The ladies played a pretty golf course this weekend and Paula Creamer was once again victorious in Hawaii. But shouldn’t a golf course be more than just a pretty face?
In my latest post on Swing Thoughts over at GFW, I discuss Ko’Olina Golf Course and why it shouldn’t be on the LPGA rotation. I’m no expert, but even though they call it a “championship course,” perhaps Ted Robinson designed it solely with tourists in mind.
The forward tees there have a course and slope rating of 71.8/126. That first number is the score a scratch player should make when playing from those tees. So I’m supposed to believe if the LPGA players moved up and actually played from there, they would average less than one birdie per round? Hogwash.
A pro would need to have an unusually bad round to shoot over par there. And if she happens to be native to the area and doesn’t break par, that’s the type of disaster that only happens once in a professional career. Oh, unless her career is more about marketing than golf. Then it, like, probably wouldn’t, um, bother her.
February 26, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I am soooo going to Hawaii to play Ko’Olina it sounds awesome to me! :0)
February 27, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I’ve read a lot about Ko Olina being just a resort course, but it wasn’t just the Big Wiesy who blew up on it. There were some pretty big names who missed the cut, even people who went under par on day 1. So either the course is tougher than we think or 75-90 pros have serious pre-season rust. Which do you think it is?
February 27, 2008 at 3:34 pm
A couple of things to consider when criticizing Ko Olina…
First off – it is a resort course, yes, but it is a resort course in the middle of the pacific on a small island. Winds play a major role in golf course design in Hawaii. Fairways are generally wider than on the mainland for that reason. If you happen to play golf in Hawaii on a calm day, you can shoot some career low scores – but those days are rare.
Second – MOST of the courses on the LPGA Tour are played on resort courses with extremely generous fairways. Most are relatively flat. Most have little or no rough. Most have spacious greens that are also relatively flat.
Third – the course and slope ratings are partially opinion based. A scratch golfer will play the course, or the designer just “knows” what it will take for a good golfer to get around the course. They are not exact measurments.
Fourth – the pros of the LPGA are not playing the forward tees. Most of the holes are played from the white and some of the blue tees, depending on how they want the hole to play.
There is basically no reason NOT to play Ko Olina. They are very welcoming to the Tour, and there is enough course to lengthen or shorten holes as needed for the conditions.
TC is right – don’t look at the top 10 finishers – look at the bottom 3/4 of the field. Most didn’t break par on this “easy” course.
Pretty much ANY golf course can allow low scores under the right conditions. Look at what the men do to courses like Augusta when conditions are soft. Or Pebble and Carnoustie when the wind is down.
February 27, 2008 at 7:09 pm
GC: I may be reading your post wrong, but the Tour pros (gals and guys) are actually better than scratch (a zero handicap). If the Tour pros kept handicaps, they would be what are called “plus” handicaps, plus 2, 4 and so on. For example, Lorena or Annika or Tiger could conceivably give an excellent amateur (scratch golfer) as many as four to six shots in a match.
March 1, 2008 at 6:53 am
I just posted over at gfw, but had to give you some props here for the Elbow, at least….
March 2, 2008 at 3:47 am
Armchair is right. Tiger is something like a +8.5….
Plus I think that “championship course” is way overused. There ought to be some sort of criteria they’d have to meet to claim such a status.
March 2, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Yep, in that post I had Tiger at a plus 10. I’m sure some of the top women are also at plus numbers, but I bet many of the bottom half would carry single digits on the – side. And yes, some of them are probably still rusty.
Media – you didn’t read my GFW post, did you? You know – where I issued Tiger that “handicap” and mentioned the overuse of “championship course.”