[Matt_Cohn]

This is the pin sheet from the 2nd round of the CordeValle Collegiate.

As a group they were the hardest pin positions I've seen, ever.

I've typed in some notes; also, the numbers inside the quadrants are estimates of the distance to the edge of the green - i.e., a pin can be 5 paces on and 5 from the left, but only 3 paces from the front-left fringe.

Every pin seemed to be on or just over a ridge; but you can at least get a sense of the precision involved from looking at the numbers here.

[Norbert P]

 What the high handicapper sees in pin sheets . . .

[Steve Kline]

Were they not allowed to put a pin in the back of the green? Many times back pin placements are the hardest to make birdie on because of the fear of going over, which is usually the worst spot to miss on most courses. That's pretty awful pin setting in my opinion.

[jeffwarne]

Of course they had to make the pins difficult!
I heard a rumor that some of the early groups were getting around in under 5 hours.

Slag---post of the year.
That's what yardage books look like to me!

I played wih a Head Pro at his course who insisted every fixed marker at his course(par 3 tees and 150's) was wrong (according to his rangefinder)
I didn't have the heart to tell him they change when the cups move

[Norbert P]

I played wih a Head Pro at his course who insisted every fixed marker at his course(par 3 tees and 150's) was wrong (according to his rangefinder)
I didn't have the heart to tell him they change when the cups move

 Perhaps we should call him the Headless Pro.

 The Pin Location sheet actually has remarks of "inside horseshoe contour", "on crown w' steep deopoff", etc.  Does this favor the better player to know those exacting details?  I can imagine that the caddies like these as they get to sleep in and skip prewalking the course.

"Too much information . . . running through my head."  The Police



 

[Jason Topp]

I play in interclub competitions in May and June.  Most of the pins are in similar positions.  The greens are cut fast and the weather is often cold and windy.  My stroke average has been about 10 shots higher than it is in other competitive rounds the rest of the year.  

It makes me respect the guys who can play with those pins and probably is great preparation for those that are playing in bigger tournaments later on.

It sucks for me.  It is embarrasing to shoot the high scores.  It is difficult to get players to participate from our club because many of the 3-6 handicap members are older and do not want to go out and shoot 90 on a 7000 yard, windy course with the pins tucked.  

Hopefully next year I will play better.

[JSlonis]

Were they not allowed to put a pin in the back of the green? Many times back pin placements are the hardest to make birdie on because of the fear of going over, which is usually the worst spot to miss on most courses. That's pretty awful pin setting in my opinion.

Steve,

Looking at the Pin Sheet, there are 9 holes where the hole location is +5 or more from the middle. There appears to be quite a few holes located in the back of the green.

[Matt_Cohn]

Slag,

No, those are my notes. Read my comments next time.  

Jeff,

Yeah, no kidding. The group I watched played the first four holes (4-3-5-4) in an hour and 20 minutes. With t-t-twelve minute intervals! It was glacial.

Steve/JS,

The pin the guys had the hardest time with, relative to its real difficulty, was on a short par 4 with a back-to-front sloping green, the pin in the back, and a huge backboard behind it. The first guy's ball hit near the pin and spun back about 20 feet away. So what did the next two guys do? Play full wedge shots that hit even further up on the slope and spun back 50 feet! It's a small sampling but I was surprised none of those guys had a "spin-proof" shot to play in there.

[David_Tepper]

Matt -

How did the pin placements at this event compare with those at the US Am?

DT

[Matt_Cohn]

David,

Significantly harder. Very much harder.

It's tough to compare small, one-slope greens to large, lots-of-undulation greens. But the pins at CordeValle were much closer to the edges and brought a lot of protective countour (mounds, ridges, etc.) into play, which is a feature that just doesn't exist a lot at Olympic Club.

[Chris Cupit]

Hole location sheet

[Tim Gavrich]

For our year-end tournament my junior year of high school, there'd been lots of rain prior to the competition date, so on 15 of the 18 holes, the pins were within 10 yards of the back edge.  Talk about a nightmare in pin-setting!

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