AndNine-hole golf courses are regaining popularity - here's why you should consider playing nine.A lack of time is usually the main reason why many golfers play nine holes instead of the regulation eighteen but there is so much more to gain from a nine-hole course.
The Finest Nines, a book written about the best nine-hole golf courses in North America, states its case for the value of a short course.
A "complete" round of golf today is eighteen holes, which is based on The Old Course in St. Andrews; originally this course had twenty-two holes but, if you look back even earlier into Scottish history (as far back as 1562), golfers played twenty-five holes!
In his book, writer Anthony Pioppi states that a nine-hole round of golf is perfectly legitimate and that golfers should embrace nine holes and give the courses in this book validation as a true test of a golfers' skills.
Did you know, according to the USGA, "the First U.S. Open in 1895 was played on a nine-hole course"?
Nine holes are also great for a quick test of skills, an afternoon walk, and that it is totally "legit" and counts towards your handicap!
According to a press release issued by the USGA and the R&A, in 2020, a universal golf handicap system will take effect. "A minimal number of scores needed to obtain a new handicap; a recommendation that the number of scores needed to obtain a new handicap be 54 holes from any combination of 18-hole and 9-hole rounds."
The courses in The Finest Nines were selected for their architecture; strategy and shotmaking, how a golfer makes his way from tee to green and the diversity of the par-3's, 4's and 5's were the determining factors considered.
So, which course did the author hail as the "finest nine-hole course in the country?"
Pick up a copy of the book and find out! Okay, okay, spoiler alert - it's Whitinsville Golf Club in Whitinsville, Massachusetts!
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