Great article, Matthew! I appreciate all the points made on stage 1 and 2, namely the emphasis on reading greens and speeds for stage 1 as well as the element of competition still being present at stage 2 regardless of skill level. Often times I hear playing partners (erroneously) refer to short game courses as "for babies" since they can't bust out driver.
Do you have any thoughts on a Stage 5: Newbie at Full Sized Course? Asking your playing partner(s) to pick up is no fun, even if it's the right thing to do. I've found that explicitly calling for Stableford or Quota format at the start of the round allows for a nice balance between maintaining pace of play and allowing everyone to play their own ball, while also not hurting too many feelings.
Hey Michelle, appreciate your thoughts. I think "Stage 5: Newbie at Full Sized Course" would definitely be the next step. There just isn't any way to avoid beginners being on full courses, and they should be the target demographic to courses that have a beginner-focus (wide fairways, light rough, paper-tiger hazards). The focus here is that a fun-first mentality can get people up to speed where, say, getting in the hole in double par on a full is reasonable.
I would push back on par 3 hate. I think a full par 3 course should require driver (especially for beginners) on at least one hole. There are many par 3 courses with limited real estate, but a well made course should be testing a different club on every hole.
Great article, Matthew! I appreciate all the points made on stage 1 and 2, namely the emphasis on reading greens and speeds for stage 1 as well as the element of competition still being present at stage 2 regardless of skill level. Often times I hear playing partners (erroneously) refer to short game courses as "for babies" since they can't bust out driver.
Do you have any thoughts on a Stage 5: Newbie at Full Sized Course? Asking your playing partner(s) to pick up is no fun, even if it's the right thing to do. I've found that explicitly calling for Stableford or Quota format at the start of the round allows for a nice balance between maintaining pace of play and allowing everyone to play their own ball, while also not hurting too many feelings.
Hey Michelle, appreciate your thoughts. I think "Stage 5: Newbie at Full Sized Course" would definitely be the next step. There just isn't any way to avoid beginners being on full courses, and they should be the target demographic to courses that have a beginner-focus (wide fairways, light rough, paper-tiger hazards). The focus here is that a fun-first mentality can get people up to speed where, say, getting in the hole in double par on a full is reasonable.
I would push back on par 3 hate. I think a full par 3 course should require driver (especially for beginners) on at least one hole. There are many par 3 courses with limited real estate, but a well made course should be testing a different club on every hole.