Big golf courses that have grown hole cups… 6 to 8 mm longer than the standard

Last March, there was a funny happening in which the 2023 Srixon Tour 1st qualifying tournament, the second part of the KPGA, was canceled during the game (see page 26 of the March 22 issue of the Kukmin Daily).

With the first group playing up to the 16th hole and the last group playing up to the 8th hole, the players who were notified of the game cancellation had no choice but to wander around without knowing why.

However, after hearing the explanation about the cancellation of the match, all the participating players were stunned. And netizens who heard this news poured out mockery every day, saying that it was Guinness.

As widely known, the reason for the cancellation was that the hole size was increased by about 6mm from the regulation. To be precise, it was ignoring the golf rules that ‘the diameter of the hole cup is 108mm, the depth is at least 101.6mm, and the cylinder must be buried at least 25mm below the ground’.

There is a good reason for bringing up this happening again. The increase in the size of the hole cup is because it is not only the golf course where the tournament was held. It has already spread like an epidemic to many golf courses, and many golf courses are openly committing illegal (?). And the reason I mention it again is to point out that trend.

There are three theories about the origin of the golf hole cup size. First of all, when the sport of golf was created not long ago, only a small hole was dug on the green and used as a hole cup. It was an artificial hole, so it was common for the hole to disappear completely when it rained or a typhoon blew.

The hole cup was born as a last resort to prevent holes from disappearing. Because of the rim and shape of early cups, the ball did not enter easily. It is argued that a hole cup with a diameter of 4.25 inches (108 mm) appeared to compensate for such a shortcoming.
​Another
claim is that it was made to the minimum size that an adult male hand can take out with a golf ball in it.

The last argument is that in 1829, at a golf club in Scotland, a tool was made to cut a hole through an iron pipe, and the diameter of this iron pipe was 108 mm
.
Installing two can be viewed as aegyo안전놀이터. On the other hand, increasing the hole cup diameter for all 18 holes by 6-8mm than the regulation is a direct disregard for the basic spirit of golf.

It is no different from arbitrarily increasing the size of the goalpost and basket in a soccer or basketball game to score more goals. In a word, it deserves to be criticized as an act that violates the spirit of sports that emphasizes the rules.

The reason for doing so is obvious. It can’t be anything but a shallow ploy to increase the number of built-in teams by speeding up the game. There is another goal of the golf course. It is a well-calculated trick to increase the number of built-ins by making golfers who are unaware of the expedients of the golf course think that if they come only to the golf course, their putting will go well and their number of strokes will improve.

Golf is becoming more and more entertainment and caricature. It is regrettable that some golf courses are jumping on the bandwagon by going all-in only on operating profits. In any case, the so-called ‘golf spirit’ must not be damaged.

If golf becomes an excessive entertainment or a caricature, the charm and spirit of challenge brought by golf will inevitably be halved. All golf courses should keep in mind that the act of growing hole cups can eventually lead to a tremendous ‘butterfly effect’ that negatively affects the entire golf industry, including golf courses.