The Best Smallish Features

[Jason Way]

Love these little hummocks added to #12 at Old Elm during the restoration done by Drew Rogers.  Along with significant tree removal, they have made a relatively dull short-4 (except for the green) into a fun, strategic brain teaser off the tee.

[jeffwarne]

Jason,
Those are really cool.and could be hazardousish.
Mounds that tie into nothing always look old to me as opposed to the landscape architecture school of tying everything in to make it look like it never happened which of course makes it look like it happened yesterday.
Curious what the maintenance cost comparison would be maintaining them as is (rough) vs maintaining the same size feature as a bunker?

[BCowan]

Love these little hummocks added to #12 at Old Elm during the restoration done by Drew Rogers.  Along with significant tree removal, they have made a relatively dull short-4 (except for the green) into a fun, strategic brain teaser off the tee.

That is great.  love it.  Trees on left look like they are taking away the advantage of coming in from the left side, but photos tend to do that.  I'll have to get a photo of death valley at Inverness, right of 18 green.

[Brent Hutto]

Love these little hummocks added to #12 at Old Elm during the restoration done by Drew Rogers.  Along with significant tree removal, they have made a relatively dull short-4 (except for the green) into a fun, strategic brain teaser off the tee.

I can't put my hands on a good photo but the current version of Camden CC (post-2012 Kris Spence redo) has some only slightly larger humps like that in the left half the fairway on the 396-yard first hole. The ones at Camden actually have a bit of sand in them too but mostly they are just rough-covered mounds. I tend to hit the ball over there a lot but generally encountered odd lies and stances on the mound-y bits. Not sure I can recall being in the tiny bits of sand.

Given that the approach shot is to a small, crowned and awkwardly positioned green it makes being on one of those funky little humps rather annoying in terms of playing the approach.

P.S. The reason I'm in those "features" often is because the entire right side of the fairway is OB. If I play down the right OB is in play, if I stay short of the humps I'm hitting a fairway wood into a tiny green and I'm not long enough to play over them. Otherwise, they don't really factor into my plans ;-)

[Lukas Michel]

The swale short and right of RMW 3 green. It stretches from in front of the green, diagonally and across to the right. The green is quite difficult to hold due to it sloping away, so it often requires a running approach.

Instinctively playing at the flag from the tee (down the left side of the fairway) makes it incredibly difficult to run an approach in due to the swale which collects balls to the right. However, the counterintuitive and easier approach is to play down the right (away from the flag) and approach the swale perpendicularly (so it runs through it rather than along its length) - from an angle similar to the photo below.

[Jason Way]

Another one popped into my head (which is currently filled with CBMac stuff) - tufts of grass in bunkers, which are abundant at NGLA.  In today's era of groomed bunkers, it is hard to consider some of them hazards.  But throw a tuft of grass in the middle of it, and it becomes something you don't want to mess with. 

A good example is the large bunker that guards the carry into the 4th at Lost Dunes.  If there was only sand in that bunker, there would be no reason not to give it a go, because the penalty for failure is not that great.  But with the tufts of grass, much more consideration needs to be given to the second shot.

[Thomas Dai]

The swale short and right of RMW 3 green.

Firstly, please forgive me for reposting Lukas's fine photo of RMW-3, and what a lovely looking greensite it is.

How would this greensite have been constructed - men with hand tools plus horses with drag pans or some other construction approach?

There is sometimes mention that it is not easy to mimic natures intricate features with big machines. Would it be possible to mimic all the features shown in the photo above with modern machinery or would the natural subtlety likely be missing from the final product?

Atb

[Lukas Michel]

How would this greensite have been constructed - men with hand tools plus horses with drag pans or some other construction approach?

There is sometimes mention that it is not easy to mimic natures intricate features with big machines. Would it be possible to mimic all the features shown in the photo above with modern machinery or would the natural subtlety likely be missing from the final product?

Atb

Funny you ask. I pulled these photos from a photo tour by Matthew Mollica (this is located at the entrance to Royal Melbourne).

[Thomas Dai]

Thanks Lukas (Matthew), great stuff.

Anyone posting herein ever used or seen used this kind of equipment?

atb

[Sean_A]

Sticking wth Kington because it is chocker block with small important features, these hollows are very well placed...especially the front right greenside hollow.  It isn't in the photo, but this hollow makes the large blind quarry to the rear even larger and perhaps a little less blind  .   


Ciao

[Mark Pearce]

There is a small pimple (no more than a few inches high) in the front middle of the 10th green at Crail Craighead.  This is a green approached with a wedge by most golfers.  It is extraordinary how such a small feature can affect a shot with a short club.

[Ally Mcintosh]

There is a small pimple (no more than a few inches high) in the front middle of the 10th green at Crail Craighead.  This is a green approached with a wedge by most golfers.  It is extraordinary how such a small feature can affect a shot with a short club.

I played Craighead for the first time in July... I loved that 10th green. In fact, the stretch between 9 & 14 was a great, wee stretch I thought...

[Mark Pearce]

Ally,

Yes, that stretch is a really good stretch.  10 and 12 are really good short par 4s and 14 is a great bunkerless hole.  There are a lot of good holes at Craighead, I think. What did you make of the course overall?

[James Boon]

Jeff,

Kind of concerned that you seem to have a bit of an obsession with sheep at the moment? 

Sean,

Those micro features, the subtle cups in the fairway, at Kington always look cool on your photos. I don't remember them too much from my one play, so as discussed on another thread I need to get back there!

If you love those, you have to get to Askernish, because I certainly remember the small subtle features, the little rolls, cups, dips and pimples there, on the fairways and on the greens!

Chappers,

I never used to mind ridge / rig and furrow as you mention at Alwoodley as most of the time I'd come across it was running perpendicular to play. This meant a shot either stopped quick or shot forwards, and you either had an uphill or downhill lie, which just seemed part of the charm. However playing in a county foursomes final last year, we came to the last hole that had rig and furrow running parallel with play. Our opponents drive was shaping up to draw into a nasty spot of rough but hit a ridge and kicked back to the middle of the fairway. My partners drive was shaping up to fade nicely up the middle of the fairway only to hit a ridge that kicked it off the fairway and under a hedge. We went on to lose the hole, half our match and lost the fixture as a whole. Can't stand the damn things now, though I realise part of my frustration also relates to the location of the hedge not far off the fairway 

Cheers,

James

[Ally Mcintosh]

Ally,

Yes, that stretch is a really good stretch.  10 and 12 are really good short par 4s and 14 is a great bunkerless hole.  There are a lot of good holes at Craighead, I think. What did you make of the course overall?

Well I played it with a 2-iron, a wedge and a putter.

It's clearly been built on a low budget but given that they were farmer's fields with few natural features and poor drainage, the course is an excellent example of what good greens design can provide in the way of interest. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and a good counterpoint to the Balcomie...

[Mark Pearce]

That just about sums up my view.  Clearly what money there was was spent on the greens and they, with some intelligent use of the few natural (and man-made) features and a few well placed fairway bunkers makes for a very enjoyable course and a real contrast to Balcomie.  It's not unusual for me to choose to play Craighead over Balcomie if both are free.