Dick,
Interesting that you worked on those 1970-era changes at Oakland Hills South. And, I've long understood that several of the greens were enlarged and altered. But none were actually moved downrange, were they?
Thinking about the layout today... which greens could go back?
No. 1 -- green lies at bottom of a slope, moving it any farther back would put it in front of 2 tee
No. 2 -- a wonderfully sited green, atop a rise. Moving it back would put it over the same rise, leaving a blind shot. (Can't recall if there's actually room behind the existing green?)
No. 3 -- an RTJ green that could be moved back, slightly, I think
No. 4 -- 5 tee is immediately behind this green, leaving no room to move it back
No. 5 -- another well-sited green, atop a rise, with the club's property ending immediately behind. No room
No. 6 -- yet another well-sited green atop a rise, with 7 tee immediately behind
No. 7 -- there may be room here to moved the green back, but it would require significant earthwork, and 8 tee's already been moved so far back, a 7th green moved downrange would surely be threatened by players teeing off at 8. (The walk backwards from 7 green to 8 tee, as it is presently, is somewhat awkward, IMO)
No. 8 -- yet another well-sited green, cut into a steep hillside, with 9 and 12 tees very close by. No room
No. 9 -- green sits at the foot of the clubhouse. No room
*So, on the front, I guess 3 and 7 could be moved downrange.
No. 10 -- yet another green well-sited atop a rise, with 17 green and 18 tee very close by. No room
No. 11 -- the famous 11th green, in the saddle between two hills is classic. Why move it? And, furthermore, there's no room, with a steep fall off at left, 9 tee immediately behind, and 12 tee immediately right
No. 12 -- yet another well-sited green atop a rise. Moving the green back seems illogical, if there's room at all? (12 is in the 590 yard range -- downhill off the tee, uphill to the green -- and I witnesed both Ricky Barnes and Hunter Mahan reach the green in two, with irons, during the 2002 US Amateur final match!)
No. 13 -- I don't recall if there room behind this par 3 green?
No. 14 -- perhaps my favourite green on the golf course, retreating from the line of play (!) and featuring some massive contour, with the club's property close behind. I don't think there's any room
No. 15 -- yet another green situated atop a rise. There might be room behind, but it would take a significant cut and fill to make it work, I think. And the walk back to 16 tee would become as awkward as the walk from 7 to 8
No. 16 -- they can't move this green, situated adjacent to the famous pond. It's historic. Although, does that factor?
No. 17 -- one of the world's great uphill par 3s. The green is ideally sited atop another rise, with no room to move it back, I don't think
No. 18 -- like 9, the 18th green is located at the foot of the clubhouse. There might be a bit of room to move it up the slope there (adding 10 yards?), but that would compromise space for tournament galleries, wouldn't it?
*On the back 9, maybe 13 and 15 could move. Otherwise, I can't imagine another.
Granted, I haven't studied the golf course in-depth, with potential alterations in mind. But the aforementioned thoughts are based on numerous visits to Oakland Hills South over the years, for whatever they're worth, if anything.
My humble opinion is, moving any greens at Oakland HIlls South would be a disaster.