Technical The anatomy of a golf course - GREENS
The golf green is, arguably, the most important part of the golf course. The green is where the majority of shots within a typical round is aimed at or played upon. The golf green has to cope with balls being pitched onto it from full shots played from up to 250 yards away, whilst also being smooth enough for a ball to roll predictably across its surface. In this article Andy Watson, of Andy Watson Golf Design, will look at what constitutes a green; how it is placed; its size and shape; and technical advancements that have improved the green surface over time
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“The green itself should be a realistic and tempting target for the golfer; that is, at least part of the green should be visible from the landing area of the approach”
reens were developed on links land in Scotland. They would have originally been clearings or flatter dunes within the dunescape, and these would have been selected for their prominent position and well grazed turf. Through further formalisation, and the application of mowers, greens have become well defined by cut height. They are now distinct, mainly circular features, with many challenges built into their surfaces.
When the game of golf expanded to England, it migrated to heath and moor land areas where the soil was sandy, similar to that of the links of Scotland. When the game expanded to the United States, with the Scottish colonies, similar soil wasn’t always readily available, and there are some examples of greens consisting of squares of oiled sand, including Pinehurst No. 2 which contained these until 1935 (see image). Donald Ross was involved in the evolution of the courses at Pinehurst, and he transformed the oiled sand into challenging turf greens by incorporating some of the more dramatic shapes of the Scottish greens where he learned his profession.
Green Position
When deciding the green position within a new golf course design, a number of factors should be considered. The green itself should be a realistic and tempting target for the golfer; that is, at least part of the green should be visible from the landing area of the approach. If possible, greens should be placed in
as natural a position as possible, thus plateaus and ridges become perfect for green positions. On occasions, greens may attractively sit within a valley, but this is dependent on outfall for drainage being included within the design. Promontories are also attractive and lend themselves to bunker and other hazard placements. When a green is being positioned, the potential positioning of hazards is also taken into account. Rolls and hollows can be created to add chipping and putting interest around the majority of green surfaces with minimal movement and, with a little more earth shaping, bunkers can also be created. The competent architect will spot the positions that these features can be created and work them into the overlying strategy of the hole, as discussed in the previous article on bunkers. Greens which were closed in on all sides were once a popular style for architects to mimic. However, it was found to increase the potential for waterlogging, and poor quality surfaces as a result. In addition, closed in greens often result in the bottom of the flag being hidden, which does not sit favourably in a modern game which relies on the level of accuracy obtained using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and distance sights. Therefore, although closed in greens are possible to maintain, they are rarely used, and a green will be kept far better if there is satisfactory run off around at least two sides of a putting surface.
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