't even putt.

Another course is opening back up, and we are going to join it.

We have started to treat this old course as a 'walking driving range'.

We wondered what kind of scores a pro would shoot here.

It's had to say.

If they hit a nice shot on the green, and then got up there and their ball was embedded in a dead rabbit or something that would change it.

There is always new stuff everyday.

Just wondered if y'all score better on a nicer course ( other than speed of greens)

 

[GolfSpy MPR]

It's an interesting question. We had a terrible incident at our course this year: the chemical mix for the weed spraying in the rough was wrong, and virtually all the rough on the course was killed.

On the one hand, not having to hit out of the rough had certain advantages. But what resulted was massively unpredictable lies: bare ground, mud, balls next to small tufts of grass. In many ways, this made the "rough" much more challenging than it might otherwise be.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

I personally have not tracked this but thinking about it yes I feel as if I score better at a well maintained course.

for me a green needs to be true, if I misread hey that’s fine my eyes are terrible but what bothers me most is when you read it correctly and the ball is hopping all over the place. A well maintained nice course should never have that 

same with what @GolfSpy MPR referred to as the rough. Hard pan is not fun to hit off of, granted a ball sitting in thick rough is brutal as well but I would rather thick rough than a hard spot of dirt.

Long story short yes I think I score better on a good course

[Jackal]

7 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

It's an interesting question. We had a terrible incident at our course this year: the chemical mix for the weed spraying in the rough was wrong, and virtually all the rough on the course was killed.

On the one hand, not having to hit out of the rough had certain advantages. But what resulted was massively unpredictable lies: bare ground, mud, balls next to small tufts of grass. In many ways, this made the "rough" much more challenging than it might otherwise be.

Yes, that's the bad part.

You don't know what's ahead.

It may be different from yesterday.

The bunkers may be full of water from a sprinkler running too long.

 There are a lot of places in the fairway where the grass is thin, and your ball is laying on dirt between the grass sprigs.

[Jackal]

4 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

I personally have not tracked this but thinking about it yes I feel as if I score better at a well maintained course.

for me a green needs to be true, if I misread hey that’s fine my eyes are terrible but what bothers me most is when you read it correctly and the ball is hopping all over the place. A well maintained nice course should never have that 

same with what @GolfSpy MPR referred to as the rough. Hard pan is not fun to hit off of, granted a ball sitting in thick rough is brutal as well but I would rather thick rough than a hard spot of dirt.

Long story short yes I think I score better on a good course

This says it all, exactly.

It's nice to be able to putt from 4 inches off of the green.

The fringe on this course is 1 inch thick, like bumpers on a pool table.

This is a really great course for beginners.

We have had a lot of fun, and my Son enjoyed it when he was starting out.

 Sometimes, we watch a putt bounce and dribble to the hole.

The greens have been plugged\ aerated, but never grew back smooth.

Thanks for all the input so far.

[DiscipleofPenick]

Define nicer.

I've played plenty of "nicer" courses where they were terrible layouts. These modern courses some people seem to love, but 90% of golfers struggle to break 100, or may lose half a dozen balls per round. And everyone goes "oh man, what a great place." Where someone was unleashed with a bulldozer or backhoe and just tore up the landscape.

I've also played clubs where the greens were set at 14 stimp and impossible to putt on because some people think faster equals nicer.

I will score best on a classical layout that is setup fairly with a great number of risk reward holes that allow for numerous strategical options. No, man, most of these supposed nicer courses are a waste of real estate because they are in the wrong hands, someone with a corrupted idea of what is fair, and someone who neglects the thoughts of the average golfer is running the place.

Take Dead Aim

[THEZIPR23]

Not sure about nicer but your description of the course you play would definitely put a damper on scoring. Don't have to have great lies on every shot but a decent lie and an educated guess on what the ball will do on the ground makes a big difference. 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

41 minutes ago, Jackal said:

This says it all, exactly.

It's nice to be able to putt from 4 inches off of the green.

The fringe on this course is 1 inch thick, like bumpers on a pool table.

This is a really great course for beginners.

We have had a lot of fun, and my Son enjoyed it when he was starting out.

 Sometimes, we watch a putt bounce and dribble to the hole.

The greens have been plugged\ aerated, but never grew back smooth.

Thanks for all the input so far.

Also welcome to the forum!

[Jackal]

55 minutes ago, Tsmithjr9 said:

Define nicer.

I've played plenty of "nicer" courses where they were terrible layouts. These modern courses some people seem to love, but 90% of golfers struggle to break 100, or may lose half a dozen balls per round. And everyone goes "oh man, what a great place." Where someone was unleashed with a bulldozer or backhoe and just tore up the landscape.

I've also played clubs where the greens were set at 14 stimp and impossible to putt on because some people think faster equals nicer.

I will score best on a classical layout that is setup fairly with a great number of risk reward holes that allow for numerous strategical options. No, man, most of these supposed nicer courses are a waste of real estate because they are in the wrong hands, someone with a corrupted idea of what is fair, and someone who neglects the thoughts of the average golfer is running the place.

Take Dead Aim
 

I guess I should have been more clear about the conditions.

Some of those nice courses, are all target golf.

You have to hit yardages exact, or lose a ball.

We heard some people say they wouldn't play these 'bad' courses because of fear of damaging their clubs.

 If it looks bad, we drop back with a ground under repair.

I'll try to get some pics in a few days.

Some areas look like a parking lot for an outdoor concert.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

2 hours ago, Tsmithjr9 said:

Define nicer.

I've played plenty of "nicer" courses where they were terrible layouts. These modern courses some people seem to love, but 90% of golfers struggle to break 100, or may lose half a dozen balls per round. And everyone goes "oh man, what a great place." Where someone was unleashed with a bulldozer or backhoe and just tore up the landscape.


 

How ironic. I have to play a course like that next week. I have a tournament up in Kansas City at Canyon Farms. I haven't played it before but it looks to be all target golf. It's a short course but many layups  to avoid junk and dog legs. Check this out..  Wish me luck!  

 

[Jackal]

1 hour ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

How ironic. I have to play a course like that next week. I have a tournament up in Kansas City at Canyon Farms. I haven't played it before but it looks to be all target golf. It's a short course but many layups  to avoid junk and dog legs. Check this out..  Wish me luck!  

 

Wow!! Beautiful course.

Let us know how you do, and good luck!!

[Shankster]

According to Arccos... I play better from the rough.

 

[Firebird]

I generally play better on a course that is in better condition however that does not mean that it is spectacular to look at. Several courses I have played the views have been absolutely stunning and I have to admit that on these course I spent more time looking at the views than I did thinking about my shots and generally did not play that great. 

[808nation]

I would say it does have it's advantages versus a course that is not well kept.  Having a patchy fairway, hard pan bunkers, and weedy greens certainly urks the hell out of me.

[ZenGolfer]

Honestly, I find that I play worse.  I don't know if its not being familiar with the course, paying a lot of money to play there or simply the anticipation of it all but I never seem to play my best golf on a nice course.

Its like when I played Arcadia Bluffs back in July.  The course actually wasn't THAT difficult but I played like absolute trash all 3 days.  I had a blast because it was a beautiful course and how could you not have fun in a place like that but man, I would have liked to play better.  

Im probably going to play Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run next year when my wife's cousin gets married in Wisconsin and as much I want to play those courses because they are bucket list courses for me, part of me fears or maybe just knows its going to be ugly. LOL

[Middler]

Not sure about the OP’s “nicer” but I always play worse when I’m on a marquee course. I’ve had the privilege of playing several world famous courses, and I always play much worse - +10 strokes give or take? Partly because I play the tips to see the course as a pro would, and partly because I’m intimidated by world class conditions, almost feel guilty taking a divot. I don’t have any such reservations on any regular courses I play.

[Jackal]

2 hours ago, BadgerGolfer said:

Honestly, I find that I play worse.  I don't know if its not being familiar with the course, paying a lot of money to play there or simply the anticipation of it all but I never seem to play my best golf on a nice course.

Its like when I played Arcadia Bluffs back in July.  The course actually wasn't THAT difficult but I played like absolute trash all 3 days.  I had a blast because it was a beautiful course and how could you not have fun in a place like that but man, I would have liked to play better.  

Im probably going to play Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run next year when my wife's cousin gets married in Wisconsin and as much I want to play those courses because they are bucket list courses for me, part of me fears or maybe just knows its going to be ugly. LOL

My Son has played in some school hosted tournaments at some real nice private courses.

They let me play the practice round with him for a pricey fee.

I am nervous about the $2 mil+ houses I could hit, and think that the members are watching me like they did Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack!

Edited October 13, 2020 by Jackal

[aerospace_ray]

For a long time I convinced myself the nicer/more immaculate the course the better I played. What I learned is I score better on courses I am familiar with (course mgmt is better) but in reasonable condition, not necessarily immaculate conditions. I play a lot of well maintained courses and experience consistent scores. The few bad ones well I lost total focus, gained frustration and while some rounds were low most were higher. Bad greens are my kryptonite.

we play an older course that was converted from a cow pasture, to a golf course.
The layout isn't hard, but the natural stuff is.
Lack of grass, rocks everywhere, just neglect.
A few years ago my Son joined the school team, and has been playing at nicer courses.
  He can shoot +\- 2 on a lot of the good courses.
On this old course he can usually shoot 3 or 4 under per 9 holes.
Sometimes, he'll go +5, and it's because of the ( trouble???).
Large rocks close to the green, big spots of hard dirt with no grass.
I thought I hit a sprinkler head the other day on a pitch shot.
After going up to the spot, it was some kind of metal linkage that had fallen off of a mower.
Some of the people drive right up to the greens, and others drag their feet so bad that you can't even putt.
Another course is opening back up, and we are going to join it.
We have started to treat this old course as a 'walking driving range'.
We wondered what kind of scores a pro would shoot here.
It's had to say.
If they hit a nice shot on the green, and then got up there and their ball was embedded in a dead rabbit or something that would change it.
There is always new stuff everyday.
Just wondered if y'all score better on a nicer course ( other than speed of greens)
 

Sent from my SM-N960U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[DubiousPro]

Typically I do just because a better course has better condition. Playing a goat ranch generally doesn't have good lies tee-to-green and the greens don't roll as true as a better course. Sure, a better course generally has a higher rating and slope. But when you can put the club to ball cleanly in a manicured fairway and then you can trust the ball will roll on the line you rolled, your score should reflect appropriately.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

2 hours ago, BadgerGolfer said:

Honestly, I find that I play worse.  I don't know if its not being familiar with the course, paying a lot of money to play there or simply the anticipation of it all but I never seem to play my best golf on a nice course.

Its like when I played Arcadia Bluffs back in July.  The course actually wasn't THAT difficult but I played like absolute trash all 3 days.  I had a blast because it was a beautiful course and how could you not have fun in a place like that but man, I would have liked to play better.  

Im probably going to play Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run next year when my wife's cousin gets married in Wisconsin and as much I want to play those courses because they are bucket list courses for me, part of me fears or maybe just knows its going to be ugly. LOL

It’s funny you mention anticipation. Prior to this year I always felt like that. Leading Up to playing it feeling like you have to play well there. It really is a mindset

[HardcoreLooper]

There's a certain charm to playing a real goat track, but you have to have the right attitude.  You can't care how you score.  Either you roll your ball around to find some grass, or you laugh at the fact that you're in the middle of the fairway and are stuck between two clumps of grass.

There's a little 9 holer near my house that's part of a go-kart/batting cage/putt-putt complex, and it's on a great piece of land (there's a reason it's called Windy Hill and not Windy Flat), but there's frequently no grass in the fairways, and it's so overgrown with trees that you'll get claustrophobic.  But it's cheap, it's fun, and you can play in a t-shirt and sneakers and not feel out of place.  Golf needs more of that.

Oh, and it has a lighted par 3 course.  Gotta love a lighted par 3 course.

[Buffly]

13 hours ago, Jackal said:

we play an older course that was converted from a cow pasture, to a golf course.

The layout isn't hard, but the natural stuff is.

Lack of grass, rocks everywhere, just neglect.

A few years ago my Son joined the school team, and has been playing at nicer courses.

  He can shoot +\- 2 on a lot of the good courses.

On this old course he can usually shoot 3 or 4 under per 9 holes.

Sometimes, he'll go +5, and it's because of the ( trouble???).

Large rocks close to the green, big spots of hard dirt with no grass.

I thought I hit a sprinkler head the other day on a pitch shot.

After going up to the spot, it was some kind of metal linkage that had fallen off of a mower.

Some of the people drive right up to the greens, and others drag their feet so bad that you can't even putt.

Another course is opening back up, and we are going to join it.

We have started to treat this old course as a 'walking driving range'.

We wondered what kind of scores a pro would shoot here.

It's had to say.

If they hit a nice shot on the green, and then got up there and their ball was embedded in a dead rabbit or something that would change it.

There is always new stuff everyday.

Just wondered if y'all score better on a nicer course ( other than speed of greens)

 

This question can be interpreted many ways. The way you posted it, with your examples, a nicer course would be more consistent. 

However, when I find myself on a nice course then I actually have more trouble judging the speed of the greens. My normal courses run an 8-9 on the Stimp. But, a "nicer" course can run 10-11 normally, and even faster at times. This leaves me with more three putts than I would like. 

I do not like playing courses that are poorly kept, like what you originally mentioned. I wouldn't want to change clubs to avoid areas that should be marked as ground under repair but isn't. So, if I find myself on a poorly maintained courses, we play it as any bare spot is like a ground under repair or lift clean and place. Everyone gets the same advantage during our friendly rounds. We don't like to penalize people for bad maintenance. 

[DiscipleofPenick]

I guess I should have been more clear about the conditions.
Some of those nice courses, are all target golf.
You have to hit yardages exact, or lose a ball.
We heard some people say they wouldn't play these 'bad' courses because of fear of damaging their clubs.
 If it looks bad, we drop back with a ground under repair.
I'll try to get some pics in a few days.
Some areas look like a parking lot for an outdoor concert.

Ooof, that's a real goat farm then. I would agree that it could be tough to score on a course that is completely neglected like that.

Take Dead Aim

[PMookie]

Score better? Not sure. Enjoy my round more? Definitely!!!! The public course where I play is in the worst shape it’s been in the 21 years I’ve lived here. Just horrible. I don’t enjoy the rounds there anymore, and I just don’t bother to really concentrate on score because of how bad the conditions are. When I travel for work, I take my clubs with me, and I look for the best courses in the area to play at the end of each day. I’ve learned I really enjoy playing on grass in the fairway! I enjoy greens that ALSO have grass on them, and roll true!!! I enjoy traps that have sand in them and have been manicured since the last Ice Age!!! My scores my not be “better”, but I enjoy the rounds a LOT more when the conditions are better.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

16 minutes ago, PMookie said:

Score better? Not sure. Enjoy my round more? Definitely!!!! The public course where I play is in the worst shape it’s been in the 21 years I’ve lived here. Just horrible. I don’t enjoy the rounds there anymore, and I just don’t bother to really concentrate on score because of how bad the conditions are. When I travel for work, I take my clubs with me, and I look for the best courses in the area to play at the end of each day. I’ve learned I really enjoy playing on grass in the fairway! I enjoy greens that ALSO have grass on them, and roll true!!! I enjoy traps that have sand in them and have been manicured since the last Ice Age!!! My scores my not be “better”, but I enjoy the rounds a LOT more when the conditions are better.

You’re doing it right. Club and work trips....goals....

[Slater]

The public courses around me are becoming neglected, i.e. long fairway grass, dirt tee boxes that are uneven, stones and dirt in sand bunkers, pitted greens, etc.  With all of that, add 5-10 strokes on the card.

[Jackal]

2 minutes ago, Slater said:

The public courses around me are becoming neglected, i.e. long fairway grass, dirt tee boxes that are uneven, stones and dirt in sand bunkers, pitted greens, etc.  With all of that, add 5-10 strokes on the card.

This is what we are experiencing.

In our area we have had about 7 or 8 courses close in the last 4 years.

[Larryd3]

I definitely play better on nicer courses.  I really don't want to play on a goat track anymore.  To me it's just a waste of time and money.  

[xOldBenKenobiX]

I think it goes to the fact that a better course is usually very well maintained, hence better tee boxes, fairways, roughs, traps and greens, so the ball becomes easier to hit and scores generally go down.