THE 13TH!!!

[bex]

What a RIDICULOUS thing to do!!!

WHY ON EARTH would you make the right hand side of the hole out of bounds?! Yes, a handful of people may occasionally hit their tee shot into the houses but aren't the two massive bunkers a good enough deterrent to aim down the left hand side without the need for those white stakes?

1. You can never play out of those bunkers on the left hand side again...so...they might as well be filled in.
2. If you hit a good drive down the fairway it could kick right making it 'out of bounds' meaning you'd have to go back to the tee.
3. Aiming further left means that big hitters could hit people playing up the 14th and so it's dangerous.
4. Higher handicapped players who aim further left may slice the ball into the houses.

Yes I understand that you've got to protect the peoples houses but at the expense of the course? I read the notice beside the bunkers the other day saying something like "Do not enter gardens to get your ball..." which is fair enough, so surely we can just abide by this rule and get the white stakes removed? If your drives are landing in the houses in the first place then maybe you need to get yourself on the practice ground!

Hopefully this is just temporary. Saying that though, if it was why would they cut down some of the trees beside the bell? I don't know, first the shallow bunker right in the middle of the first fairway and now this, I wonder what'll be next? Hmmm...

[jamesdawson]

I agree. This kind of complete non-solution is only going to serve to drive members away. Which will be equally as expensive to the club! It's an extreme measure with no interim? Why not move the stakes to just right of the bunkers. A good 2 or 3 metres in from the fence, even make it cut in more after the bunkers but to dislocate the bunkers like that ruins yet another hole. So we now have 16 very good holes of golf interjected with nothing short of municipal quality holes at 7 and 13! Tynemouth is by no means a cheap place to play your golf and really does need to maintain it's integrity and quality to compete with other local courses!

[jamesdawson]

Have been mulling this one over and I am sure that a re-angling of the teebox towards the gap between bushes on 14 and the movement of the stakes adjacent to the right edge of the bunkers all the way down to the copse of trees on the right in a straight line would have to be seen as a clear preventative action without ruining the integrity of the golf hole.

[kevnixon]

I agree with James. Good post

[Hole 19]

That is well thought out James

[member4891]

Yes James, might be a solution but I don't think that a new tee box could be built in 24 hours.......what they have done may be a temporary measure until 're-angling a tee box' is possible!

[jamesdawson]

Tee markers can be moved at will although tee box would need restructured long-term!

[jamesdawson]

Having read the note now on starters hut.... Sorry! It's largely as I have written above in the long-term so my only comment is if the posts couldn't align on the right edge of bunkers!

[disco]

its not exactly the best idea there has ever been for this OB to be brought in play.
Some white stakes are not going to become an invisible force field that will stop balls going into gardens, a bad shot is still a bad shot. it has also made the hole soooo very tight where most members hit their tee shots.
also, by pointing the teebox left it calls for a cut to be hit and thts when it will become dangerous for those on 14 when people hook it across there.
and on a slightly personal note it completely ruined my round on thursday even tho i hit a great tee shot down the right half it kicked out of bounds which seems really fair........ i ended up with an 8 (which cost me a trophy)

[kevnixon]

Problem is I would imagine the course is under obligation to take positive action in such instances.

[Johnny Miller]

I played the hole yesterday, on what was, as it happens a particularly bad day. I pushed my first down the right more or less on the line of the bunkers (oob). obviously not wanting to repeat the feat the next was aimed squarely at the 14th fairway, which I hit slap bang in the middle, as it happens our Captain was lucky enough to be far enough back down the 14th to avoid my missile without me needing to yell.

As I said this was a really bad day, however I am blaming the sight of the evil white posts for me missing this fairway for the first time in months and clocking up my 3rd 8 of the day, but I wonder how many hit what on the face of it seemed a decent shot only to wander up and find their ball lying inches out of bounds and ruining what may have been a good card and their chances in the competition. To me it justs seems a little to punitive to have the stakes on the fairway side of the bunkers without really providing a solution to the alleged problem.

[jamesdawson]

I fired one straight at 14 too... Luckily / unluckily, it piled into a tree and dropped near side in the rough, leaving me with nothing other than a nudge out to the bell. The landing area from the whites did look very very narrow, especially into a strong breeze... Still think stakes other side of the bunkers would be fairer for all...

[steviedan]

I agree with Bex and James. What's the point.

I would suspect that most of the balls that go over the fence are from tee shots that where trying to avoid the bunkers anyway. I don't see how a few white stakes are going to stop this. (I know that the odd time I've put one over the fence I was trying to go left of the bunkers) There is a danger that players might now, in an attempt to avoid hitting it in to the trees on 14 (or even on to the 14th fairway) might try to fade one back in to the fairway and overcook it and still end up putting it in to the gardens.

Another problem could be that in 'forcing' players to the left side of the fairway they are making them fire towards the houses up by the green. Invariably most players may be coming in with something long and will have a tendency to slice, you could always fire at the 14th tee box and hope it cuts back towards the green.

If we must have out of bounds at least put it to the right of the bunkers.

[stephenlaws]

I must say that as an opening gambit the stance the club has taken does seem a little weak ....and one that maybe prove difficult to retreat from ....in fact we may well be pushed to take even further action by the householder involved now he and his wife have seen they have our attention.
Something very focused, large and visually unattractive ...erected directly in line of sight of the garden in question ....like the ugly net on the first/practise ground for example .....may have been worthy of consideration as an alternative marker in the ground from our side.
As I believe the house in question has been up for sale recently (on and off over the last few years ) ...the impact on potential buyers seeing a " visible force field " ( thanks disco) may have placed some future negotiation chips on our side of the table.
Of course without the full story and details to hand the decision making process from our side is only speculation ....but I do think the above members points very worthy of merit.
7th and 13th under seige ( which hole will be next ?) ..... attracting new members a primary concern ..... Centenary Year rapidly approaching ..... fees at TGC upper quartile .....health and safety implications for other players.
I am sure this debate will run and run .....but
please at least move the white marker post in the centre of the fairway over to the left side of the fairway so from white ,yellow and red tees we have some line to work with ( as of Sat and Sunday it was still in same old position)

[lazza]

Write to the householder concerned telling him we are positioning a 30 feet high net in front of his property and that trees will also be planted to block stray golf balls. The for sale notices will then no longer read,'panoramic views across Tynemouth Golf Club' as they probaly do now.
It is time to make a stand against people who buy a property next to a golf course and then complain about people playing golf.
Get the stakes taken off the hole and call his bluff.