The 8-Inch golf hole. | USHandicap Classic

sberend Professional Champion
Go to Last Reply 168 Views 24 Replies 1 Like
An Executive Golf Course near me has begun to try out a new '8-Inch Cup'. It's a 9-Hole course with 2 flags on each green....1) standard size cup & 2) an 8-Inch wide cup. You can choose which flag/hole you want to play to. The '8-Inch Cup' is mainly for beginners & seniors or anyone that wants to play to it. I chose to play to the standard size cup, but did practice putting to the '8-Inch Cup', and let me tell you what a world of difference it is. The hole is so BIG that 30-foot putts are VERY makeable and little 10-footers are brushed in with relative ease. This seems like a pretty cool thing for kids and seniors, the course seems to think that about 35%-40% of the golfers that play are using the '8-Inch Cup'. Nothing builds confidence more than seeing your ball going into the hole, which is great for beginners. Isn't this what Charlie Rymer wrote about a month ago? Bigger golf holes? What's your take on the '8-Inch Cup'?
sberend Professional Champion
# 1 11/4/2010 11:34:09 PM
Another view of the '8-Inch Cup', you can see the 'Standard Size' flag in the background.
Robert Premeaux Jr. Professional Champion
# 2 11/5/2010 12:41:55 AM
1. Despite going against all my purist genes, I say why not? Sounds cool. I'd definitely warn all who use the 8-inchers that that's not golf, but for beginners, anything that helps their progress is a good thing. 2. Why does "Executive Golf Course" mean "ridiculously easy?" What's the evolution of these things?
sberend Professional Champion
# 3 11/5/2010 4:42:52 PM
1. Despite going against all my purist genes, I say why not? Sounds cool. I'd definitely warn all who use the 8-inchers that that's not golf, but for beginners, anything that helps their progress is a good thing. 2. Why does "Executive Golf Course" mean "ridiculously easy?" What's the evolution of these things? I know what you mean Robert. I wanted to play the 1st 9-holes on the Regulation Cups, then play the 2nd 9-holes on the 8-inch Cups (to see the scoring difference between the 2).... but I felt the "Golf Gods" watching and couldn't bring my self to play to the 8-inch Cups. I did putt to them once I finished-out the hole and it was quite a bit different. It did seem to speed up play a little, there was a twosome in front of me (they were clearly beginners) that played to the 8-inch Cups and they putted-out pretty quick. Executive Courses are usually for people trying to sneak in a quick 9-holes, beginners trying to learn the game, or seniors trying to prolong their game. I think if you're under 10 or over 70 years of age, the 8-inch cup is right up their ally.
cogolfer1 LowIndex
# 4 11/5/2010 5:25:18 PM
2 years ago when I first started playing, my local Par 3 course had a weekly junior tournament with a different theme each time. One round was a round where all the holes were this size. I still missed putts from 5 feet a lot, but hey I was just beginning really.
Robert Premeaux Jr. Professional Champion
# 5 11/5/2010 6:11:44 PM
I didn't think of speed of play. Those bigger holes certainly ought to speed it up. I'm surprised I've not seen this crop up in all of the charity scrambles I play. Sounds right up those things' alleys.
itbeZ Professional Champion
# 6 11/5/2010 10:36:36 PM
LMAO. That is just out right Hilarious ..... Talk about "GET N THE HOLE!"
sberend Professional Champion
# 7 11/5/2010 11:24:01 PM
LMAO. That is just out right Hilarious ..... Talk about "GET N THE HOLE!" More like "Get in the Bucket!".... that's about how big it looks.
LyinLewis Legend
# 8 11/5/2010 11:44:43 PM
Just to put this in historical perspective, some of the greatest golfers who ever lived have petitioned for a bigger hole. Ben Hogan led the charge first and foremost. Hogan felt that too much of a player's score was emphasized by putting when the real skill, in his mind was ball striking. I don't agree...I think putting is great to create balance. Willie Park, Junior said it best, "The man who can putt is a match for anyone." Walter Travis, who started golfing at the age of 35 so firmly believed that statement that he mastered the putter and won several US Amateurs and was the first non-Brit to win the British Amateur.
Robert Premeaux Jr. Professional Champion
# 9 11/6/2010 1:28:30 AM
Just to put this in historical perspective, some of the greatest golfers who ever lived have petitioned for a bigger hole. Ben Hogan led the charge first and foremost. Hogan felt that too much of a player's score was emphasized by putting when the real skill, in his mind was ball striking. I don't agree...I think putting is great to create balance. Willie Park, Junior said it best, "The man who can putt is a match for anyone." Walter Travis, who started golfing at the age of 35 so firmly believed that statement that he mastered the putter and won several US Amateurs and was the first non-Brit to win the British Amateur. Hogan hated putting so much that the story is he DIDN'T putt at Shady Oaks ... that he and his boys played fairways and greens, didn't bother putting and Hogan couldn't be beat. I'm not sure the hole should be changed, but the PGA Tour DOES seem to be a weekly putting contest. I know that's not completely true, but how often is the winner merely the guy with the hottest putter? I think Hogan might've been right.
ScottSorrell Professional Champion
# 10 11/6/2010 4:16:21 PM
Great idea for the kids out there who wanna tee it up with Dad!
sberend Professional Champion
# 11 11/8/2010 2:05:35 AM
Great idea for the kids out there who wanna tee it up with Dad! And good for the seniors who might have lost a little of their putting touch over the years.
TNVol-in-TX Professional Champion
# 12 11/8/2010 3:28:25 PM
When you see the greens up close, you may change your mind about how "Easy" it would be to sink one. Every time I play this course, it seems I am fixing my divot plus three or four others in the immediate area.... The greens are not the greatest so I would call the 8" cups a wash compared to the 4" cups across the street at the regulation course..... The plus side is you can play it at night after work.... gotta love the lights....
gj24 Legend
# 13 11/9/2010 2:51:36 PM
I think I could still 3-putt that. And bigger isn't always better~~
Robert Premeaux Jr. Professional Champion
# 14 11/9/2010 5:06:29 PM
I'd have about a 2 handicap and average about 4-5 more pars a round with a hole that big. I'm not saying you can't miss it, but seriously ... all those 2-4 footers would become virtually automatic.
TNVol-in-TX Professional Champion
# 15 11/9/2010 5:46:58 PM
but seriously ... all those 2-4 footers would become virtually automatic. Again... unless the greens have improved quite a bit since the last time I was there.. it is very possible to be 3 feet away and miss. I have seen balls make 45 and 90 degree turns due to divots, sand , bad grass etc at this course. The heat was not kind to the greens. Some are in better shape than others. When I go to this course, it is mostly for wedge and 9 iron practice. Putting would be done on the putting green...

sberend

Professional Champion

Go to Last Reply

168 Views 24 Replies 1 Like

An Executive Golf Course near me has begun to try out a new '8-Inch Cup'. It's a 9-Hole course with 2 flags on each green....1) standard size cup & 2) an 8-Inch wide cup. You can choose which flag/hole you want to play to. The '8-Inch Cup' is mainly for beginners & seniors or anyone that wants to play to it. I chose to play to the standard size cup, but did practice putting to the '8-Inch Cup', and let me tell you what a world of difference it is. The hole is so BIG that 30-foot putts are VERY makeable and little 10-footers are brushed in with relative ease. This seems like a pretty cool thing for kids and seniors, the course seems to think that about 35%-40% of the golfers that play are using the '8-Inch Cup'. Nothing builds confidence more than seeing your ball going into the hole, which is great for beginners. Isn't this what Charlie Rymer wrote about a month ago? Bigger golf holes? What's your take on the '8-Inch Cup'?

sberend

Professional Champion

# 1 11/4/2010 11:34:09 PM

Another view of the '8-Inch Cup', you can see the 'Standard Size' flag in the background.

Robert Premeaux Jr.

Professional Champion

# 2 11/5/2010 12:41:55 AM

1. Despite going against all my purist genes, I say why not? Sounds cool. I'd definitely warn all who use the 8-inchers that that's not golf, but for beginners, anything that helps their progress is a good thing.

2. Why does "Executive Golf Course" mean "ridiculously easy?" What's the evolution of these things?

sberend

Professional Champion

# 3 11/5/2010 4:42:52 PM

1. Despite going against all my purist genes, I say why not? Sounds cool. I'd definitely warn all who use the 8-inchers that that's not golf, but for beginners, anything that helps their progress is a good thing.

2. Why does "Executive Golf Course" mean "ridiculously easy?" What's the evolution of these things?

I know what you mean Robert. I wanted to play the 1st 9-holes on the Regulation Cups, then play the 2nd 9-holes on the 8-inch Cups (to see the scoring difference between the 2).... but I felt the "Golf Gods" watching and couldn't bring my self to play to the 8-inch Cups. I did putt to them once I finished-out the hole and it was quite a bit different. It did seem to speed up play a little, there was a twosome in front of me (they were clearly beginners) that played to the 8-inch Cups and they putted-out pretty quick. Executive Courses are usually for people trying to sneak in a quick 9-holes, beginners trying to learn the game, or seniors trying to prolong their game. I think if you're under 10 or over 70 years of age, the 8-inch cup is right up their ally.

cogolfer1

LowIndex

# 4 11/5/2010 5:25:18 PM

2 years ago when I first started playing, my local Par 3 course had a weekly junior tournament with a different theme each time. One round was a round where all the holes were this size. I still missed putts from 5 feet a lot, but hey I was just beginning really.

Robert Premeaux Jr.

Professional Champion

# 5 11/5/2010 6:11:44 PM

I didn't think of speed of play. Those bigger holes certainly ought to speed it up.

I'm surprised I've not seen this crop up in all of the charity scrambles I play. Sounds right up those things' alleys.

itbeZ

Professional Champion

# 6 11/5/2010 10:36:36 PM

LMAO. That is just out right Hilarious ..... Talk about "GET N THE HOLE!"

sberend

Professional Champion

# 7 11/5/2010 11:24:01 PM

LMAO. That is just out right Hilarious ..... Talk about "GET N THE HOLE!"

More like "Get in the Bucket!".... that's about how big it looks.

LyinLewis

Legend

# 8 11/5/2010 11:44:43 PM

Just to put this in historical perspective, some of the greatest golfers who ever lived have petitioned for a bigger hole. Ben Hogan led the charge first and foremost. Hogan felt that too much of a player's score was emphasized by putting when the real skill, in his mind was ball striking.

I don't agree...I think putting is great to create balance. Willie Park, Junior said it best, "The man who can putt is a match for anyone."

Walter Travis, who started golfing at the age of 35 so firmly believed that statement that he mastered the putter and won several US Amateurs and was the first non-Brit to win the British Amateur.

Robert Premeaux Jr.

Professional Champion

# 9 11/6/2010 1:28:30 AM

Just to put this in historical perspective, some of the greatest golfers who ever lived have petitioned for a bigger hole. Ben Hogan led the charge first and foremost. Hogan felt that too much of a player's score was emphasized by putting when the real skill, in his mind was ball striking.

I don't agree...I think putting is great to create balance. Willie Park, Junior said it best, "The man who can putt is a match for anyone."

Walter Travis, who started golfing at the age of 35 so firmly believed that statement that he mastered the putter and won several US Amateurs and was the first non-Brit to win the British Amateur.

Hogan hated putting so much that the story is he DIDN'T putt at Shady Oaks ... that he and his boys played fairways and greens, didn't bother putting and Hogan couldn't be beat.

I'm not sure the hole should be changed, but the PGA Tour DOES seem to be a weekly putting contest. I know that's not completely true, but how often is the winner merely the guy with the hottest putter?

I think Hogan might've been right.

ScottSorrell

Professional Champion

# 10 11/6/2010 4:16:21 PM

Great idea for the kids out there who wanna tee it up with Dad!

sberend

Professional Champion

# 11 11/8/2010 2:05:35 AM

Great idea for the kids out there who wanna tee it up with Dad!

And good for the seniors who might have lost a little of their putting touch over the years.

TNVol-in-TX

Professional Champion

# 12 11/8/2010 3:28:25 PM

When you see the greens up close, you may change your mind about how "Easy" it would be to sink one. Every time I play this course, it seems I am fixing my divot plus three or four others in the immediate area....

The greens are not the greatest so I would call the 8" cups a wash compared to the 4" cups across the street at the regulation course.....

The plus side is you can play it at night after work.... gotta love the lights....

gj24

Legend

# 13 11/9/2010 2:51:36 PM

I think I could still 3-putt that. And bigger isn't always better~~

Robert Premeaux Jr.

Professional Champion

# 14 11/9/2010 5:06:29 PM

I'd have about a 2 handicap and average about 4-5 more pars a round with a hole that big. I'm not saying you can't miss it, but seriously ... all those 2-4 footers would become virtually automatic.

TNVol-in-TX

Professional Champion

# 15 11/9/2010 5:46:58 PM

but seriously ... all those 2-4 footers would become virtually automatic.

Again... unless the greens have improved quite a bit since the last time I was there.. it is very possible to be 3 feet away and miss. I have seen balls make 45 and 90 degree turns due to divots, sand , bad grass etc at this course. The heat was not kind to the greens. Some are in better shape than others. When I go to this course, it is mostly for wedge and 9 iron practice. Putting would be done on the putting green...

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