"Short grass works because it tempts us to go for shots we maybe shouldn't go for."

John Huggan profiles former Open Champion Todd Hamilton who has a lot of interesting things worth reading, including this on course setup:

"The way courses are typically set up in the US seems to me very mundane," he claims. "It's the same every week and they are ruining golf by doing it that way. When I'm at home I don't go to my club and play every day. That would be boring. So I play all over town if I can. I like variety.

"There's not much of that on the PGA Tour. It seems like the tee-markers are moved five yards in four days. The courses are always long and the rough is always high. Not every par-3 has to be 230 yards with the pin placed maybe four yards from the edge of the green. And the ground always seems to be soft. You don't need rough to make a good test. If you get the ball running off line and there is nothing to stop it, the course is actually more challenging and interesting.

"Short grass works because it tempts us to go for shots we maybe shouldn't go for. And it is so much more interesting around the greens. From a tight lie, I have options. I can use my lob wedge. I can use my 9-iron. And I can use my putter. If the grass is long, all you do is chop it out with a 60-degree wedge. We are all good at that shot by now."