The Front Shoulder

[Ian Andrew]

I went out to visit a Travis course called Yahnandasis recently and on the front right of the green it had a prominent mound extending away from the green complex. It certainly added a wonderful eccentricity to the green site, but also stiffened the recovery from short right considerably. This “shoulder,” for lack of a better term, offered an interesting and unique defense to a green site rather than a common bunker.


The 13th at Yahnandasis

I love the unusual and this fits into the more eccentric of features I have enjoyed, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I had seen it at Winged Foot on the 18th. It struck me that the front right was raised well above the green and made for a formidable defense, particularly against a player missing short and right (Montgomerie).


The 18th at Winger Foot

This sprung some questions?

1. Are there other better examples of this feature?
2. I’ve have seen a few Tillinghast greens defined by this front roll, is this more common with him?
3. Why have we not got more of these features rather than bunkers?
4. Does the front fescue knoll at Baltray fit this idea?


The 14th at County Louth

[wsmorrison]

Ian,

I cannot find my photographs, but I think Alex Findlay had shoulders fronting some of his greens at Tavistock, which is being restored by Jim Nagle and Ron Forse.  Maybe Jamie has some photographs he can share...that is if my memory serves me correctly.  Maybe on the 7th hole?

[Adam Clayman]

Ian, There are wonderful similar examples at Wild Horse in Nebraska. They may not be as bold, and are in fact closer to noses than shoulders. Clearly, one of the key differences is how the short grass presentation on the features in Nebraska make their relative subtlety work effectively.

[Dick Kirkpatrick]

Tom McBroom put those shoulders on many of his greens early in his career.

[Bill_McBride]

There is an example of this at Hoylake's #14 (Open routing).  There is a big dune front left of the green and a big drop off right side, creating a very small effective entrance to the green.

Here's the drop off, which leaves a nasty pitch or putt up onto the green surface:



Here's another view from the side.  You can see how the shoulder starts at the front edge of the green and throws errant balls farther right and down the steep hill:



Here's a view from the back showing the dune front left that influences bail out shots to the right that wind up down the hill:



Here's a view from down the fairway which shows the dune and its impact.  You can't see the steepness and height of the fall off to the right very well, but it has a major impact on the play of this long par 4 hole.



After playing this hole several times, it's hard to imagine Tiger making a 2 on Friday and a 3 on Sunday of the Open!

[Gary Slatter]

I think shoulders work great when the green is elevated, there are too many modern courses where the balls all collect into one area, usually requiring a drop from a drain.
The concept is more fun than just another bunker can provide.