OLd Macdonald's greens the largest in the world

[Anthony Gray]

  THis months LINKS magazine states that Old Mac has 6.5 acres of greens compared to 6.1 acres of greens at The Old Course. A lot to look foward to.

  Anthony

[Jud_T]

let's get a pool together for the first guy to legitimately play 18 without a 3-putt (no gimmes)..

[Mike Nuzzo]

I hope they are that big in 400 years too....

[TEPaul]

"THis months LINKS magazine states that Old Mac has 6.5 acres of greens compared to 6.1 acres of greens at The Old Course."


Anthony:

Thanks for that info. THAT is a whole lot of greenspace!! But to put it into perspective do you realize there is one of those stately mansions somewhere in England that has total roof space that covers close to SEVEN ACRES?! It's not the taxes or anything like that the Lord lives in mortal fear of----it's the day he has to reroof the place!

[Ally Mcintosh]

Of course, you could argue that TOC has almost double that area of playing surface because you play seven of them on two occasions... Not in terms of pin positions but certainly in terms of three putting...

[Jeff_Mingay]

6.5 acres is a lot.

Sagebrush has about 4.5 acres of putting surface area. I thought that was a lot!

[Bill_McBride]

That is an average of 15,762 square feet per green!  Wow, is that even possible?

If each green was circular, the diameter would be 142 feet or 47 yards.  If each green was square, the distance front to back or side to side would be 125 feet or 42 yards.   Those are some giant greens. 

Can't wait to see them!

By contrast, the old Pensacola Country Club 14th hole (designed by two members in 1925) had the tiniest green I've ever seen.  The hole was 515 yards, slight dogleg right, one bunker in the corner.  The green had a deep bunker left, with a high lip right and back protecting the green surface,  and a grassy depression to the right.  There was a three foot drop off behind the green that was devilish with a back pin.

I calculated the square footage at maybe 1,800 square feet!

The safe play was always to pitch to the very front, try for birdies with the pin in front, settle for pars with the pin back. 

That's an amusing contrast - 15,762 SF at Old Macdonald, 1,800 SF at Pensacola (Old)! 

[JC Jones]

let's get a pool together for the first guy to legitimately play 18 without a 3-putt (no gimmes)..

Only for people who carry one putter in their bag.  Cheaters who carry two putters (one of which is a long putter that clearly violates the rules of golf) are immediately disqualified for conduct unbecoming the spirit of the game.

[Jud_T]

jc- HERE, HERE

[Joe Bausch]

I think as interesting a stat as how many people per day go an entire round w/o a 3 putt would be to post the total number of putts for the worst putter each day.  I would assume it might get close to 50!

[Eric_Terhorst]

It's a neat marketing ploy to say the greens are bigger than St. Andrews, but it seems to me this is a question of where does the fescue fairway leave off and the fescue green begin...Anthony, I don't have the article in front of me, but isn't there a comment from Doak about how the fairway-green boundary is purposely blurry because Doak-Urbina anticipated that players would use putters from well off the "green?"

[Jud_T]

Joe,

I would definitely take the over at 50 if you are talking about everyone who plays the course and not just the sandbaggers on here....

[Anthony Gray]

It's a neat marketing ploy to say the greens are bigger than St. Andrews, but it seems to me this is a question of where does the fescue fairway leave off and the fescue green begin...Anthony, I don't have the article in front of me, but isn't there a comment from Doak about how the fairway-green boundary is purposely blurry because Doak-Urbina anticipated that players would use putters from well off the "green?"

  Eric,

  The article states:

    According to Doak, the goal was never to set out to build such large greens. But since most players can putt on fast-running fescue grass anywhere from 50 yards and in, extending the putting surfaces beyond the original plan was a natural evolution.  Anthony

[Tim Gerrish]

Does anyone know how big the greens are at the Pines Course at the International outside Boston?

[Pete_Pittock]

Athony,
They'll have at least one 3-putt by the eighth hole, probably 2 or 3 by then.  I'd put the over/under on total putts at 39.   

[Adrian_Stiff]

An average set of greens would be about 2 acres, so those are over 3 times as big. Something to consider if you cut 2 more bands with a triplex mower around a green you would probably double the size. Are these greens all pinnable I wonder or is there more a concentrated area of green with run off areas that will be mown as short as the green. Perhaps Mr D will give us the exact facts.

[Jud_T]

although the greens will be large, given the potential wind conditions, I doubt that they are anywhere near mr. D's most severe or that they'll be the fastest greens on the planet....

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

I was surprised to read that the total area of the Old Course greens is 6.1 acres, considering that the 14th/4th double green is reputed to be over 1 acre. This would leave about 5 acres for the other 10 greens, or which 6 are double greens.

If, as has been said in previous posts, the greens at Old Mac have just been extended by cutting a little further beyond the original green limits - for example the aprons, then it seems reasonable enough. What I would not like to see is very large greens where the green extensions were considered for pin positions.

My home course, Bro-Bĺlsta has the largest greens I've ever seen. A number of them are 55 yards in depth, with widths of about 30 yards. I feel a little deprived when I play this course, as some of my (many) miss-hit wayward shots end up on the green. You might say "that's great", but in my opinion, thes miss-hits shouldn't end up on the green. It is more enjoyable to have a difficult chip or putt - up a bank or from a hollow - back to the hole, instead of a 90-100 foot putt.

It's nice to have an opportunity to use your putter from off the green. I have seen some players using the putter from up to 100 yards. Some people may scoff at the thought, but in many situations, it's the right club to choose.

Dónal.

[John Moore II]

Athony,
They'll have at least one 3-putt by the eighth hole, probably 2 or 3 by then.  I'd put the over/under on total putts at 39.   

Well, it depends on how accurate you are with the irons. Well, unless the greens have crazy big contours. If you can hit to within 30-35 feet, you can probably get by without a 3 putt, since they are unlikely to run the greens at 12 or something.

I'd put an over/under at 5 people per day to legitimately go without a 3 putt.

And I'm with Joe, the over/under for max putts by one person on a given day has to be 50, if not 55; hell, I once took 45 putts on a course with greens half that size.

[David_Tepper]

Speaking of the LINKS Magazine article on Old Macdonald, did anyone notice the weathered sleepers in the large bunker pictured in the article? Compared to those sleepers, the ones pictured in the bunkers at Castle Stuart (that caused so much consternation among certain parties here) look almost new!  

[Jud_T]

John, I'll take the under at 5...

[Eric Smith]

Speaking of the LINKS Magazine article on Old Macdonald, did anyone notice the weathered sleepers in the large bunker pictured in the article? Compared to those sleepers, the ones pictured in the bunkers at Castle Stuart (that caused so much consternation among certain parties here) look almost new!  

Exactly!

I do love that picture and cannot wait to play the course.

[Rob Rigg]

The course plays so F&F that you need greens that big just to stop your ball on them.

I recall landing a couple approaches 20+ yards short of the green and watching them roll all the way to the back.

Hitting low irons into those greens is crazy fun - it's super creative golf.

I think the Road Hole green was the smallest on the preview round - the Biarritz and Short were huge (not included the other half of short).

Penal tree lined parkland golf it is NOT

[Jaeger Kovich]

The short hole is the largest green I have ever seen... including TOC, but not including that #19 shaped like africa that you watch padraig hit off a cliff on youTube!!!! I think that one is bigger!

[Mike Hendren]

Is it a gimmick?