Not a great idea. What is it you want to accomplish? Golfers who are good enough that they care about their handicaps are good enough to play most courses. Golfers who don't belong on tough courses, don't care about their scores. Golf is about the experience.
About as dumb an idea anyone can dream up. The diamonds in skiing are for safety so a beginner doesn't bite off more than they handle otherwise they will wind up in the hospital. However just the opposite would happen in golf as every 20 handicapper wants to test how they do on the big boy courses. Absolutely insane idea.
I'm sorry, but doesn't SLOPE Rating already to that ? It should allow a golfer to understand the difficulty relatively between courses. So you are going to classify each set of Tees also. A good deal of the courses are easy up front but move it back and it becomes heck. One of the biggest problems in golf which adds to slow play is EGO and playing Tees you have no business playing. Move up, enjoy your round and play quicker
No external rating system will overtake the internal ability people give themselves...!
Wonderful concept!!.......I've seen many a golfer quit the game due to the frustration of, high handicaps and tough courses. No mid to high handicappers will improve their game by hacking around on tough course, no matter how beautiful they are!
Personally, I think this is totally ridiculous.
I am one of those folk who never had the opportunity to play golf until I could retire at 65. Right now I play at two local courses, both of which cater to folks such as myself (one is nine holes and the other is eighteen). I have heard that the big courses are having aa bit of a hard time as their patrons are get older and are not being replaced. I live beside the twelfth hole of a prestigious course, and it is not all that busy. Perhaps there is a niche for all types of courses but only if there is a sufficiently large demand for what the local citizens can afford.
Too many times I have been behind golfers who because their buddies are playing the blues they think they have to. Ego's are going to get in the way a good portion of the time, also thinking you are better than you are. That said, I think it is a good idea. It would give you an idea when planning a golf trip on what courses might be suited for you if you haven't been in that area before. I once read that you play the blues if your handicap is below 10 and the whites if you are 10 to 18. I know a lot of golfers who are 22 and 23 and I can tell you right now they won't be playing the red's. LOL
While I think it would be a good idea to try it, I believe the most discouraging part of golf is pace of play. Too many high handicap golfers take too many practice swings, hover their ball too long at address, wait an inordinate amount of time to let the group in front of them move over 250yds down the course, before hitting their ball less than 150yds and many times into high ruff or woods, and then spend too much time looking for their ball. If you can fix this, I think you would find an uptick in the number of golfers.
This is a great idea. Too many of the "new" courses are just too danged hard. Designed for single handicappers. I live in Phoenix. Believe me, I know. A few years ago, they were building dozens of resort and high-end living type courses around here. I've tried many of them but have given up on those type courses. I'm a high (15-20) handicapper. I liked some of the views, but I couldn't play'em. Not so much the length, but green complexes are killers. Forced 150 yard carry over many bunkers t elevated greens backed by more bunkers. Good golfers use short clubs and can stick. I have to use mid-irons, and even if I carry, there is no chance of staying on the green. Now that I'm older, I have to use long irons. Even if I get a good drive and good second shot, it takes 4 or 5 to get down from there. I don't play them anymore. I like the easier blue course concept. There is long (7600 from the tips) course east of Phoenix, designed by Tom Doak in the '80s. It is long, but playable for somebody like me, especially since the tees have reasonable distances for all levels. A few challenging green complexes, but not all of them so I stand a chance sometimes beat my handicap. (I just wish they would take better care of it.)
