Wayne,
What is the hole at Merion with the great false front? (I recall that it is right before you cross the road and play a short par 3.)
I've only played there twice, but I can still remember playing the hole the first time, hitting what I thought was a great wedge, then watching in horror as the ball came rolling back 20 yards off the green. But the part I remember most is my host, John Black, laughing at my reaction...seems he forgot to tell me about the false front...
Was that green changed by Tom Fazio?
Bill,
You are referring to the par 4 12th hole. That green has some fantastic interplays of slope, some of them quite severe like the front of the green, the second steepest green slope after the front of the 15th. There is a steep left to right slope on the 12th green as well.
Interestingly, Merion East has a number of false fronts. There are some front pin positions on the course that are quite difficult and many of these are due to the false fronts.
The 4th hole at one time sloped uninterrupted down to the stream that fronts the green. Today there are two bunkers fronting most of the green. When the bunkers first appeared on the front of the green, they were smaller and shifted to the right so that only the right half of the green was fronted with bunkers. The left front corner had a larger lobe on it as well.
The 5th hole has some very hard to discern ridges and plateaus. Pin positions relative to these subtle features demand a careful and accurate approach. There is a subtle ridge and back to front slope for the entire right front 3/4 of the green. Balls that don’t carry past that small ridge and false front invariably come back off the green into the rough at the left front corner.
The long 6th hole has a brilliant false front. The long approach must either be strong enough to carry the false front but woe is the golfer that carries to far when the green is firm and fast or the approach must start on the ground early enough with enough speed to carry the ridge.
The 7th hole has multiple tiers. The rise to the green and over the first ridge acts like a false front. Pins just over the first ridge require accurate distance control to a narrow section of the green. Shots that are short or with too much spin will run down the rise to the green.
As I said earlier, the 12th and 15th holes have severe false fronts.
The 16th and long par 3 17th both have steep rises in the greens with only the Quarry Hole 16th with pinnable space before the upslope.
Lastly is the long and difficult 18th with its green domed along the line of play. There is a steep upslope to the green with a demanding false front. It is hard to hold that green and front pins are especially difficult. Short shots require a deft shot to the front that doesn’t carry past the middle of the green where the green starts to slope front to back. Shots that bound over the green demand precise recoveries especially to front pins as halfway across the green, it starts to fall away from back to front.
None of the Merion East greens were changed by Fazio.