Square Tees

[Jeff_Brauer]

Mark,

When I read your comment, it reminded me of someone really taking off on me here once when I commented that "it varies according to site".  I hope you don't suffer the same fate for your BOLD statements of a similar vein!

[Bill_McBride]

love em.

Me too.  Think "East Lake," some of the best I've seen.

HOWEVER.......I also really like it when the closely mown area surrounding a green ties into the adjacent teeing grounds so it's all cut about the same height.

Tom Doak's guys just did this on several of the holes at the Valley Club during the last phase of renovation.  It's very cool.  Here's an example from David Stamm's great Valley Club thread on page 1 today.  This is behind the first green, right of 14th green, and is the second tee.  All the closely mown grass flows together:

Bill, are you sure "Doak's Guys" did this?

I was there are few years ago and saw "this". And from my understanding Doak just renovated the bunkers.  I showed up before they did the greens recently. Perhaps the suggested a few more areas like this?

If I were to guess, it was like this in Mackenzie's day since almost everything was cut at FW level back in the day? If anyone can confirm or reject that would help shed some light on the evolution of these guys at the Valley Club... at least.

Ryan, I have been playing the Valley Club off and on since my college days there in 1961-64, and never saw this look until after Doak's work.  Some of the work was done in house under Doak's master plan, I believe, but he had to be involved one way or another.  Yes, it is way cool. 

[Bill_McBride]

"HOWEVER.......I also really like it when the closely mown area surrounding a green ties into the adjacent teeing grounds so it's all cut about the same height."

Bill,
  When we renovated last summer, Keith Foster incorperated this into 4 different teeing surrounds. I love the look. I first saw it when I worked at Friars Head. I don't know if it still is true, but #6 green "fell" into #7 tee and #13 green "fell" into #14 tee. A very cool look.

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
Ft. Worth, TX

Tony, I was so generally blown away by Friars Head that I didn't even notice that.  What a masterpiece that course is!

[Mark_Fine]

Jeff,
I didn't take it that way at all and for the most part agree with you.  Problem with written text is that is can be interpreted so many ways.

[Ryan Farrow]

Thanks for the update Tom/Bill..... There is a lot of worst ever _____... In China, the funniest thing I have seen from China was a course with about a dozen bridges, and everyone was designed completely different, not too mention picnic tables next to tees and a few other head scratchers I cant come up with right now.

And don't worry about us right now, we have a Star shaped tee on the planning board not to mention two courses in planning that cant escape our office w/o being made fun of..... I have faith though.

[Ally Mcintosh]

"HOWEVER.......I also really like it when the closely mown area surrounding a green ties into the adjacent teeing grounds so it's all cut about the same height."

Bill,
  When we renovated last summer, Keith Foster incorperated this into 4 different teeing surrounds. I love the look. I first saw it when I worked at Friars Head. I don't know if it still is true, but #6 green "fell" into #7 tee and #13 green "fell" into #14 tee. A very cool look.

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
Ft. Worth, TX

Tony, I was so generally blown away by Friars Head that I didn't even notice that.  What a masterpiece that course is!

The Renaissance Club has this effect used for the practice putting green and 1st tees... Lovely little touch right from the off...

[Bill_McBride]

"HOWEVER.......I also really like it when the closely mown area surrounding a green ties into the adjacent teeing grounds so it's all cut about the same height."

Bill,
  When we renovated last summer, Keith Foster incorperated this into 4 different teeing surrounds. I love the look. I first saw it when I worked at Friars Head. I don't know if it still is true, but #6 green "fell" into #7 tee and #13 green "fell" into #14 tee. A very cool look.

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
Ft. Worth, TX

Tony, I was so generally blown away by Friars Head that I didn't even notice that.  What a masterpiece that course is!

The Renaissance Club has this effect used for the practice putting green and 1st tees... Lovely little touch right from the off...

Ally, the championship tee on the first hole at Doak's Apache Stronghold is on the practice putting green.  Very cool indeed.

[Bill_McBride]

So round tees vs. square tees has been debated in this thread. What do you folks think about free form tees, or tees that go all over?  One I'm thinking of in particular is #6(?) at Tobacco Road, the little par 3 that GCA's own Brent Hutto aced in the Dixie Cup a couple of years ago.

There the tee is farther from left to right than the hole is long, if I'm not mistaken.  Maybe someone who isn't headed for the office can post something.  That is great, as the green is also wide and shallow so there are many, many permutations and combinations of pin and tee location on that little hole

Thoughts or other examples?

[Patrick_Mucci]

RDecker,

Could you clarify something for me ?

Were you referencing rectangular tees with rounded corners versus rectangular tees with 90 degree corners, or free form tees ?

[Mike Jansen]

Playing most of my golf at Spyglass Hill, I have grown to love the classic RTJ 'runway' tees.  The reason they work so well there is because you are teeing off out of the chute of tall pine trees, gving a narrow, cramped feeling... especially on holes #9, 13 and 18.  The holes that play amongst the dunes #2 -#5 have more free flowing shapes, because the 'runway' tees there would look outta place. 

[Gary Slatter]

I prefer rectangular tee boxes but circles can look OK, in a fake modern way. 
Many years ago in Canada we tried to change from rectangles to circles and very quickly the Women's committee said the ladies had difficulty "lining up" on the new circular tees.  My wife concurs.

[Matthew Rose]

I tend to associate square tees with old, classic courses and free form/rounded with newer, modern designs (at least post-WW2). I suppose I almost have come to expect it.

A few Melbourne sandbelt courses do the greenside collar/chipping area into next tee transition thing. It is kind of a cool effect... obviously in order to pull it off, you need a course where the tees and greens are close together.