作者：Richard Mandell
本文地址：http://www.igolfyou.cn/space-21950-do-thread-id-24037.html
Society has certain disdain for what cannot be seen -- the future, a dark alleyway or a blind golf hole.
社会对不能看到的事物总有种蔑视——未来，漆黑的小巷，或者高尔夫盲洞。
A blind golf hole is one on which interference of topographical features such as ridges, hills or mounds prohibit a golfer from determining a proper line of sight to a target on one or more shots. From a golf course design slant, it creates excitement, challenge and mystery.
高尔夫盲洞是指由地形因素，如山脊、小山丘或土丘，造成球手对一杆或者数杆的击球线判断的干扰的球洞。从高尔夫球场设计的角度来看，盲洞创造了刺激、挑战与神秘感。
Contrary to public perception, Pete Dye did not invent blind golf holes to wreak havoc and instill complete disorientation to high-handicappers. Early golf courses, be they of sandy linksland or parkland composition, followed the natural lay of the land. The first golf course architects did not have the advantage of large earthmoving equipment that has become so much a staple of a modern architect's repertoire. Thus, existing ridges and dunes became natural hazards that architects incorporated into their routings to play over, around and through, producing occasional blind occurrences. Golfers accepted this as the "rub of the green" and relied on a sense of feel and an increased concentration to overcome these hazards.
与大众观点相悖，Pete Dye并不刻意创造盲洞来制造浩劫，让高差点球手渐渐迷失方向。早期的高尔夫球场，顺着自然的地形走向，多由海边的林克斯沙地和有树丛的开阔草地构成。第一批高尔夫球场设计师并没有那些几乎成为了现代设计师全部技能的中心的大型土方工程设备，因此，设计师将令人激动的山脊和沙丘融入了他们设计，环绕或者穿越，使之成为了天然的障碍区，这也造成了偶尔的盲洞现象。高尔夫球员将其看做“果岭上无可奈何的现象”，依靠感觉或高度集中注意力来克服这些障碍。
Blind holes also arose though a common theory of late 19th century that water artificially applied to turf was unhealthy to grass. Greens were thought to be better located on sandy soils, which meant it was unwise to locate green sites on high, exposed areas for fear of erosion. Hence, the golf course architect often located greens in hollows where good turf already existed and where rainwater settled. This resulted in punchbowl greens and blind approaches.
盲洞的出现也由于十九世纪后期的一个公认理论，该理论认为人工浇灌草坪对草是不健康的。人们认为果岭位于沙土上为好，也就是说，为了防止侵蚀而把果岭安置在裸露的高地是不明智的。因此，高尔夫球场设计师通常将果岭置于已有优良草坪且汇集雨水的凹陷处。这就造成了“酒杯式”盲果岭。
As technology changed, so did golf course design, and the blind shot was virtually eliminated from modern courses. But Dye was not ready to sacrifice compelling design characteristics because some golfers believe blind shots are dangerous or unfair. Dye originally agreed that blind holes didn't belong in golf, until he met Tommy Armour. When Dye told the Silver Scot his feelings, Armour responded bluntly, "That shows how much you know about the game of golf"
科技在变迁，高尔夫球场设计也随之变化，盲洞已经几乎在现代球场上消失了。但是Dye并不打算因为一些高尔夫球员认为盲击是危险、不公平的，而牺牲不可抗性设计特征（如地形本身已是盲洞）。其实Dye最初也认同盲洞不属于高尔夫这一观点，直到他遇见Tommy Armour。当Dye告诉这位银发的苏格兰人他的意见，Armour直率地回应道：“这体现了你对高尔夫这项运动的理解程度。”
Armour's opinion, simply stated, is that "A blind hole is only blind if a golfer wants," meaning only once is a golf hole blind, providing a golfer has any ability or recall at all. Armour reasons that blind shots stir up emotions that affect a golfer's game, enhancing the mental aspect.
Armour的观点，简单来说，就是“盲洞与否取决于球员”。意思是：只要一个球员有哪怕一丁点儿的回忆，那个洞就只能盲一次。Armour解释说：盲击将唤起一些会影响球员打球的情绪，增强球员的精神层面。
Dye has since become one of the game's biggest advocates of blind holes. "I simply build blind holes to maintain some diversity," he says. "This is just one more aspect of golf. Most of the land I encounter is quite flat and lifeless, so I've had to create some blind holes, usually short par-4s, requiring a half-wedge approach." Dye likes to utilize design tactics to irritate talented golfers, thereby distracting the golfer from making the lowest possible score.
Dye从此成为了盲洞的最大拥护者之一。“我只是通过盲洞来保持多样性。”他说，“这只是高尔夫的又一侧面。我所遇到的大多数地形都是平坦的、死气沉沉的，所以我不得不创造一些盲洞，通常为一个用半挥挖起杆攻果岭的短4杆洞。” Dye喜欢利用战略型设计来刺激有才能的高尔夫球手，也因此分散该球手打最低杆的注意力。
One common thread to Dye's short, "blind" holes is that there is always one point along the fairway where you can see the complete flagstick. To successfully negotiate the hole, the golfer must find this point. For example, the fifth hole at Long Cove Club on Hilton Head Island, S.C., is only 317 yards long, with quite an ample landing area off the tee. The green is hidden by large mounds and pot bunkers and protected by water to the left. The preferred shot is a daring 7-iron off the tee as close to the water on the left as possible. At that point, the golfer is left with a view to the pine and most of the green 150 yards away.
一个和Dye的短“盲”洞相符合的思路是：在球道上，总有一个点能让球手看到完整的旗杆。想要成功跨越盲洞，球手必须找到这个点。例如：位于美国南卡罗莱纳州希尔顿海德岛的Long Cove俱乐部的5号洞。该洞只有317码，拥有很宽大的第一落球点。果岭隐藏在大土丘和壶型沙坑间，且被左边的河围护。较优的开球是用7号铁大胆地开球至离左边的水障碍最近的地方，在那个落球点上，就能看到一片松林和150码处的大半个果岭。
(On the other hand, in the 1991 USGA Mid-Amateur, Jim Stuart birdied the fifth hole in medal play as well as in the quarterfinals and semifinals en route to winning the championship. His preference off the tee was a long-iron to the right, followed by a wedge. Stuart's game-plan was to take the water out of play.)
（另一方面，在1991USGA中年业余高尔夫球锦标赛上，Jim Stuart从四分之一决赛、半决赛直到赢得冠军，均在5号洞抓鸟。他偏好使用长铁杆将球开到右边，然后用挖起杆。Stuart的作战计划是撇开水障碍）
The master architect of Augusta National, Alister MacKenzie, took strategic golf course design to heights previously unexplored. His aversion toward blind holes is reflective of his expertise in strategic concepts. MacKenzie felt blind holes were unnatural and should rarely be permitted. In a discussion of ideal holes in 1920, MacKenzie stated that blind greens, blind bunkers and blind approaches are not the kinds of difficulties which make for interesting golf. "The greater the experience the writer has of designing golf courses," said MacKenzie, "the more certain he is that blindness of all kinds should be avoided. The only form of blind of blindness that should ever be permitted is the full shot up to a green whose position is accurately located by surrounding sandhills. Even in a hole of this kind, it is not the blindness that is interesting, but the visibility of the surrounding sandhills. At the Maiden Hole at Sandwich (the sixth at England's Royal St. George's), it was the grandeur and the impressiveness of the Maiden that made it a good hole, and not the blindness of the green."
奥古斯塔的设计大师Alister MacKenzie将战略型球场设计提升到了一个前所未有的高度。他对盲洞的厌恶可从他专业的战略型理念中反映出来。MacKenzie认为盲果岭、盲沙坑和盲攻果岭并不是令高尔夫运功更有趣的障碍。“越有高尔夫球场设计经验的设计师”MacKenzie说，“越坚定任何形式的‘盲’都该避免。唯一一种可以被允许的‘盲’就是上果岭的那杆需全挥，且果岭的位置精确地被周围环绕的沙丘指示出来。即使是这样的洞，也并非它的‘盲’，而是它周边的可见的沙坑，令它更加有趣。在Sandwich的少女石竹洞（英格兰皇家圣乔治的第6洞），是少女石竹的庄严和令人难忘让其成为经典，而非它的盲果岭。
MacKenzie further observed: "There may be a certain amount of pleasurable excitement in running up to the top of a hillock in hopes of seeing your ball near the flag, but this kind of thing gets rather tired as one gets older." An interesting aside is that for all of MacKenzie's professed abhorrence for blind situations, he was enamored with the Old Course at St. Andrews, with its profusion of blind hazards, to say nothing of the occasional blind shot, such as the tee shot at the 17th, the Road Hole.
MacKenzie进一步发现：“或许跑上小山丘顶希望能看到你的球在旗杆边，有一种令人愉悦的兴奋，但这种感觉随着年龄的增长而减退。”一个有趣的现象是：尽管MacKenzie声称自己厌恶“盲”的状况，他却着迷于圣安德鲁斯老球场——一个拥有丰富盲沙坑的球场，并对这些盲击，例如17洞循环洞的开球，没有任何抱怨，。
Dye's need to create diversity on uninspired land is just one reason why today's architect may endorse an occasional blind hole. A golf course routing is a large puzzle, and if one piece is altered, all the pieces around it may be affected. In many cases, an architect must make concessions such as blind shots to overcome this challenge. The occasional blind hole may also provide an architect with the chance to create many excellent shots or holes based on the existing topography. Favoring the inclusion of a blind hole may reduce earthmoving and other construction costs as well as preserve wetlands and other wildlife habitats.
Dye需要在没有灵感的地块上创造多样性只是现代的设计师赞同偶尔的盲洞设计的原因之一。一个高尔夫球场的走向布局是一大块拼图，如果其中一小片改动了，它周围的都会受到影响。很多时候，设计师必须让步使用盲击设计，来克服这一问题。偶尔的盲洞也提供给设计师根据现有地势创造杰出的一击或者一洞的机会。选择盲洞可以减少土方工程及其他建造成本，同时也可以让湿地和野生动物栖息地得以保存。
Aside from Dye, though, blind holes are largely a thing of the past. Rees Jones eliminated many such holes at U.S. Open layouts such as Hazeltine National and Congressional Country Club. "Definition helps the golfer conceptualize his or her shot quickly, which in turn improves speed of play as well as safety concerns," says Jones. As a player, though, he fully enjoys the challenge a blind hole offers.
除Dye以外，盲洞几乎已成历史。Rees Jones在美国公开赛赛场的布局上消除了很多这样的盲洞，如黑泽汀国家俱乐部和国会乡村俱乐部。“解说图让球手很快地确定了他们的击球，同时也提高了打球的速度和安全性。”Jones说。然而，若作为一个球手，Jones会非常享受盲洞带来的挑战性。
Many blind golf holes have had a great influence on the history of golf. Bobby Jones' tee shot on the 11th at Merion in the 1930 U.S. Amateur was hit to the left off the tee to an area just right of Cobb's Creek, which isn't visible from the tee. The safe shot is to the right of the blind fairway. A high pitch 20 feet from the hole and two putts later, Jones' historic Grand Slam was clinched.
很多盲洞都在高尔夫历史上有很大影响。BobbyJones在1930年美国业余公开赛马里昂第11洞，就是先向左开球刚好落在Cobb小溪的右侧，然而该小溪在梯台上是看不见的，其实安全的开球应该是向右击向盲球道。然后琼斯一个高抛球击向了20码处的果岭，再加两杆推杆，将他历史性的大满贯牢牢抓住。
Jack Nicklaus' favorite hole in all of golf is the eighth at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The tee shot is completely blind as one must aim at a far-off chimney. After bogeying this hole on Thursday, Jack made par the rest of the week as he went on to capture the 1972 U.S. Open.
Jack Nicklaus最喜欢的洞是Pebble Beach林克斯高尔夫球场的第八洞。它的开球盲得彻底，让球手必须瞄向一个遥远的烟囱。周四在这洞打了+1后，Jack在这周接下下来的几天都打了par，让他夺得1972年美国公开赛的冠军。
The Olympic Club in San Francisco, site of many U.S. Open upsets, has many greens where the putting surface is completely blind from the approach. One such hole, the short, par-three 15th was certainly kind to Scott Simpson at the 1987 Open. Despite only seeing the top of the flagstick from the tee, he obviously knew his target well, birdieing the hole each day to beat Tom Watson for the Open title by one stroke. Jack Fleck birdied No. 15 in the fourth round of the 1955 U.S. Open, which helped earn him a playoff berth against Ben Hogan, which he won, in one of golf history's most shocking upsets. Unfortunately, the hole produced the opposite for Arnold Palmer. The King bogeyed 15 in a back-nine collapse which gave Billy Casper a victory in the 1966 Open.
在三藩市的奥林匹克俱乐部——许多届美国公开赛的赛场，有很多果岭的表面在攻果岭时是“全盲”的。在1987年公开赛上，有一个这样的短3杆洞对Scott Simpson非常仁慈。尽管在梯台上只能看到旗杆的顶部，他显然很清楚他的击球目标，每天在这一洞抓鸟，以一杆的优势打败了Tom Watson，赢得公开赛冠军头衔。Jack Fleck在1955年美国公开赛第四轮的15号洞捉鸟，让他获得了与Ben Hogan打加洞赛的机会，并夺得冠军，成为高尔夫历史上最令人震惊的戏剧性事件之一。不幸的是，这个洞为Arnold Palmer制造了相反的状况。他在后九崩盘，在第15洞吃下柏忌，将1966年公开赛的胜利拱手送给了Billy Casper。
Golf course architects must strive to rekindle the elements of mystery and excitement in the game of golf. Fair, creative blind holes can be well designed utilizing proper design principles and honest shot values. Let's Question MacKenzie's contention that blind holes are a novelty which become tiresome with age. Does the pleasure of racing over a hill, hoping to confirm confidence in one's feel and concentration by finding a ball close to the flagstick really lose its luster over time? The challenge of overcoming previous failures, knowing you may succeed the next time always keeps one coming back. Just another fascination of the great game of golf.
Originally published in the 1996 March issue of Links Magazine.
高尔夫球场设计师必须努力奋斗，去重燃高尔夫的神秘和刺激。公平而富有创造力的盲洞能够通过利用适当的设计原则和公正的击球值而成为精彩的设计。让我们去质疑MacKenzie“盲洞是随着年龄增长越发无趣的新奇事物（上文有提到Mackenzie关于盲洞与年龄的论点）”的观点。穿越山丘，希望通过发现停在旗杆边的球来证明球手的自信与专注，真的会随着时间的流逝而渐失光彩么？克服先前的失败，知道自己下一次就会成功的这种挑战总是让人们卷土重来，这就是高尔夫的另一魅力。
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