Phil: Stop Worrying About the "Average" Player

What Phil Mickelson fails to realize is that Dubs was never supposed to be "playable" for the average player. That is why there are 4 courses on the property and while the other three aren't the 7,000 yard plus standard length for today's "average" golfer to pay attention, they are every bit as enjoyable and certainly plenty playable.

Cog Hill, Kemper (when public), Cantigny, even Thunderhawk, Big Run, and Stonewall Orchard are not meant to be "playable". These are the courses that charge the big bucks and are designed to be once or twice-a-year venues for the average player.

On the other hand, there are "playable" layouts everywhere you look in the Chicago area. From Bonnie Brook in Waukegan to White Pines in Bensenville and Oak Meadows in Wood Dale, Chicago has plenty of courses designed to give the "average player" an adequate challenge and an enjoyable round at a reasonable price. These are the courses that are conditioned for heavy play and should be the site of the "average player"''s regular games.

The problem isnt the design of so-called "Championship" courses, but rather the overuse of the term and the idiotic insistance of average players that they only play courses with such a designation. The USGA has tried to curtail this epidemic of arrogant course selection through their "Tee It Forward" program, but that program is too narrowly focused on tee selection.

More important than tee selection is course selection and nearly every "average player" does a terrible job in this respect. There is no reason for beginners to hold up a group at Thunderhawk, no reason for me to sit on the tee at Shepherds Crook watching a husband give his wife a putting lesson on the green up ahead, and certainly no reason why anyone should have a regular time at Pine Meadow and never break 90 the entire season.

Championship courses are not for the "average player" and the problem is not that this is a reality, but rather the fact that no one seems to recognize it.

Think about this: Does it make sense to start kids off with t-ball on a regulation sized baseball diamond? Certainly not.

Then if we accept youth baseball being played on a smaller field, and slow-pitch softball games dont have to be played with 90-foot basepaths, then why do bogey-plus golfers insist on frustrating themselves (and the people behind them) on courses that are clearly not meant for their skill level?

Comments like those made by Mickelson just fuel the fire. Its time we recognize that there is a difference between venues designed for pros and top amateur players and venues conducive to play by the average player, just like we recognize the difference between Yankee Stadium and the local little league field.

Once we get this concept straight, people will start to find themselves on courses they will enjoy, playing and scoring better than they ever have, playing more as a result, improving to the level where they can play those championship courses, and as a result, the game of golf will clearly be better off.