George B,
"What would be your preference for The Knoll, grass or green?"
Mike, at The Knoll, being a semi-public access course and maintenance understaffed, I think it would be better it remain a “single back green” with landing area in front.
Just the other day I expanded the approach to it’s full width, the very wide approach area ..... now if I could get them to keep it more FIRM !!!!
If The Knoll was (once again) a private course I think I would try to convince them to make it all putting surface, especially since the “approach” has so much original movement on it.
Aside: there are a lot more Biarritz hole full putting surfaces now than you might imagine and quite a few more considering making the approaches puttable.
When I first started Raynor-type visiting courses (in the name of research, of course - what a tough job) I can only think of a few courses with fully putting surface:
Yale, of course;
Tim Davis had just done Shoreacres;
Creek decided to do their 11th;
Chicago Golf;
I hadn’t been to Mid Ocean but I know their’s was;
not sure if Tom had done Camargo ...... (Tom??) - (I met Mike De Vries there - he was doing some hand-shovel work in the pit bunker right of 10-green if I remember - we spent a long evening talking that night);
..... that’s about it at that time.