Ogilvy wants to play on better golf courses

Geoff Ogilvy pens an article for Golf Digest from time to time and given he is one of the more interesting, articulate golfers on the PGA Tour, his thoughts are always worth a read.
This month’s article, “Not all pros care about courses, but better layouts = better golf” has Ogilvy arguing that the PGA Tour should be played on better golf courses.
PGA Tour players look at golf courses the same way most people look at them. They like layouts where they tend to play well, maybe even more than the average golfer does. For amateurs the venue doesn’t have quite the same effect on their ability to enjoy the day. What they shoot doesn’t mean quite as much.
Ogilvy tends to believe the professional golf product would be better and bigger if the tour went to great courses every week, rather the boring, tricked up golf courses they get from time to time.

The weird thing is we have a high-profile tournament that clearly illustrates my point. It is the perfect model. Think about it: Almost every year the Masters identifies the very best players and is, in the process, the most entertaining event. If you polled every golfer in the world, most would say it’s their favorite event to watch on television.

Read the full article at Golf Digest.

2 thoughts on “Ogilvy wants to play on better golf courses

  • I always felt the same about courses that are ‘tricked’ up, Magenta Shores on the Central Coast, NSW for example, you never want to go back and you question what is required to be a good golfer. I played Magenta when it was calm ironically.
    I think it is simple for good golf course design, make sure you reward a good shot especially an accurate shot, and punish the wayward shot, by making the approach to the green more demanding. Then see what people can do around the green to separate the pack.
    All of these courses with aesthetically pleasing bunkers punish one group of golfers, the learning golfer, who also happen to pay the most for green fees and new golf balls, half decent golfers let alone professionals never end up in them.
    I suggest more bounce hop and stop big greens and less trees actually make for a really challenging day, and yet every golfer feels they had a chance to play a good shot for full reward.
    What is the fixation with elevated greens these days? It is so boring and predictable. You know you are on one of these courses when you feel like it plays easy when you hit almost every hole in regulation, but on the day you miss the greens it’s a completely different course, to the point of absurd, given most amateurs would be lucky to hit 30-40% of greens in regulation, pain is the result. Just some thoughts from an average golfer. Merce

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