[JC Jones]

I ask in advance that the discussion be limited to the architecture of the hole and cape holes, generally.

See the below:



Note the description of the hole as "cape-type."  My understanding is that there is a good chance Flynn wrote this (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

What are your thoughts on this hole?  What about it doesn't fit the model and what does?  What are the better representations of a "cape" hole out there?

I was curious to learn that #6 has Road Hole characteristics and I'm equally curious to see the 10th classified as a Cape.

[Eric Smith]

The only difference in my opinion is having a 'sea' of rough at Merion vs a sea (or other body of water). You didn't have to perform the ritualistic mulligan dance (see Adam's thread) after pulling your tee shot on #10, whereas if you took a similar line on other capes you would likely have to.

[JESII]

I was always under the impression that a Cape Hole implied a diagonol carry across some sort of hazard from the tee...but David Moriarty showed some information that a Cape is actually a body of land jutting out into the water (and surrounded on three sides)...

#10 at Merion certainly fits the latter, but not the former. I would say it takes more than 225 to attain a straight look into the green though...at least from the back tees.

[JC Jones]

Jim,

Looking at old pictures, it appears as though the trees near the tee box have always prevented a more aggressive (diagonal) tee shot (unless one plays a big draw).

[JESII]

JC,

The diagonal I presumed was The Key to the concept was just to get onto the fairway from the tee. A more aggressive line at Merion simply means carry the ball 315 or not. The fairway lines up straight with the tee for 275 yards or so (back tees) and then turns close to 90 degrees left.

Not sure if I'm explaining it well, but #18 at Pebble Beach seems to allow the player to adjust their line off the tee depending upon how aggressive they want to be, that same angled decision is not in place at Merion...but as it turns out, that decision does not appear to be The Key to the Cape concept.

[JC Jones]

Jim,

I'm not sure if it is The Key or not but I agree with your assessment that the tee shot at Merion is essentially a straight angled shot and the hole doesn't move as diagonally as some other renditions (particularly Pete Dye's) of a Cape hole.

[JESII]

Do Pete Dye's have a green jutting out into an area surrounded on three sides by water?

I think the concept I saw as a Cape was actually sort of a Bay because The Key was to drive across a prominent hazard along the left of the hole. My current understanding of the Cape is that nothing much matters other than the green complex. This article sure put a distance limitation on it though. In either event I think #10 fits the articles description.

[Eric Smith]

My current understanding of the Cape is that nothing much matters other than the green complex.

I hope Geoff Shac. doesn't mind my posting a picture of his diagram in the textbook, Classic Golf Hole Design by Graves & Cornish. If so, I'll remove it.
My posting it is simply to ask what the notation to the side means when he writes "a true cape"?



Is he describing the portion of the landing area that protrudes out into the wash?  I think your understanding is the same, Jim, only the green itself is the protrusion?

[Patrick_Mucci]

In what year was # 10 at Merion changed from its "Alps" hole configuration where the hole no longer traversed the road ?

[Phil_the_Author]

JC,

I think in order to make an informed decision on this, one has to view the question in light of how those in the early teens would define what a "cape" hole was. Here is Tillinghast's definition which he wrote in 1915 and then reproduced as part of his 1917 advertising brochure "Planning a Golf Course." He described the "difference" between a "Dog-leg" and an "Elbow" hole and then satted that there was still a "third type" being the "Cape." This is a direct scan from one the five that are knwon to still exist:

[Jim_Kennedy]

.....and following the direction of Phil's post, here's Piper on the "Cape":

Holes of 270 to 310 yards—These so-called intermediate holes are nearly always best utilized for a Cape type of hole, that is, one in which there is an angle to the fairway at about 225 yards distance, the angle guarded by a large bunker or pond.The central idea is that the player who makes a good drive has an easy open approach to the moderately sized green, while the short player to reach the green must play over the bunker and avoid too strong a shot which will be trapped in a bunker beyond the green. At the shorter lengths the angle may be nearly ninety degrees, at the larger ones, oblique. This type of hole is a great deal better than a straightaway hole of equal length.

[Phil_the_Author]

So Jim, isn't it interesting that two comtemporaries gave deccidedly different definitions to what "Cape" hole is. Whereas Piper restricted his defintion to holes that were of 270-310 yards, Tilly designed par-5s that he considered as cape holes because of the corner that was formed up by the green.

[Tom_Doak]

JC,

Here you have illustrated one of the problems with "template" architecture ... arguments about terms and what is a "true" representation of the type.  What difference does it really make?  Should we not just talk about the merits of the various holes, instead of worrying about which of them is a "pure" theft of someone else's concept and which isn't?

I have always had mixed feelings about the tenth hole at Merion.  For >95% of players there is nothing to do but hit a straight tee shot, even though 50% of them stray left out of stupidity.  But it is a great green site which does reward then player who has attained proper position, and in some measure of proportion to his placement, at that.

[TEPaul]

"Note the description of the hole as "cape-type."  My understanding is that there is a good chance Flynn wrote this (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)."



JC:

Charles V. Piper wrote that Illustrative Hole example you posted above. Basically Piper wrote all the Illustrative Hole examples in the Bulletin.

But since Alan Wilson had been the chairman of the USGA's Green Committee that essentially set up the USGA Green Section he was in constant contact with Piper and Oakley about the production and publication of many of the Bulletins. We even have some of the correspondence when they are discussing things like those Illustrative Hole examples in the Bulletin. And of course both Flynn and Toomey were very close to Piper and Oakley because they all were in the process of developing what was called the "vegetative" process at that time.

I should note that even though Alan Wilson did remain in regular correspondence with Piper and Oakley at that time and for some years afterwards he did step down from his official position and involvement with the USGA not long after his brother, Hugh, died in Feb. 1925.

[DMoriarty]

J.C. Jones,

Merion's 10th hole was definitely a "Cape Hole" as the term was originally understood.   Perhaps as a result of CBM's modifications to the original "Cape Hole" at NGLA, the meaning has become distorted over the years, but to my mind Merion's was definitely a Cape, only with sand instead of water.

I have addressed the issue of Cape Holes in more detail in the past, and so please forgive me for simply restating some of that information here.  Perhaps some of it may be useful to at least some of you.

Original Understanding of the "Cape Hole."

As George Bahto notes in his excellent book, Macdonald's understanding of the hole was quite specific.   Macdonald's and Whigham's 1914 Golf Illustrated article on on the Cape (in their all too brief Representative American Golf Holes series) leaves no doubt about what they considered a Cape Hole:  "The fourteenth hole at the National Golf Links is called the Cape Hole, because the green extends out into the sea with which it is surrounded upon three sides."    Here is a stitched photo of the plasticine model of the original hole, from the article mentioned above:



H.J. Whigham offered a very good of the fundamental strategic principles underlying the hole in his 1909 Scribner's article:  
"The same principle is applied at the 5th hole, which will be perhaps the most celebrated in the country. The actual distance from tee to flag is about 290 yards—one would have said the worst possible distance for a hole—but it works out beautifully. The hazard in this case is water. Here it is impossible quite to reach the green, but the fine driver if he likes to take a risk and go almost straight for the hole, may get within putting distance and so have a good chance for a three. But the least slice will carry his ball into Sebonac Creek; or if he fails to get 240 yards he will have a difficult little pitch shot onto the promontory. The man who can drive 200 yards may prefer to play fairly well to the left so as to be sure of opening the hole; but then he has a long approach onto the promontory. Finally, the short driver can get across the water by playing well to the left and carrying less than 100 yards; but he has a long second to play and may easily take a five. In fact, the hole is either a three or a four or a five, according to the way the tee shot is played."

Whigham's diagram of the tee options from his 1909 Scribner's article:


The Modern Conception:  A Dumbed Down Cape.

As Macdonald described in Scotland's Gift (and as George succinctly reports in his terrific book) the Cape hole lost its cape green not long after its creation.  This left the hole with a diagonal carry off the tee where one could get closer to the green the more one cut off, and perhaps this accounted for the eventual change in understanding of the concept.   Now almost any sort of hole with a diagonal carry off the tee is called a Cape Hole.   The golfer has a choice of how much of the diagonal to cut off.  The more he cuts off, the less he has left to the green.

In my opinion we've lost some things in translation and/or transition.   While some of Macdonald's Capes had a diagonal carry over trouble (Mid-Ocean and NGLA most notably) there was more to the hole than just cutting of distance.   The trick was understanding one's abilities and executing one's shot to not only get close, but also to get the best angle into the green.   So for example at NGLA's Cape the most daring carry might leave the shortest shot but the absolute worst angle to the green unless the golfer could carry all the way almost even with the green.   Conversely a less daring but well placed shot might leave a slightly longer shot but a much better angle, while the safest carry might leave the longest shot and a difficult angle.   If I recall correctly, George noted that some cape greens favored the angle more from the outside while some (Mid Ocean?) favored the angle from more inside.

So it wasn't just about cutting off as much as possible to get closer to the hole.  It was about balancing the temptation of getting as close with the restraint of knowing one's game and choosing the best line and angle.  And then of course the golfer had to execute, and not just on the drive. Now, like many of our supposed "strategic options" the concept of the cape has been dumbed down to simply cutting a corner to get a shorter shot in.  

Other Applications of the Original Cape Concept.

Many prominent designers and course builders adopted Macdonald's and Whigham's definition and their "cape" terminology, although they obviously often substituted bunkers or other trouble the water surrounding three sides. CBM, Raynor, and apparently Banks built many to fit this mold.   In the mid-20's when increasing traffic on Ardmore Avenue necessitated the change, Wilson replaced the CBM style "Alps" 10th at Merion East with a CBM style "Cape" hole.  Flynn described the cape similarly and noted that it was one of his three basic hole concepts for par fours (along with the elbow and dogleg,) and as Phillip mentioned above, Tillinghast did so as well.  

There are also many other fine early examples of the concept in the ground, including a short par four at Pine Valley that reportedly fits the mold (not sure if it was one of the few CBM suggestions that Crump reportedly followed.)  While I am not sure he identified it as such, Thomas built a heck of a cape hole at Riviera's 10th.  When thinking about how Prairie Dunes must have played as a Nine Hole course, I was struck by how much the 3rd (now the 6th) must have felt like a cape in the original sense, although incredibly Maxwell created this sensation using mostly contours.  The 12th at Rustic is very cape-like (in the original sense) but the back is guarded by nothing but ground slope away (and in ideal conditions nothing else is needed.)   Other examples abound.  It is really a terrific hole concept and works wonderfully on a short par 4, providing a fan of options where oftentimes the full consequences of the drive are not fully felt until the second.  

Below are two photographs, from the same USGA Green Section Record (Nov. 1925.)  [One interesting aside is the measure of the hole is incorrectly listed as 330 yards.  From the tee in the photos, the hole was at least 50 yards shorter than that.]





Was the Diagonal Carry Integral to the Cape Concept?

Again, remember that CB Macdonald did not mince words when he described the Cape concept.  Here again are those words: "The fourteenth hole at the National Golf Links is called the Cape Hole, because the green extends out into the sea with which it is surrounded upon three sides."  So why is it so hard for some to take him at his word?

So the Short Answer is :  No.  While the two most famous Capes do feature diagonal carries, these carries were only around 150 yards the longest.  So while these may have been scary carries for all, they were only strategically significant to short hitters.[/i]  Other of CBM's early versions of the concept, such as at St. Louis, Yale, and the Lido, did not feature this type of diagonal carry.  

1.  NGLA and Mid Ocean.
With today's insane technology, it is easy to forget the greens on Cape holes generally could not be carried from the tee.  So when considering the "diagonal carry" we ought to be thinking of the actual, realistic, carry.   AT IT'S LONGEST, the diagonal carry at NGLA was 150 yards.  From CBM in 1914:  "The shortest way over the water, a carry of 120 yards, is the longest way to the hole, whereas the shortest way to the hole is to the right, a carry of 150 yards."  Likewise, at Mid Ocean the diagonal carry was about the same, around 150 yards AT ITS LONGEST.  So, again, for even the moderately competent hitter, making the carry was not really ever an issue.  So while the capes at NGLA and Mid Ocean featured fairly short diagonal carries over over water, the actual diagonal carry was not long enough to be a key strategic component.

Here is a photo of the original Cape Hole" from the August 1910 American Golfer:



2.  St. Louis, Yale, and the Lido.
Some of Macdonald's Cape holes did not require a diagonal carry.  There is no diagonal carry at Yale's Cape.  St. Louis (1914) does have a carry over a creek of about 150 yards off the tee (probably shorter then.) but the Cape at St. Louis does not feature a diagonal carry off the tee.  Perhaps most telling is the Lido's Cape, because presumably CBM could have made the underlying strategic principles exactly as he wanted. Here is what CBM had to say about the hole in 1915:

"The fifth hole resembles the Cape hole at the National, but the bunkering and undulations probably make it a little more scientific than our Cape hole off the tee. One will always see however that it is the creation ofBut so far as I know man and not the creation of Nature, for it has, as most holes on this course have, the technical design of an architect rather than the inimitable design of nature."  

The Lido's Cape had no diagonal carry off the tee, at least not anything like the diagonal at NGLA.   There was an optional diagonal carry away from the hole, but even here the carry is no more than 150 yards AT ITS LONGEST, and thus not an issue all but the very short hitter off the tee.  Here is a photo of the plasticine model of the 320 yard hole.  



So it seems that he diagonal carry off the tee is not integral to the hole concept.  While some holes feature a short diagonal carry, that carry is not really strategically significant to most golfers.   Other Cape feature do not feature a diagonal at all.

[Bill_McBride]

Is the Cape at Mid-Ocean the only one as long as its 425 yards?  Even from the well-elevated tee, the second shot was long enough for me that I was just glad to be just short right for a fairly straightforward pitch and run third.

By contrast moist other cape holes seem to be more of the shorter par 4 description.

[TEPaul]

You know the original Cape Hole (NGLA's #14) has always been somewhat elusive to me because there just doesn't seem to be a photograph of it from a decent enough angle (such as an aerial frankly) to show enough of its detail. The on-ground photos of that original green are a bit elusive to really figure the whole thing out.

It seems to me there were some differences around the green particularly in front (a straight line from tee to green) between the plasticine model of it and what was actually built.

When one looks at that plasticine model it is not hard to tell how far to the left the present green had to be moved to make way for the road that is there.

I'll tell you all something pretty cool to look at next time you go to NGLA. As you go down the road just stop where that old green used to be and notice all the blocks and fragments of broken up concrete and steel rods laying between the road and the beach. Those are the remaining vestiges of the old support for that green that stuck out into the water!  

[Adam_Messix]

Would you say that #10 at Riviera has alot of cape principles as would #11 at Bel-Air? 

I think Tom Doak makes a great point.  This is the difficulty of template architecture, sometimes it's used, and other times it may be someone's take on a concept. 

The redan is another great example, given how different architects both classical and modern have put their own spin on in.

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