[jmessner]

And the bar is raised.

Permanently.

Exactly! I wonder if this whole discussion is similar to what happened when someone (not sure of my facts here but some say Jack Nicklaus) first started charting yardages on the courses rather than just estimating by eye. There's always a search for a competitive advantage whether it be in execution or planning. It's interesting...there's a course out here in California that until the last few years did not have a yardage marker on the course anywhere(other than the tees). A member told me the owner did not think it was in the "tradition" of golf to know the yardages with accuracy.

As an aside, while the course is challenging, I don't think it's any coincidence that I played my slowest round ever there (6 hours 40 minutes) before they added markers.