The current discussion on large greens vs. small greens and the strategic advantages for each got me wondering just how green size plays into both routing and hole design.
For example, the second hole of Bethpage Black seems so natural in that it's green sits at the top of the hill at the end of the rising valley. Yet that land was available to Devereaux Emmet when he designed the original Lenox Hills Golf Club that today comprises much of the Green course and he chose not to use it. He certainly could have as the original first green sat atop the hillside which is left of the Black's 2nd fairway.
My point is that we see many green complexes that appear so natural to their location that one would simply believe that any architect would place one there.
So my question is this... When you, as an architect, look at a piece of land for routing and course design, at what point do you begin considering green size? Is it after you choose the green site or is it part and parcel to the choice?