by Mike Andrews
e all like the holes we birdied because for that moment in time we played the game the way it was supposed to be played. My most favorite holes are probably some of the toughest holes were risk reward was clearly identified and you have to think your way through the hole.

by Brian C. Feiten
My Sunday morning golfing parnters and I decided we were too wimpy. This year we scheduled the 35 toughest courses in the area and played them one at a time each Sunday. While are scoring is slightly higher; so is our skill development. On the tough courses the rough is penal, you hit more sand shots (around the greens and in the fairways, and you learn that 200 yards stragith is so much better than 240 yars right or left.
I think golfers of all levels should challenge themselves. It is not about your score, it is about your development as a golfer.

by Cron
I would rather my double-eagle came at Whistling Straits, a 2-iron into the teeth of a stiff wind off Lake Michigan, rather than on a downhill, downwind, 505 yard par five with a six iron, but it was still a magic moment. But a birdy or eagle on a 267 yard par four still does not really count (hypothetically, of course, since I have entered the Yips Era).

by Mike
Our local country club is a par 66 (36-30)! I'd rather drive 66 miles and play somewhere that is a challenge and brag about pars than wimp thru a course where anybody can shoot a low round!

by charlie
Some people make the course difficult by playing the wrong tees. "Playing from the back" sometimes is a macho thing with people, and that surely will make for a much more difficult day should the individual not be qualified, unless he/she is a masochist. One should be aware of their prowess, and play courses/tees which offer a challenge, but one that is attainable.
The course I belong to toughens me, from the back, and more importantly, makes other courses easier. The game should be fun, and fooling oneself only makes for a bad day.
Playing the same course is also different than playing a course one has never seen. Belonging to a course should allow you to educate yourself as what not to do after a few rounds. Then again, some people just like to complain.

by J. Bartlett
I personally do not have a problem with "tough" courses. I do have a problem with hitting a good shot down the middle of the fairway and then being forced to hit a second shot with the ball positioned well above or below my feet, or smashing a drive to the sweet spot of the fairway and having it roll off into the forest.I'm also not a fan of "put-put" greens that when you hit the center don't even offer a glimse of the hole or, the pin placement lies on a 45 degree angle. I believe that a good shot should be rewarded not penalized.

by G Buswell
Chris, I have found that most golfers do prefer a good challenge. I belong to a mountain course in Vermont. Many of the country club members look forward to playing elsewhere. A real test of your handicap is getting away from the home course. My golfing buddy is the only one who says "that course is to tough for me". He has something to complain about on every course. I tell him attitude is everything!

by Tom
My guess is that Mr. Baldwin doesn't get out too much to talk to golfers - Hackers maybe...I play over a hundred rounds a year, many at 130+ slope rated courses, including the club I belong to and the Dan Maples muni down the street from the office - The folks I play with and meet on these courses generally get greater satisfaction from paring one of the top handicap holes than the "gimme" birdies he seems to think are so common. I know I do -
BTW, might be time to update your celebrity dirt web surfing habits-"Paris Hilton easy" might be cute if an 8 year old wrote it- Same deal with the cheap shot at Michelle Wie - I'm sure you had it all together when you were 16 and an international media phenomena...Can you say "9 and 8" in match play with you playing from the same tees?

by Robert Bicknell
Sorry, but I think Chris is way off target on this one, at least here in Vietnam as players insist on playing from the wrong tee boxes for their skill levels. If a golfer is truly a "wimp" why would they subject themselves to continuous torment and almost zero chance of a birdie by playing off the Blue or Black tees when even the whites would be overly challenging to them?
We've got players out here who delight in making a par.
Players at most clubs worldwide take pride in relating how fast and evil their greens are, so that too discounts the wimp theory.
Perhaps most golfers simply take pride in making birdie reegardless of the degree of difficulty.
We always tell people that "Par is Par", you don't have to write "ugly par" on the card, just the number of strokes.
The same applies to birdies it seems.

by Steve
I mam by no means a great golfer, but I do enjoy a course that makes you think your way around it. I play golf at a Nickalaus, a Palmer and Player course in my area as well as other high end courses for the challenge of the course. I do play at some lesser quality courses on occasion for a change, but it is less satisfying when you get a birdie on an easy course or hole. But the course i play are the ones that only the good golfers and die hards love, and unfortunetly I'm not one of the good players. Most people i know hate the Nickalaus course and complain the fairways are too narrow or they can't hit driver on every hole. Golfers like that need to grow up and realize that part of the fun in golf is the fact that every time you play it's a new challenge as you are almost never faced with the same situation twice. As for Ollie, try walking a course while carrying your bag and see how much golf is like poker.

by Ollie
Look, I love golf as much as the next duffer, but when will you guys learn that golf is not a real sport. It's just a game like pool or poker. Admitted, golf is a great game, but certainly not a real sport. I haft to laugh every time I hear you guys trying to act like golf is a real(mocho) sport. So get serious!

by Dave Blaker
My course has a 95 yard par 3 - consistently described as the shortest par 4 on the course. 80 yard carry over a pond, left and right of the green are both terrifying - forest right, cart path and bush left. Over the green, two bunkers to keep you from going too far back into the jungle. Green that slopes back to the pond, try playing a shot out of those bunkers while aiming back at the pond! Only three yards of semi-long grass to keep your ball from either back-spinning into the water or sucking errant bunker shots into the waves.
We are not wimps!