Okay, so today I messed around with something called the “modified Pinehurst format” in golf. Honestly, I’d heard of it, but never really tried it. Figured it was time to change that.
First, I grabbed my usual golfing buddy, Mark. We’re about the same skill level, which makes these experimental rounds more fun. We headed out to our local course, nothing fancy, just a good place to try stuff out.
The whole point of this modified Pinehurst thing is that it’s a two-person team format. Both of you tee off, then you switch balls for your second shots – I played Mark’s drive, and he played mine. After that, you pick the best resulting shot, and from there, you play alternate shots until the ball’s in the hole.
So, here’s how our first hole went:
- We both tee off. My drive went pretty straight, but a little short. Mark’s had more distance, but it hooked left into the rough.
- I walked over to Mark’s ball in the rough, gave it a good whack, and… well, it stayed in the rough. Not great.
- Mark took my ball’s position, and with a nice, smooth iron shot, he put it on the green! Way better than my attempt.
- We picked up Mark’s ball, since mine after the swith was,useless.
- From there, it was alternate shots. I lined up the putt, missed. Mark tapped it in. Bogey.
We kept at it for the rest of the front nine. It was… interesting. There’s a lot of strategy involved! You really have to think about your partner’s strengths and weaknesses, and where you want to leave them for their next shot. It’s not just about smashing the ball as far as you can.
What I Realized
It made me think,I realized a few things:
- Communication is key! We had a couple of holes where we didn’t really talk about our plan, and it showed. Misunderstandings led to some dumb shots.
- Course management matters even more. Because you’re playing alternate shots after the second shot, you need to be even more careful about where you’re placing the ball.
- It’s actually pretty fun! Even though we weren’t breaking any records, it was a different way to play, and it kept things interesting.
By the end of the round, we were both pretty tired, mentally more than anything. It’s a thinking person’s format, for sure. I wouldn’t play it every time, but I’ll definitely throw it into the mix again. It’s a good way to shake things up and work on different parts of your game, especially that all-important teamwork!
