Disagree, IMO there should be no circle, keep it stupid simple. How much paint do you want to waste drawing that massive circle or how much time is it going to waste to step off?
Sink bricks or other more attractive markers in a circle instead, you don't need to have a full ring just spaced every couple of meters or so. Easy to mow over and keep clear and give a permanent circle without work each tournament.
There is something about the circle that appeals to a lot of people aesthetically.
It also amazes me now to hear how many people out on the course are marking down their stats on the scorecard apps. "So, I was missed fairway, Fairway, then circle 2 missed putt made it from circle one" They don't even give their score half the time to each other just a story of the hole! I'm standing there thinking, "um, I got a two, what does that do?"
A lot of us here are longer time players. Start listening to the newer players that have started playing with Youtube videos and scorecard apps, it really is fascinating how the things they use/watch effect them and their approach to the game. I get the impression par is a more important metric to them now than it was to me when I started playing.
In terms of this thread I like the experiment USDGC has done on hole 2 (?) to create a more interesting putting theatre. I wouldn't want to see it on every hole though. What I did really like was the attempt to make the poles look natural with the ivy planting on them, the impression i get from most people is they want the courses to look natural, if you add unnatural elements they risk being thought of as clowns mouth style mini golf courses.
I'm certainly against the opinion that there should be a 10 meter clear circle around every basket. I probably tuck too many of mine into the tree lines or on top of hillocks as a result but I want players to earn each stroke they gain and the trees/hillsforce a bit more thought on the approach and then a putt under more pressure.
I'm going around to a lot of footgolf courses at the moment, a far younger sport than ours but it's interesting watching it develop. There are a lot of really bad courses out there and some really good. The ones that are successful have tried to make the greens more interesting by putting down logs and cut trees + other obstacles in and around the greens forcing people to shape their approaches or have obstructed putts. The greens look more interesting and players like the challenge. They haven't got the budget to shape undulating golf greens so have got around this by embracing other ideas.
Does anyone think the USDGC hole has been ruined by the posts? For me it is an improvement and cleverly done with the OB in front on the easy putt side and making the easy bounce off the back fence option trickier. (That it's a hole at a major filmed event playing across a parking lot that's used as a design feature is a whole different pet peeve...)
