"The Punchbowl" new putting green at Pacific Dunes (new Photo)

[Tony_Muldoon]

Matthew:

Well, at least I don't have to worry that you have spoiled it for everyone 

Looks like your picture is taken from the top end of the green looking south.  The bottom of the green is in a double punchbowl that wraps around that big pine tree in the left 1/4 of the picture.  I'd guess from where you took the picture to the bottom is about 350 feet in distance and maybe 15-20 feet of elevation change.  I hope the tree lives past Mr. Keiser's inspection of the work next week!

Also, you can't see it in the photo, but at the far left there is a big slope to the green coming down from the back patio to the clubhouse at Pacific Dunes.  If the green is as popular as we hope, they will expand the patio down the hill a bit toward the green, so that you can start from essentially right off the patio, with the first hole set up to play down the rest of the slope ... sort of "ski in / ski out".  It's a bigger slope than I have ever hit a putt down, so I am very intrigued to get back there this fall with grass on it, and see where it's possible to locate the hole to make a reasonable putt ... I think there are five or six potential starting holes, but won't be sure they all work until we can hit some putts.

I spent 2 1/2 days out there with Jim Urbina two weeks ago, working on the detailed contouring of the green.  We started with something VERY wild and basically kept toning it down until we thought it worked, but maintained its wild character.  By my count there are about 60-65 distinct places to use as hole locations, which was needed so that an 18-hole putting course can be changed every day or two and the areas around the holes will have a chance to rest.  There is a bunch more work left to finish it once the irrigation and drainage [and lighting conduit!] are installed, but that's in Jim's hands now as I'll be traveling all over this month.

I've promised to come up with some alternate routings for the course, which I'll do when I get back this fall, prior to a soft opening sometime in September.  However, I've also suggested to Mike that we invite Jim and David Kidd and Bill and Ben to each come up with an alternate routing that can be used ... I would love to see what they do with it.  Come to think of it, we should get Mike and Grant Rogers and Shoe to do their own routings, too.

So you are actually building a Putting Course as with the Himalayas.   As a frequenter of the links I would welcome any putting facility that allowed me to practice hitting up a steep rise, both straight and at an angle too.  It’s not enough to predict the amount of power needed to get up the bank you have to develop feel for the rollout on the green as well. IN my mind you’d get tpo practice on banks of 3 to 15’ (think of missing the green at Deal’s 6th.  I would also like to see an area where I could practice REALLY long putts of say 50 yards, though I can see this would be harder to arrange. (I got kicked off the Council putting course at North Berwick last summer for making up my own course even when there was no one else on it!).

Bothe these shots envision playing from short grass onto the green, a shot that is ignored by all the practice greens I’ve seen at traditional links courses.

It sounds large enough that I hope you will demark daily areas where people can practice too.

PS I have played the Himalayas in each of my visits to St Andrews and am looking forward to doing so again in May.  I’ve used the practice facility there and found it excellent for bunker work but not inspiring for the putter.

[jeffwarne]

Matthew:

Well, at least I don't have to worry that you have spoiled it for everyone 

Looks like your picture is taken from the top end of the green looking south.  The bottom of the green is in a double punchbowl that wraps around that big pine tree in the left 1/4 of the picture.  I'd guess from where you took the picture to the bottom is about 350 feet in distance and maybe 15-20 feet of elevation change.  I hope the tree lives past Mr. Keiser's inspection of the work next week!

Also, you can't see it in the photo, but at the far left there is a big slope to the green coming down from the back patio to the clubhouse at Pacific Dunes.  If the green is as popular as we hope, they will expand the patio down the hill a bit toward the green, so that you can start from essentially right off the patio, with the first hole set up to play down the rest of the slope ... sort of "ski in / ski out".  It's a bigger slope than I have ever hit a putt down, so I am very intrigued to get back there this fall with grass on it, and see where it's possible to locate the hole to make a reasonable putt ... I think there are five or six potential starting holes, but won't be sure they all work until we can hit some putts.

I spent 2 1/2 days out there with Jim Urbina two weeks ago, working on the detailed contouring of the green.  We started with something VERY wild and basically kept toning it down until we thought it worked, but maintained its wild character.  By my count there are about 60-65 distinct places to use as hole locations, which was needed so that an 18-hole putting course can be changed every day or two and the areas around the holes will have a chance to rest.  There is a bunch more work left to finish it once the irrigation and drainage [and lighting conduit!] are installed, but that's in Jim's hands now as I'll be traveling all over this month.

I've promised to come up with some alternate routings for the course, which I'll do when I get back this fall, prior to a soft opening sometime in September.  However, I've also suggested to Mike that we invite Jim and David Kidd and Bill and Ben to each come up with an alternate routing that can be used ... I would love to see what they do with it.  Come to think of it, we should get Mike and Grant Rogers and Shoe to do their own routings, too.

So you are actually building a Putting Course as with the Himalayas.   As a frequenter of the links I would welcome any putting facility that allowed me to practice hitting up a steep rise, both straight and at an angle too.  It’s not enough to predict the amount of power needed to get up the bank you have to develop feel for the rollout on the green as well. IN my mind you’d get tpo practice on banks of 3 to 15’ (think of missing the green at Deal’s 6th.  I would also like to see an area where I could practice REALLY long putts of say 50 yards, though I can see this would be harder to arrange. (I got kicked off the Council putting course at North Berwick last summer for making up my own course even when there was no one else on it!).

Bothe these shots envision playing from short grass onto the green, a shot that is ignored by all the practice greens I’ve seen at traditional links courses.

It sounds large enough that I hope you will demark daily areas where people can practice too.

PS I have played the Himalayas in each of my visits to St Andrews and am looking forward to doing so again in May.  I’ve used the practice facility there and found it excellent for bunker work but not inspiring for the putter.

Tony,
You bring up an interesting point about putting courses and practice areas having areas where the "tee" is located off the actual green.
On a large area such as The Punchbowl that would add interest, but also as you say provide practice. (to say nothing of avoiding divots on the actual green on some longer putts.
We do have several approach areas around our practice putting greens and I NEVER see anyone practice their putting from OFF the green to onto the green, a pretty simple shot to execute , but requires experience and judgement to get close.

[Scott Weersing]

So just how big is this putting green?

Here is a photo:

http://www.registerguard.com/rg/sports/outdoors/29676560-80/course-bandon-putting-golf-dunes.html.csp

Have you ever seen a course in the US that has so much sand available?

[Tom_Doak]

So just how big is this putting green?

Here is a photo:

http://www.registerguard.com/rg/sports/outdoors/29676560-80/course-bandon-putting-golf-dunes.html.csp

Have you ever seen a course in the US that has so much sand available?

Scott:

The soil is all sand at Bandon Dunes.

But it was the same at Ballyneal and Dismal River and Sand Hills.  Heck, it's the same where I live in Traverse City.  Where you've got sand to work with, there's usually lots of it.

[Emile Bonfiglio]

new photo on page 1.

[Ben Sims]

It's been a downer of a week in the military aviation world.  So when I got home today and saw the new photograph of the in-progress hydroseeding of Punchbowl, I had a smile.  It's nice to know guys that are capable of this kind of coolness. 

[Pete_Pittock]

These pictures are months old and look like a couple of days before the last picture uploaded by Dr. Grieve. This is a series of four pictures taken from above the green and slighly south of the porch at the PD clubhouse. They were taken with the lens on fisheye.
The first view id the south quadrant of the putting green, looking towards the 6th tee on BD.

The second view is the left middle quadrant, sort of in the direction of PD 10

This is the right middle quadrant, looking sort of NW.

The last picture is the upper right quadrant