What You Hope to Find on The Golf Course in 2024
By: Derek Clements | Mon 11 Mar 2024
Many of you are about to return to the fairways for the first time since putting the clubs away last autumn.
We have already given you some advice about the things that you should be doing to get yourselves ready for the coming season. But when you return to the course where you play your golf, what do you expect to find in 2024?
You may not be surprised to learn that we have a few (tongue-in-cheek) ideas...
What You Hope to Find
A shiny new sign by the first tee, with a course map, yardages, slope rating, etc.
The Reality
That same old "Fist tee this way” and yes, the ’r’ from ‘First’ is still missing!
What You Hope to Find
Lovely soft white sand in every bunker and plenty of rakes.
The Reality
The bunkers are still full of that awful sand that a) holds water and then b) when the water finally drains you are left with a compacted, rock-hard surface. Oh yes, and there is still one rake to cover the four geeenside traps at the first. And every bunker is still full of footprints.
What You Hope to Find
An improvement in etiquette.
The Reality
Ha ha ha! If you really imagine that slow play has become a thing of the past in your absence then you are going to be bitterly disappointed. And you will still find unraked bunkers (lots of them), unrepaired pitchnarks (hundreds of them) and people taking 20 minutes to look for lost balls.
What You Hope to Find
New tee markers, maybe some of those cute little logs.
The Reality
Those white, yellow and red lumps of plastic still take pride of place, and many of them broken.
What You Hope to Find
A driving range with state-of-the-art Trackman, new mats, automatic tees, shiny white golf balls.
The Reality
The same old golf balls that feel like lumps of stone when you make contact and fly off in all directions because they have pieces missing, those threadbare mats that break your wrists when you try to hit a long iron from them and rubber tees that only have one height - ALWAYS too high. And the nearest thing it has to a Trackman is a 150-yard marker that you are convinced is actually located at least 175 yards away.
What You Hope to Find
Flags with hole numbers and club branding.
The Reality
Sorry, but it is the same old flea-bitten rags as 2023. And the flagsticks are so flimsy that you think that a 10mph breeze would break them in two (you live in hope). Sadly, you know that they survived 50mph winds last year because you were out on the course when they did.
What You Hope to Find
A refurbished halfway house.
The Reality
They have knocked the bloody thing down!
What You Hope to Find
Ground under repair a thing of the past.
The Reality
In your dreams mate! The good news is that you still get a free drop from the fairway bunker on the second, so you may as well aim for it!
What You Hope to Find
Super-smooth greens with not a single pitchmark.
The Reality
On the first green your ball hits a bump and jumps six inches in the air. And you have to repair 10 pitchmarks.
What You Hope to Find
Ponds cleared and cleaned.
The Reality
You can still see that Titleist Pro-V1 that you lost in the water at the 12th in July 2018! But you cannot see anything at all when you hit your ball into the pond at the third - it is just a muddy sludge.
What You Hope to Find
Perfectly-manicured fairways.
The Reality
Hmmm…maybe not. You hit your perfectly-struck tee-shot at the fourth and get up to the ball to find it lying in the same divot hole that caught you out in September last year.
What You Hope to Find
Improved drainage.
The Reality
Your tee shots at the first, fifth, 11th, 15th and 16th were all corkers. They all found the middle of the fairways. But, as you slugged your way down the sodden fairway you soon worked out why you never saw any of those golf balls again. Plugged and gone forever. You would not mind, but the 11th is a par three and you definitely saw your ball land on the green.
Related Content
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How to Get Yourself Back Into Golf After a Break
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Tags: GOLFERS Golf daily picks
