The CSGA Links Volume 1 Issue 6 September, 2013 | Page 25

In those days, golf was purely a recreation sport. Its popularity hinged on the fact that it was to be fun for everyone, regardless of skill level and ability. Score and par were virtually irrelevant, as most rounds were a “match” against another player or team. Like other “Golden Age” architects, Park loved golf and wanted others to enjoy the game as well. His objective wasn’t to make you suffer, or to punish a bad shot in such a way that the next shot was unplayable. To quote Brad Klein, famed architecture editor for Golfweek, “They appreciated golf as a game, a moral test of one’s character and of how well the golfer knew his or her own abilities. And if you wandered astray, the idea wasn’t to beat you up by forcing you to punch out sideways from knee-high rough; Before and after: The 12th Hole at the Course at Yale instead, they believed that from the rough Present day and during construction in 1925. you ought to have the opportunity to play a good recovery- not that it would be easy, but it would be possible.” The goal of bunkers and hazards were to make the golfer commit to an aggressive or conservative play by either hitting over the hazard, or short or to the side. Each hazard is angled on a diagonal, halfway across the ideal line, presenting a variety of options. Connecticut is home to some of the best classic courses that were built during the “Golden Age of Architecture”, and each shares a common principle. Simply, it is playable and enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels. A course like New Haven Country Club, while short by modern standards, is a true test of golf for even the best of players. Play a round of properly executed shots, and you will be rewarded with a low score. Mediocre shots are penalized in the sense that the next shot is more difficult, but not impossible, and a lost ball is a rarity. The next teeing ground is within close proximity to the previous hole, and the average round of golf takes three hours and thirty minutes, walking. Above all, every classic course was built on the land they found. Not having access to massive earth-moving machines, they were forced to work with what they had. The result is holes that resemble the rolling terrain, gently shaped across hills and valleys that flow like a work of art. Nearly ninety years later, it’s no wonder why the classics are still among Above: New Haven Country Club has stood the test of time, Connecticut’s best courses, and each offering a challenge for the state’s top players at this year’s round represents a trip to a simpler time. Connecticut Amateur Championship.