Golf Course Industry

Martin Kaufmann at Golfweek.com broke the news.

With respect to Hanse, Doak and even Kidd, whose new Castle Course at St. Andrews likewise features free-form tees, none of their creations is as radical as Charlton's at Chambers Bay. His tees aren't conventional wide pads linked by undulations. His are narrow paths, where golfers have to search for a level lie. His intent is to aid average players in executing decent tee shots. Choose a slight uphill lie to get the ball airborne, a little downhill spot to keep it under the wind, or a sidehill slope to impart more hook or slice. It's a remarkably clever concept, but we suspect by the time the U.S. Open rolls around, the USGA will insist on lots of big, flat tee boxes for the pros.

Hanse has adapted the basic pick-your-lie concept on a new 10-hole par-3 course he's designing for The Prairie Club, a multiple-course project near Valentine, Neb. His layout will feature no tees, just expanded fairways with lots of dips and rolls in them. His idea is, each round will be based on the basketball game Horse, where the guy who wins the previous hole gets to chose the stance, lie and shot that must be attempted on the next hole. (To really integrate the idea into golf, Hanse ought to call his game Gorse.)