Why aren’t these built more often?
Linear berms horizontal to the line of play can be easily constructed anywhere and can be utilized to obfuscate approach distance or as a carry hazard. Front can be rough and back fairway to propel the ball forward.
Seems like a no brainer feature. Thoughts and examples?
I grew up in the Tannersville, NY — Catskills (population 600). Two courses there, total of 4 holes with this feature:
Colonial CC, #9 (280 yd par 4) and #1 (350 yd par 4). And Onteora #2 (380 yd par 4) and #3 (391 par 4).
Also in the Catskills I believe Rip Van Winkle, Palenville NY (Ross/Hatch) has one hole with berms.
EDIT: Another in the Catskills is Windham CC #1 (310 yd par 4) - the front 9 was designed by Len Rayner in the late 1920s
Growing up, I was told the construction technique was to drag the farmland of rocks and instead of disposing of the rocks offsite, they simply piled them and put dirt and grass on top — creating a berm. It wasn’t so much an architectural feature as it was an acceptable means of disposing of crap dug up when the course was constructed.
And on those courses, they don’t obfuscate as much as they prevent the ground game from coming in to play. Especially true because those courses don’t have central watering and late in the summer your ball could go anywhere if it rolled over one of those berms (or maybe stay on top). In some cases they shape where you can drive the ball.
Among courses where posters here might have played, there is a hole on the Seaview Resort, Pines Course back 9 with a large berm on both sides of the fairway but with an alleyway up the middle , although that might not have been designed as a berm — but that’s what it feels like to me.