Bring back the stymie!
There is something ironic about Jack Nicklaus insisting on long-pronged rakes in Muirfield's bunkers for the Memorial tournament in order to make it tougher for the players. Golf fans old enough will remember that no one argued more often or vociferously for immaculate course conditions than Jack (or "Carnac," as the writers called him for his propensity for holding forth) did back in his prime.
The problem isn't the old guy trying to make things more difficult for the young guys -- that's alright. He's on the mark about bunkers being too easy to play out of. Of course, it might not be an issue if he hadn't led the call thirty years ago for golf courses around the country to use to fluffiest, easiest mix to play out of.
But American golfers feel entitled. Poll golfers at every level and ask them what they do when finding a ball sitting in a divot-hole. I'll wager, 80% roll it over, while another 15% play it down, while grousing about the USGA and claim that a divot-hole should be ground under repair.
Listen, golfers: golf isn't supposed to be easy or fair, no matter what the magazines or commentators tell you. Or what you feel like when you're hitting your sixth shot out of a bunker. It's not about you. There is something called "the rub of the green."
What's especially disturbing as it pertains to golf is that in the last few years I've heard more and more people blaming the rules for holding golf back. Even traditionalists have said golf ought to consider a "lite" version, not governed by the traditional rules of the game -- though more often you hear it from people who want to foster growth in the game, and decry the snobbery they see implicit in the elaborate and painstakingly evolved rules of golf.
To which my response is: the last 15 years have seen every quarter in the golf industry do its best to (ugh) "grow the game" -- from making clubs and balls longer and easier to hit straight, to recruiting kids from the less moneyed neighborhoods, to getting hot models to do 15-second advertising spots.
Naturally, all this missionary work isn't done for the sake of seeing more people enjoy themselves -- it's in order for the golf business to make more money off of them. But there is no sign that it's doing any good, since the game's popularity has flattened.
There is, however, every sign that these and like efforts are eroding the very rigorous and particular nature of golf itself, at least the way it's played in this country. After two decades of the USGA for all intents yielding to the demands of the clubmakers, what has golf got to show for it?
Hey, Jack, you want to make your bunkers hard to play? Pull out all the sand and make'em play out of dirt, just like in the old days. Then we'll really find out who the best golfers are.
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