[Bill Gayne]

Unfortunately it doesn't exist anymore but I always thought of the original 14th hole at Doonbeg as a postage stamp. From the member tees it was about a 110 yard shot slightly down hill.

[Anthony Gray]

Unfortunately it doesn't exist anymore but I always thought of the original 14th hole at Doonbeg as a postage stamp. From the member tees it was about a 110 yard shot slightly down hill.

 Defiantly Bill. That photo has a 17 at Whistling Srtaights feel.

[Garland Bayley]

TD,


I'm wondering if a narrow green and shorty par-3 qualifies #12 at Augusta as a Postage Stamp.


...

That hole favors lefties over righties. Can you say that about the Postage Stamp?

[Jeff Schley]

Unfortunately it doesn't exist anymore but I always thought of the original 14th hole at Doonbeg as a postage stamp. From the member tees it was about a 110 yard shot slightly down hill.

 Defiantly Bill. That photo has a 17 at Whistling Srtaights feel.

Agree on both counts, but don't you mean hole 12 at WS Anthony? I like the idea of adding a pinnable area to an otherwise normal green like this.

[Anthony Gray]

Unfortunately it doesn't exist anymore but I always thought of the original 14th hole at Doonbeg as a postage stamp. From the member tees it was about a 110 yard shot slightly down hill.

 Defiantly Bill. That photo has a 17 at Whistling Srtaights feel.

Agree on both counts, but don't you mean hole 12 at WS Anthony? I like the idea of adding a pinnable area to an otherwise normal green like this.

 Yes Jeff I would say both. I never saw it before. You are correct.

[Philippe Binette]

Pat ruddy built one at ile de montreal golf club - parcours ile...
Tiny inverted bowl green, elevated maybe 5 - 6 feet above the front right, bunker short.. 140 yards max...
Played maybe 15 feet uphill from a tee i à low area surrounded by trees... can't really judge the wind...


Crowded course
Ball marks aren't an issue... it seem nobody hits this green

[Philippe Binette]

The green is 18 yards by 18 yards...
11th hole ile de montreal golf club

[Mike Schott]

Kevin Aldridge built a copy on the Gailes Course in Michigan. Hole 12. The bunkering is similar and there is a hill to the right with bunkers between it and the green. It plays longer with the back tees at about 140 yards.

[SL_Solow]

What makes for a template.  Is any short par 3 with a small green and difficult hazards a "Postage Stamp"?  Is a downhill approach required?  Green shape as well as size?  I ask because I can point to numerous par 3's of less than 150 yards possessing tiny greens which are heavily bunkered.  Do these qualify, and if so, perhaps your basic premise pertaining to the non-existence of a template is faulty.  If other factors are included, you are likely correct and I suspect the idea of a short pitch to a small green surrounded by trouble has been deemed good enough without the necessity (or skill?) of requiring a near duplicate of the original.

[Anthony Gray]

What makes for a template.  Is any short par 3 with a small green and difficult hazards a "Postage Stamp"?  Is a downhill approach required?  Green shape as well as size?  I ask because I can point to numerous par 3's of less than 150 yards possessing tiny greens which are heavily bunkered.  Do these qualify, and if so, perhaps your basic premise pertaining to the non-existence of a template is faulty.  If other factors are included, you are likely correct and I suspect the idea of a short pitch to a small green surrounded by trouble has been deemed good enough without the necessity (or skill?) of requiring a near duplicate of the original.

 I think the template would have to have the hill. Run offs to the right and back and a slopes green to the run offs.


 For me the hill gives it a unique look. The slope of the green is important because if the ball hits the right third it may not hold the green. 


 It’s unique in what poison do you want with the right miss? The sand or roll out area. The sand may be easier.

[Gib_Papazian]

Okay, let's just throw in The Dell and call it a day.

[Dean DiBerardino]

I'm not sure the postage stamp needs to be a template but every course should have a short par three. Most C&C courses I have played do and there are some brilliant holes on many golden age courses. Most allow for a birdie but will punish a mediocre shot.

The 17th at Friar's Head comes to mind. The green is barely over 3000 square feet with an exposed dune/ridge to the left/rear.

[Peter Sayegh]

Is the 4th at PCC #4 a postage stamp?

[Bill Gayne]

In my mind what makes the postage stamp at Troon special and any replica needs to have is a short all carry shot to a narrow green running in line with the tee box on a windy site. Without the windy site that a links course provides it's nothing more than a high wedge. On a windy site the challenge of the hole is the trade off of the high shot with the wind having greater influence but it will give a better opportunity to hold the green versus the lower shot which will be less influenced by the wind but it will be a challenge to hold the green bringing the hazards into play.


If you catch the Troon postage stamp on a calm day you're probably disappointed as it's nothing more than a wedge but play a postage stamp on a links course in multiple conditions it's a different hole each time.

[Anthony Gray]

 The slope of the green gets overlooked   A shot to the middle of the green for a player playing a low cut can end up 10 feet below the hole. Even hitting the green can put you in trouble.

[Joel_Stewart]

Marc Logan is building one at Corica Park in Alameda.  It will have little and probably no rough which may be different but it is a public course.

[Gib_Papazian]

#10 at Wilshire, but Bill makes a good point - the wind - which is why the closest to me is still #13 at Spanish Bay.


But Pebble #7 has to be put on the list too.


Maybe neither are a strict "links" - but the individual elements are there.


The putting surface may be a bit too large, but #3 at Spyglass gives everybody the fits when the wind is dialed up.


In that case, where does #11 at Pac Dunes sit - besides in the pantheon?


There is no doubt the former #15 at Olympic Lake qualified absolutely (though not a links in the strict definition) - the tee was oriented directly at a green complex surrounded by death bunkers and the putting surface was little more than a ribbonesque halfpipe, built up at the edges from decades buildup from sand from the adjacent bunkers.


Weiskopf rebuilt it (and then the club tweaked it), erasing half the character and challenge of the shot. Unlike the Postage Stamp, just sitting there in a screaming gale with its middle finger stuck up at the tee, #15 at O-Club was totally blind.

[Duncan Cheslett]

However I have a report of Fernie doing work at Silloth in 1912 and that isn’t in the Silloth history book. So did Fernie tweak the hole at Silloth in 1912 to resemble the Postage Stamp or was it already like that and he borrowed the idea for the hole at Troon ?
 
Niall

Niall,


I love the idea of The Manx being the template for the Postage Stamp!


🤣

[Jordan Standefer]

In that case, where does #11 at Pac Dunes sit - besides in the pantheon?


There is no doubt the former #15 at Olympic Lake qualified absolutely (though not a links in the strict definition) - the tee was oriented directly at a green complex surrounded by death bunkers and the putting surface was little more than a ribbonesque halfpipe, built up at the edges from decades buildup from sand from the adjacent bunkers.

Gib, you read my mind with these two (as long as elevated tee boxes aren't a strict requirement).

[Don Mahaffey]

Short severe par 3s with small greens are some of my favorite holes.
If the course needs 6,000 sq ft of green surface to handle wear, why not build two 3,000 sq ft greens that can be played from the same teeing ground?

[Niall C]

But Pebble #7 has to be put on the list too.

Gib


I disagree. You go wide right or fairly long you are in the water and therefore dead. Left and short are OK in that the recovery shots are nearly as difficult as Troon. There really isn't a bail-out at Troon whereas at PB you'd favour the left side all day long.


Niall

[Adrian_Stiff]

Short severe par 3s with small greens are some of my favorite holes.
If the course needs 6,000 sq ft of green surface to handle wear, why not build two 3,000 sq ft greens that can be played from the same teeing ground?

The Postage Stamp itself has that. There is a green to the left same distance. There is just one problem with having an alternative green....if you are playing Troon for the first time you don't want to play it.

[Adam Lawrence]

Short severe par 3s with small greens are some of my favorite holes.
If the course needs 6,000 sq ft of green surface to handle wear, why not build two 3,000 sq ft greens that can be played from the same teeing ground?

The Postage Stamp itself has that. There is a green to the left same distance. There is just one problem with having an alternative green....if you are playing Troon for the first time you don't want to play it.

Yeah, but presumably the large majority of rounds at Troon are played by the members, who you'd think would be less fussed?

[Bruce Katona]

Don Mahaffey: I was just thinking the same thing - two 3,000 sf greens.  Add to that a separate teeing ground (tee area = at least green area for par 3's) and maybe we'd get another Postage Stamp that would not be torn to pieces with divots and balls marks if there's lots of play if on a public venue.

[Niall C]

The alternative green at Troon is the winter green so less likely to be played by visitors. It's actually a pretty good hole although as others have noted a disappointment in comparison to the Postage Stamp green. It's also smaller IIRC.


Niall

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