The DP World India Championship has been a great change of pace for regular golf viewers – and not just for the assault on the senses but in the style of golf that it has promoted.
Indian temples being dotted around the property and a constant buzz of the heavy traffic around such a sprawling metropolis are a great backdrop to Delhi Golf Club, but it’s the actual course design that’s been such an eye opener.
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Leave the big dogs out of the bag
So much of modern golf is centered around distance and, smashing your driver as far as is humanly possible is often the main focus – that’s because at most courses and most events it’s a huge advantage.
But, let’s face it, when player after player on tee box after tee box steps up and whips the headcover off the big dog without giving it a moment’s thought, and just throws the kitchen sink at it, things can get a bit dull.
The bomb-and-gouge golf is dominant at most PGA Tour events, the rough outside of Majors is never usually much to be feared, fairways are wide enough and, even when in the rough, there’s still some spin and control to be had.
But not at Delhi Golf Club where the fairways are so tight, and the penalty for missing them is so severe that driver just isn’t the play – with players instead having to place their tee shots on the short stuff via fairway woods and driving irons.
Even Rory McIlroy, possibly the best driver of a golf ball on the planet, let his big dog have a snooze in the locker room with the margin for error so small even he dare not take the risk.
And watching high cuts with 5-woods, power fades with long irons and the occasional stinger off the tee makes such a refreshing change to the rinse and repeat of smash a driver, go find it, spin a wedge in for a birdie chance.
Please can we have more of this during the season?
Why we should have more courses like Delhi
There’s room for tournaments on tracks that demand hitting bombs off the tee, of course there is, and that’s an enjoyable watch – but just not all year round.
Links golf offers a different test that we all love watching, but Delhi was another great alternative that tests the world’s best pros in all the other facets of their game – apart from driving distance.
It’s not long, but accuracy off the tee is paramount as the rough is real – with an almost complete lack of control hitting from it. If you stray even further away, there’s dense jungle that almost always means a shot gone.
So calculations have to be made, you can attack pins as usual from the fairway, but the rough demands more landing it short and running it up the green. Strategy needs to change, players must think on their feet, when usually they’re almost on autopilot.
Several have commented on the need for patience and mental strength to avoid making a big mistake at Delhi Golf Club – and that really is something we should get more of.
So instead of just extending tees, bragging about 600-yard par-fives and outrageous carries over bunkers from the tee box, let’s have more courses that demand mental strength as well as physical.
As tactics trump brute force in Delhi, all manner of shot shapes have been on display, and you can tell the players love the challenge of using the skills that so much of the modern game has rendered obsolete.
It’s more relatable watching players blocked out by trees and unable to control spin out of rough, but also gives you a much better appreciation for the skill level on show watching them still make birdies from there.
We know bombing drivers is the headline act in modern golf, but maybe, just maybe, we could have a few more tournaments on courses like Delhi. If we can have driverless cars on our roads then why not the odd driverless golf tournament?
Have your say
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Have Your Say
What do you think? Would you like to see more tournaments on courses where driver wasn’t used? Is there too much bomb-and-gouge golf in the season? And have you enjoyed all the irons off tees and strategy at Delhi Golf Club?
Let us know by joining the conversation below and sharing your views…
