Missing a green on purpose

[Tommy Williamsen]

Many years ago I was playing with a friend who always played the yearly tournament at the CC of Charleston. He told me that he purposefully hit short of the 11th green. It is a kind of volcano green about 175 yards long. The green is relatively small but short of the green you are green level. He told me that it is easier to make a three from there than try to get up and down left, right, or long.
I thought it was a goofy strategy until I played the hole. After missing left and making a five footer for four, I agreed. Sam Snead once made a 13 on the hole. I know the hole has been softened and I haven't played it since it was redesigned.


Are there holes in your life the you might miss a green on purpose or pin placements on particular greens where it is easier to get up and down than two putt?

[Jim_Coleman]

  13 at Rolling Green when the pin is in the front. Much easier to chip up to the hole than putt from above it, which is almost impossible when the green is quick.

[JESII]

Ha...I played in the Azalea once, 1998 I believe.


In my practice round I hit a 6 or 7 iron right on the green and didn't think a lot of it. I certainly noticed how severe the surrounds were, but the front was no piece of cake either so laying up didn't occur to me.


I'm going along ok in the first round and hit it in one of the bunkers and work my tail off for a 5. The "older" guy I was paired with laid up and flipped it up to about 4 feet and made a par on his way to 66 or so.


In round 2 I'm going along pretty well and miss it in the other bunker and go back and forth a few times and make a 7. The "older' guy I'm paired with (same groups the first two rounds) lays it up and flips it up to 3 feet and makes 3 on his way to 65 or so.


In the third round I'm going well and decide to lay up. While you're 10 or 15 feet below the level of the green, the green itself is pretty flat and I chipped it up and made about an 8 footer for par on my way to 67 or 68. Interesting.


Well, in the last round I'm about 20 shots behind that "old" guy named Jeff Knox of Augusta weekend Masters playing marker fame and try to get it on the green again and make a 5 so let's just say I will be laying up on that hole if I ever get to it again and need to make any kind of score.


There are several other holes that I can see intentionally missing the green on but all because of a severe green contours I'd like to avoid. This is the only one to my memory that causes that strategy because of the surrounds.

[JohnVDB]

Many years ago,I was working a US Open Sectional at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver, Washington.  The person in charge asked me to go putt the 3rd green (a 400+ yard par 4) because he was a concerned if the hole location was ok.


After deciding that it was very hard if you were past the hole or hole high, but fair, I came by to watch that hole a lot during the 36 holes.  Brian Henninger, who was just getting out on tour, came up short in both rounds, chipped up and made par.  After he qualified, I asked and he told me it was on purpose because the green was so severe that being even with or above the hole brought 3 putts into play.

[David_Tepper]

I recall reading that Ben Hogan preferred to play short & right of the 11th green at AGNC, taking the pond short & left out of play.

Personally, I often "lay-up" short of the green on the two par-3's of the front nine at Royal Dornoch (#2 & #6). Hopefully that is one way to take 5 or higher out of play.  

[Ally Mcintosh]

Calamity at Portrush: Miss in to the short grass hollow left.

[Jim Franklin]

There was a hole at Pine Tree where my caddy told me to miss short and a little right and I would make par. The other three players all hit the green and made bogey. I made my par.

[Mark Pearce]

2nd at Royal Dornoch, short is a chance for par, bogey at worst, miss right or left and you can rack up a big number.

[Thomas Dai]

Billy Casper in winning the US Open at Winged Foot.

Atb

[Mark Smolens]

    I hit about 7 to 9 greens per round. Hard to think about missing a green on purpose when I miss over 1/2 when I'm not trying to miss them. . .

[David Jones]

Short and right on the 120 yard par 3 7th at Barnbougle Dunes isn’t a bad play at all as wherever the pin is you’ve got a pretty good chance of getting down in 2. Taking on the back pin led to doom in the first round I played there and the lay up made sense for round 2. Tom or Mike will have a better view on that though.

[Cliff Hamm]

Shenecossett in Connecticut also has a par 3 volcano hole designed by Donald Ross. Likewise, it is wise to play short as the green is a turtle back and difficult to hit and stay on from left or right.

[Matthew Petersen]

A lot of courses with greens that are really quick and have a lot of back to front slope are OK to play for the front edge--not that you're necessarily trying to miss the green per se, but knowing you're as well off to miss just short right, say, as to be on the green but 30 feet long of the hole.


I remember playing a round that way at Spyglass once and it worked out quite well for me. (Of course, doing this asumes you have enough confidence in your chipping that you believe you can hit good chips ... or at least not skull a chip that ends up above the hole anyway.)

[Joe Melchiors]

I think for mid to high handicappers there are lots of greens where this makes sense - particularly on narrow greens with significant drop-offs on the side or the severe back to front slope mentioned above.  I try and talk myself into this on several holes at my course depending on angle and hole location.  There are shots, even from the fairway, that I just don't have.


When I was at Forsgate (and a much worse golfer), I should have played short (or front edge) of the par 3 third every time.  Instead the 20 foot deep bunker killed just about every round before it got started...


-Joe

[Tommy Williamsen]

I played a better ball tournament with a high handicapper and suggested he hit short of some greens while I went for it. I was glad to hit his shot sometimes when mine was in an awkward spot because I missed the green.

[Mike Hendren]

If the pin is down front on the 15th at Fenway the only reasonable shot is short of the green.  The green is only 10 or so paces wide at the front and slopes down on both sides into the bunkers.  In other words, you have about 20 feet to work with. 


Bogey

[Duncan Cheslett]

I’d generally prefer to be 20 yards short of a green than 20 yards wide of it.

[Niall C]

I recall reading that Ben Hogan preferred to play short & right of the 11th green at AGNC, taking the pound short & left out of play.

Personally, I often "lay-up" short of the green on the two par-3's of the front nine at Royal Dornoch (#2 & #6). Hopefully that is one way to take 5 or higher out of play.

Allegedly Hogan played short of the green at the par 3 16th in each round of the 1953 Open at Carnoustie. Mind you, he was also meant to have played down the left off the tee at the 6th each day but that's been disputed.


Watching the Masters this year it appeared to me that a lot of players were aiming for the bunker right of the green at the 15th, probably as a better option than laying up.


Niall

[Duncan Cheslett]

Sat in the grandstand at Hoylake for the most recent Open there it was uncanny how many competitors put their second shots into the same bunker in front of the 18th green.


It was only after watching nearly all of them up and downing for a birdie 4 that it became clear that they were aiming for it.

[archie_struthers]

 


I've talked bout that green at CC of Charleston at least a few times. Played it in the Azalea 15 years before Sully and only wish the rest of my game matched his. Got it up and down three times for par and birdied it once without any thought of laying up, too foolish    to know any better. Think I played the par threes under par for the week...


Too bad I had to hit driver on the other holes

[Phil Burr]

Maybe a little obscure, but #17 at Taconic isn't a bad hole on which to lay up.  246 yard par 3 from the tips.  Left, right and long all leave a treacherous pitch to a green that slopes sharply from back to front.

[Paul Rudovsky]

Road Hole at TOC...aim for the 18th tee (avoids Road Hole Bunker and Road, and leaves fairly simple uphill chip)
17th at North Berwick---aim to right of green
5th on Brookline (Main) (will be 4th for '22 Open)...During '99 Ryder Cup Europeans allegedly played for bunkers to left of green to avoid being above the hole to the right (green sloped precariously R-->L) and beat US team solidly on this hole [size=78%](I have not gone back to check for sure).  [/size]

[jeffwarne]

Shenecossett in Connecticut also has a par 3 volcano hole designed by Donald Ross. Likewise, it is wise to play short as the green is a turtle back and difficult to hit and stay on from left or right.

This.
Took me awhile to figure out that hole

[jeffwarne]

Ha...I played in the Azalea once, 1998 I believe.


In my practice round I hit a 6 or 7 iron right on the green and didn't think a lot of it. I certainly noticed how severe the surrounds were, but the front was no piece of cake either so laying up didn't occur to me.


I'm going along ok in the first round and hit it in one of the bunkers and work my tail off for a 5. The "older" guy I was paired with laid up and flipped it up to about 4 feet and made a par on his way to 66 or so.


In round 2 I'm going along pretty well and miss it in the other bunker and go back and forth a few times and make a 7. The "older' guy I'm paired with (same groups the first two rounds) lays it up and flips it up to 3 feet and makes 3 on his way to 65 or so.


In the third round I'm going well and decide to lay up. While you're 10 or 15 feet below the level of the green, the green itself is pretty flat and I chipped it up and made about an 8 footer for par on my way to 67 or 68. Interesting.


Well, in the last round I'm about 20 shots behind that "old" guy named Jeff Knox of Augusta weekend Masters playing marker fame and try to get it on the green again and make a 5 so let's just say I will be laying up on that hole if I ever get to it again and need to make any kind of score.


There are several other holes that I can see intentionally missing the green on but all because of a severe green contours I'd like to avoid. This is the only one to my memory that causes that strategy because of the surrounds.

So if you'd simply laid up you'dve been 8 shots closer to Knox!
He wasn't invincible after all-lol-click link below and go to 1979 and click "Top 10"
https://www.mrstatgolf.com/champions/juniors/boys-misc/mickie-gallagher-junior-amateur

[Sean_A]

2nd at Royal Dornoch, short is a chance for par, bogey at worst, miss right or left and you can rack up a big number.

That was my play last time at Dornoch. Took a club that I needed to absolutely flush to reach the green figuring short is fine. I think this is the play for Sacred 9's fifth.

I used to routinely lay up at #5 Grosse Ile figuring short is miles better than being on the wrong side of the green.

Ciao