[Lou_Duran]

I can think of eight at the old course, one at Carnoustie, maybe one at North Berwick, one at Trinity Forest and one at Stonebriar in the North Dallas sprawl. Maybe some are escaping my mind. The putting green at Oakmont doesn’t count.
Where else?

An idea for another book on golf?


I can think of several reasons why double greens don't make sense.  Other than being fairly novel, therefore, drawing attention to the course, what are the pros for building and maintaining them?


I do have a vague recollection of a course with a triple green.  Can anyone think of an example?

[Pete_Pittock]

I can think of eight at the old course, one at Carnoustie, maybe one at North Berwick, one at Trinity Forest and one at Stonebriar in the North Dallas sprawl. Maybe some are escaping my mind. The putting green at Oakmont doesn’t count.
Where else?

An idea for another book on golf?

I can think of several reasons why double greens don't make sense.  Other than being fairly novel, therefore, drawing attention to the course, what are the pros for building and maintaining them?

I do have a vague recollection of a course with a triple green.  Can anyone think of an example?

Lou,
see reply #5

[Terry Lavin]

Two in Chicagoland off the top of my head: Old Elm and Midlothian.

[Stewart Abramson]

Minisceongo (NLE) in Rockland County, NY  had one (#6 and 15)




Minisceongo #6-15  double green 

[Marty Bonnar]

9 and 11 at Thornton.

[Mark Kiely]

17 and 18 Old Town Club ,NC.  9 and 10 at Mid South Club, NC and Twisted Gun, WV.

How does this work that two holes in a row play to the same green?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Wild Wing-Avocet 6/17.
Hopefully, Jeff Brauer will offer insight.

Probably just part of the trend at the time.  I do recall thinking that they are safer if the greens connect back left to back left, and this one is back left to pure back, with trees blocking, so I think it's okay and haven't heard much about safety issues there.


Tom Doak makes a point about cart circulation, which was a factor here.  The Japanese owner supposedly didn't speak English, but asked through a translator why the cart path on no. 6 crossed the fw somewhat short of the green.  When I explained it couldn't go behind the double green, unless we raised it and built a tunnel, he laughed heartily before getting the translation, sort of tipping his hand that he spoke more English than he let on.


OT a bit, but another potential safety issue was on holes 3 and 4.  Willard Byrd had left a 400 foot or so wide corridor, originally planned for houses, but we needed to use that for golf holes.  Anyway, I felt we could do it with careful tree clearing and a sharded cart path, in part because we wouldn't need a full buffer on the third, which was adjacent to another course.  The owner flew in all the way from Japan for a one day visit, because he was concerned it was too tight, but left satisfied that it was okay.   I think we were prepared to add two holes elsewhere had he not, which was okay because the Avocet didn't return to the clubhouse at 9 anyway.


As to double greens in general, I recall a magazine article during that 1990's period when double greens were fashionable, and the author came to the same conclusion as here.  There were the 8 at the old course, and a handful of others in Scotland, but the 1990's US trend more than quadrupled the number of double greens around the world, or something similar.


They rarely make sense for safety reasons.  I have done two 9/PG combos, but in reality, the putting green is separate with with adequate spacing, a narrow "cheater" connector just to say they are combined.  Most of those were removed by the super as unnecessary greens maintenance, but I saw one stayed there, used as a greens turf sod nursery when required.

[Ian Galbraith]

6 & 11 at Fortrose and Rosemarkie.

[Joe Hancock]

I wonder if double greens came about from convenience of mowing, originally. Now that we humans feel the need to engineer all earthworks on golf courses, double greens have to be purposely built. But really, the only thing keeping two greens in close proximity of each other from being a double green is where the guy mowing greens steers the machine….

[Jeff_Brauer]

Joe,


Good point.  Of course, greens tended to be closer together.  Not sure if they had to stop and clean out baskets like greens mowers tend to do today?  At St. Andrews, I would guess the doubles came about from increasing the course to 18 holes, the temporary reverse order, etc.  Elsewhere, it may be been greens so close together made it simpler. 


As time went on, and greens and tees got spread further apart in the name of safety and practicality, at some point, the double green was a design decision based on some kind of sentimentality or other artificial design thought. 

[Tom_Doak]

I wonder if double greens came about from convenience of mowing, originally. Now that we humans feel the need to engineer all earthworks on golf courses, double greens have to be purposely built. But really, the only thing keeping two greens in close proximity of each other from being a double green is where the guy mowing greens steers the machine….

The original ones at St Andrews were a safety measure for two holes that originally played to the same flag.  I think two holes on the 12-hole original version of Prestwick also played to the same green /flag, so perhaps that wasn’t uncommon on early Scots courses? 

[Rob Marshall]

Portsalon in Ireland has two - 3/9 and 4/8, I believe.

I’m surprised I don’t remember that. I think Portsalon had the most beautiful backdrop surrounding the course of any course I played in Ireland.

[Kalen Braley]

To answer the question, perhaps too many to count.  Triple greens thou, those would be interesting pics to see..

[Joe Hancock]

To answer the question, perhaps too many to count.  Triple greens thou, those would be interesting pics to see..

Jaeger Kovich had a par 3 project he was designing recently that had a triple green proposed. I wish he would have had the chance to build it!

[Pete_Pittock]

To answer the question, perhaps too many to count.  Triple greens thou, those would be interesting pics to see..

Triple green thread, with pictures https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,57298.msg1338755.html#msg1338755

[Paul Dolton]

I think Hockley near Winchester has one.
6 and 13?

[Matt_Cohn]

There should be a different word for true double greens, like the ones at TOC—one large shared space—vs. maybe "connected greens," where two greens happen to be linked by a strip of grass but you'd never hit onto the wrong portion except by a freak accident, like at PGA West Nicklaus Tournament:

[Brian Ross]

We built a double green for Holes 10 & 13 at Park Mammoth GC in Kentucky. This wasn't something we went into the project specifically looking to do but it did solve a major routing problem with the old 10th and 11th holes and both 10 and 13 would have been lesser holes had we shortened either of them to build two separate greens.

In addition to that one, I know that King-Collins has several planned for their new course currently under construction in Lubbock.

There is a triple green at Blue Heron Golf Course in Stevensville, MD.

[Niall C]

1 and 17 at Duff House Royal.
Reckon I've read somewhere that it's supposed to be the only example built by MacKenzie?
Is it?
atb

Apart from the double green of 4th/15th at Duff House Royal  . In fairness David, I'm not sure they were originally built as double greens originally and may simply have been close together and over time someone made them double greens. There is a plan in the clubhouse from 70's/80's which shows them as separate greens. FWIW I tend to think they were built as double greens.


Other courses in Scotland with double greens;


Blair Atholl/Invertilt (Fernie)
Cardross (Fernie/Braid)
Hopeman
Beith
Ralston (Fernie/Adams)
Huntly (McAndrew)


Niall


ps. Carnoustie 1st and 3rd once formed a double green

[Niall C]

I wonder if double greens came about from convenience of mowing, originally. Now that we humans feel the need to engineer all earthworks on golf courses, double greens have to be purposely built. But really, the only thing keeping two greens in close proximity of each other from being a double green is where the guy mowing greens steers the machine….

Double greens in early Scottish courses were more about not wasting a good green site however probably more accurate to say they were really single greens used twice and over time either separate greens were built (ie. North Berwick or Carnoustie) or the single green enlarged (ie. TOC).


Niall

[Jay Mickle]

17 and 18 Old Town Club ,NC.  9 and 10 at Mid South Club, NC and Twisted Gun, WV.

How does this work that two holes in a row play to the same green?

Brain dead> Altered post to 8&17 at OTC and 9 and 18 at the other 2. Thanks

[Sean_A]

I wonder if double greens came about from convenience of mowing, originally. Now that we humans feel the need to engineer all earthworks on golf courses, double greens have to be purposely built. But really, the only thing keeping two greens in close proximity of each other from being a double green is where the guy mowing greens steers the machine….

What about due lack of space? Or perhaps trying to take advantage of cool ground movement?


Ciao

[Tim Leahy]

Desert Falls CC in Palm Desert, CA 9/18 is one I have played.

https://desert-falls.com/gallery/

[mike_beene]

Was 1-17 at North Berwick ever double? I am having trouble visualizing it right now but it always feels blind to me.
Was the double at Carnoustie always as big as it is now? When did 1 and 3 separation occur?

[Tim Martin]

Inness GC- 2/9 and 3/6

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