The Donut Mold

[Matt_Cohn]

I've noticed this pattern of green contours at a few places recently.

The edges of the green are turned up.
In the middle of the green there is a mound.
In between the edges and the middle are the pinnable areas.

So, it's kind of the shape of a donut mold. Obviously there is a lot of variation within this basic framework. One common variation is a front and back tier with the mound in the middle of the tier.

But it seems like this design works well for a few reasons:

Good shots get to use slopes on one or both sides to get closer to the hole.
Short-sided shots are very difficult because of the upturned edges.
Shots missed on the opposite side of the green have to negotiate a large undulation between the ball and the hole.
Almost every pin position brings the green contours into play.
Playing "safe" to the middle of the green becomes pleasantly complicated.

Did this originate with #18 at PV? Somewhere else?

[TEPaul]

Matt:

So you'd describe the 18th at PVGC this way?

Hmmm. For starters, the 18th at PVGC is over 11,000 sf and I doubt anything left of center is pinnable. I know I've never seen a pin left of center. Basically everything left of center functions as an approach "filter".

[Matt_Cohn]

The only thing I know about that green is there's a bump in it, somewhere!

[Chris_Clouser]

Matt,

Don't know where it originated, probably in Scotland if I had to guess, but an architect you know well used that style a lot.

See Dunlop White's My Home Course write-up about Old Town and you will see that Maxwell used this at that course more than once.  He also used it in several of his other works.

E-mail me sometime.  Love to hear what you are up to these days.