Choosing pin locations

[TEPaul]

"Another really good thing to do in a tone-a-mint is to play a par 3 from a vastly different tee than the players are expecting.  That really befuddles a player and nothing is more reflective of a player's character and talent than the ability to overcome doubts or uncertainty and to commit to a decision.

redanman:

Interesting you say that. We did that at GAP too in the old days. The process we used was to inform the super about a week in advance what distances we were putting on our competition score cards (what tee distance we expected him to set the tee markers on par 3s), then failing to go out and actually check if he'd done that with a competition card before at least one group in the field played the holes (can't change anything if at least one group comes through in stroke play!!).

You want to see some confused players and some serious checking of a player's character and poise??? We were really good at that by doing what I just described---not on purpose of course!

We also sometimes used our own GAP tee markers and removed all the rest from the club on all the tees. So you'd get such things happening as a player showing up on the tee with the honor, looking at our competition scorecard yardage, looking at our GAP tee markers pulling out a club and hitting a good shot 50 yards short of a par 3 or 50 yards over it!!!  

Yessiree, we really were good at testing a players concentration, character and poise on some par 3s in the old days!!!

One time, not all that many years ago since I sometimes got into getting there early and checking the par 3 markers against our competition card, I came upon a set-up, Rolling Green actually, where all the par 3 markers were way off in both directions from our scorecard. I called the super on the radio and asked him why that happened and didn't he know where we wanted the markers set on the par 3s? He said he did know but unfortunately they'd had something like a big member/guest the day before and he used all the distances that we had on our competition scorecard so those areas were all chewed up so he decided to plant all the par 3 markers as far away as possible in either direction from our competition card distances!!!

Unbelievable, but potentialy character building nonetheless!

[LenBum]

LenBum:

In that case YOU should carry your putter and 2-3 balls at all times and become more familiar with those greens and everything about them than anyone else in the world!

Actually this brings up an interesting rules question. I never bring a putter with me when I pick tournament hole locations since I also caddie in the tournaments.  If a player can't practice putt on the greens I've always assumed I can't either and never have. But is there something in the rules prohibiting me from picking the locations?

[Patrick_Mucci]

LenBum,

The rules permit practice on the golf course prior to match play competitions.

The question isn't so much one regarding rules, but your selection process, conscious and unconscious, and your ability to be objective and not let your personal preferences creep into the process

[LenBum]

I never think about the players I have in selecting hole locations.
Besides, with my golfing luck it would backfire anyhow!

[JohnV]

Len, there are no rules against a caddie practicing on the course before a stroke play competition.  The caddies actions is only the responsibility of the player during the competition.   Otherwise you'd have to interview a caddie you hired as to what he might have done earlier in the day.

Don, I said I wouldn't put a hole very tight behind a bunker if there was no other way to get there except with a long iron.  I said that if you could run it up to 15 or 20 feet to the side I would use that.

The main reason I don't like 18 very hard hole locations is that I have to worry about pace of play along with challenge.

Other setup issues such as having different clubs into the par 3s is nice and I try to do that when possible.

One thing I did last week at the US Mid-Amateur Qualifier was to move one of the par 4s to a forward tee where the players could try to drive the green (although most didn't) and then put a really tough hole location behind a bunker there.  The guy who layed up had a really hard wedge in while the guy who went for it might have no chance or an easy chip or eagle putt.  Some guys were surprised that I didn't tip out the course and liked the opportunity.

If you go to the US Amateur or one of the other USGA stroke followed by match play events, you'll frequently see fairly benign hole locations during stroke play.   This is for pace of play.  Then, the first round of match might have the toughest holes of the week to get rid of any "pretenders" who snuck through the easy setup.

[Patrick_Mucci]

John Vander Borght,

Pace of play has probably done more harm to creative or challenging pin positions then the speed of the greens

Most people don't understand that if you put the pins in the center of the green during a medal play qualifier or tournament, pace of play will be brutal, and, if you make the course devilishly difficult, you'll need every minute of daylight to complete the round, if you're lucky.

Most visualize the process in a hypothetical manner, isolated from the reality of pace of play.