GREEN
make the green small with a lot of slope since it would not fairly reward those with length and accuracy to reach it in two.
A good example is the par 5 13th
green at Augusta National, home of the US Masters, where you get surprised at how small the green really is. It looks huge on television, but the players have to hit a long iron over Rae’s Creek and land it on a relatively small, steeply sloping green. It’s a significant test of strength and accuracy and makes great viewing both in real life and on television.
3 Variety of hole positions for all green speeds
MODERN green cutting equipment and grass varieties has seen the speed of greens increase significantly, which means great care is required by the golf course architect in making sure that new greens are not excessively steep. The most common problem is when less experienced architects try to do too
much with a green resulting in excess slopes.
When I design a green I am always looking to create at least five or six ‘pinnable’ areas. With a pinnable area I mean an area of the green with a radius of approximately three metres around the hole, with no more than 3% of slope (depending on grass types and future maintenance as well). I prefer using 1- 2% slopes in the pinnable areas with steeper slopes, knobs, swales and hollows in other regions of the greens to add and maintain interest. An extreme example of the dangers of having too much slope and too fast a green surface was the 2004 US Open at Shinnecock Hills. These are old steep greens that were designed for slower speeds - so when they were cut extremely short for the tournament and dried out, the number of pinnable areas was reduced. In fact, they became treacherously difficult and had to be watered during play, which proved controversial.
4 Sound technical design and quality construction
IT’S no good having a great green if water does not drain away or it is sited in the shade of trees - it has to be a working, functional green that can be effectively maintained by the green staff. Incredibly, there are still golf courses being built that suffer with water build-up on the putting surface. Personally, I am always looking to create three or four draining swales to allow efficient run-off and drainage from the green surface. The site of the green is always essential - you do not want to put a green in the shade where grass growth cannot be optimised. This is particularly important in regions like Scandinavia where greens are in special need of morning light at the beginning and end of the season. Of course, the green also has to be constructed correctly, which is why many golf course architects recommend the USGA (United State Golf Association) method
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