Best set of greens...a putting paradise or hell.

[Simon Holt]

Now some peoples paradise might be anothers hell but I was thinking about this the other day.

I went along to chat with Archie Baird, much loved golf historian and club collector based in Gullane.  We were talking about courses played and came to the conclusion that funnily the answer may well be right under our nose.  Not at Muirfield, North Berwick, Luffness or Gullane No. 1 but at GULLANE NO.3.

I hadnt played there since high school matches so didnt appreciate them as much as I maybe should of at the time.  Now I can see that good old Archie may well have hit the nail on the head.

So, for you, which course that you have personally played has the best set of 18 greens?

[jonathan_becker]

So, for you, which course that you have personally played has the best set of 18 greens?

Canton Brookside

[Bradley Anderson]

That's easy - Oakmont

[Anthony Gray]

  Whistling Straits

[Mac Plumart]

NGLA

with Inverness up there as well.  

Honorable mention...Lookout Mountain

Worst greens on a great/very good course...Shadow Creek...good slopes and undulations, but running around 8ish.  That speed ruined it for me.

[Tim Gavrich]

My favorites: Shelter Harbor GC in Charlestown, RI.  Love that place.

[Gary Slatter]

I can honestly say that the original greens on the DEVLIN are a superb set of greens complexes.  They grew on me over the two and a half years and while the emphasis was on the Torrance Course, the Devlin was the better course and with the addition of the 17th and 16 th from the Torrance, it is even better.   Many on this site don't like the courses, that's their problem.  Both are now better than the Castle but both suffer from being too "american" with a small "a".   Keith and Dennis did a fine design job, 6 more inches of sand would have made both courses greater.

[Simon Holt]

So I suppose the nest question is what makes them your favourite?

As a concensus should there be a theme running throughout the course or is a mixture a good thing?  While I like large undulating bad boys myself I do like the odd small green to really focus the mind mid-round.

Good examples of a well balanced mix of greens?  Bad examples and how they could be improved?

[Mark Pearce]

It may be obvious but the Old Course are pretty good.  I thought Yale's were spectacular.  Royal St Georges had a good set, too.

[jim_lewis]

Best greens I have played (on the days I played them)
Royal Melbourne
Oakmont
ANGC
Luftness New
Wannamoisette

Best green complexes:
Pinehurst #2

[JNC Lyon]

I loved the set of greens at Merion.  They come in all shapes and sizes, and they test every type of shot around the green.  Furthermore, the greens ask several different things of players from the fairway.  This was the first course I have seen with a truly great set of greens.

The Ross greens at Oak Hill (West) and Teugega are phenomenal.  I would put the West Course's greens slightly ahead of Teugega.

I thought Prestwick had a great variety of greensites.  Some are rippling (1, 2, 4, 12).  Others have only one dominant slope in them (6-10).  The two greens by the clubhouse are downright baffling (14 and 18).  Finally, Prestwick has some of the most beautiful, outrageous, and crumpled greens in links golf.  The greens at 3, 13, and 15-17 are endlessly interesting.  When I played Prestwick, I spent about 5-10 minutes around the greens at 15-17, trying all different types of shots with various clubs.  Tons of fun.

Simon, I thought North Berwick has a solid set of greens from start to finish.  The 12th might be the best of the bunch, and the 3rd is one of the most unique greens I've seen.  However, A few of the greens just don't stick out in my memory, which brings it down a bit in my book.

With all of that being said, my absolute favorite set of greens that I have seen or played has to be DEAL.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Hollywood & Mountain Ridge are pretty strong contenders.

Ran and TEPaul can certainly vouch for Mountain Ridge's putting surfaces, they're quite unusual, with only one semi flat green in the bunch.

The 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th, 11th, 12th are quite incredible, and the others are pretty special as well.

Simon, I first met Archie Baird in 1992 at Gullane.

He had his dog tethered to his golf bag and I was jealous.
I told him that I would love to take my dogs, a German Shepherd and Alaskan Malamute, walking on the golf course with me every day.

He was an interesting fellow and we corresponded for years afterward.

I still have his autographed book.

How old is he now ?

[Bill_McBride]

I played Ballyneal for the first time three weeks ago, and think its greens are right there with Pasatiempo as the best set of greens I've had the pleasure of playing on and around.   They are huge and have many tiers and rolls and bowls.  There are many different ways to putt from point A to point B

Take a look at Matt Bosela's B&W photo tour to see what I'm talking about.  http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,44916.0/

I'm not sure what the O'Neal brothers told Tom Doak they were looking for, but these greens are an amazing set.  My personal favorites were #7 and #12.   Every green is fascinating.  The surrounds are typically close cut so the ground game is always an option.

The greens were running about 9 making them fun.  At 12 they might be impossible.

[RJ_Daley]

Wild Bill, you have named a great set of wonderful greens, but they named their place BallyNeal rather than BallyBrien.  That was not a mistake on their part... 

[Ally Mcintosh]

Now some peoples paradise might be anothers hell but I was thinking about this the other day.

I went along to chat with Archie Baird, much loved golf historian and club collector based in Gullane.  We were talking about courses played and came to the conclusion that funnily the answer may well be right under our nose.  Not at Muirfield, North Berwick, Luffness or Gullane No. 1 but at GULLANE NO.3.

I hadnt played there since high school matches so didnt appreciate them as much as I maybe should of at the time.  Now I can see that good old Archie may well have hit the nail on the head.

So, for you, which course that you have personally played has the best set of 18 greens?

Hi Simon,

I may be mistaken with this but I'm sure Archie told me that it was Tom Doak who alerted him to how good the greens on Gullane 3 were... At the very least, I know that Tom considers them highly also because he's posted on here about it... I still haven't walked or played the 3rd course, only 1 & 2... Would love to see No.3

[Philip Spogard]

I have always liked the greens at Woking - they are some of the most memorable and interesting to play. Very individual with lots of character. On the negative side they are a bit small and some of them lack a few pin positions.

[James Boon]

Simon,

Its been many years since I played Gullane 2 and 3 as a kid, so the two courses have tended to blend together over time a wee bit, however I do recall some great greens at no. 3.

There are quite a few courses I've played in the last couple of years where I always seem to walk off talking about a great set of greens. Huntercombe's where great, but Beau Desert's probably the best set of greens I've played recently. Some interesting shapes and sizes, some wild contours, others really subtle.

I was thinking the other day about Burnham & Berrow's greens and I think they are the most varied, but consistantly great set of greens I've played... Punchbowls, upturned saucers, two or three tiers, grade levels, perched up high, whatever you want to call them, plenty of variety.

Cheers,

James

[David_Madison]

Oakmont is a no-brainer for the obvious reasons.
Old Town has a wonderful set of varied greens and greens complexes. Some are tiny and severe internally, others use the exterior slopes to generate their challenges - solid Maxwell
Charlotte CC as redone by Ron Pritchard might have a more challenging set of greens and complexes than #2. Many have hole locations that are absolutely brutal (but still fair and achievable) from the perspective of hitting approach shots close, especially short third shots on par-5's.
Pinehurst #2 - again a no-brainer, but only when groomed to fast and firm which has been too much of a rarity lately
Alpine - terrorizing because of their speed and slope; start with a 3 or 4-putt on the first green, which is easy to do, and you're cooked the rest of the day

[Simon Holt]

Mr Mucci- Archie must be mid eighties by now.  He still looks fine but has to use a buggy around Gullane nowadays. 

Ally- thats interesting you say that about Tom.  I have not spoken to him that often but we have chatted a couple of times about the course around here and it has never come up.  I must ask him next time he is over at Renaissance.

I loved the greens at Pine Valley- it is the only place I have seen those dual greens at 8 and 9.  Perhaps that makes it the best 20 greens??!!

NGLA are a pretty good set.

With no offence intended, purely a personal opinion, my putting hell is the Castle course.  Fun couirse but a little bit too out there.

[Ronald Montesano]

Cherry Hill, Lookout Point, anything Walter Travis created...good thing the old boy never tripped on acid, or all the other greens would be mere attempts at what he might have created...wait, that's Strantz...was he channeling Travis?

[Wade Schueneman]

Just glancing at everybody's input, I am surprised that Prarie Dunes, Oakland Hills, and Crystal Downs have not been mentioned.

[Link Walsh]

Just glancing at everybody's input, I am surprised that Prarie Dunes, Oakland Hills, and Crystal Downs have not been mentioned.

On my one and only trip arond Crystal Downs, I putted off 2 of the greens... in the first 8 holes.  Never seen anything like them.   

[Shane Wright]

For me it is no question - Prairie Dunes

[Bill_McBride]

Wild Bill, you have named a great set of wonderful greens, but they named their place BallyNeal rather than BallyBrien.  That was not a mistake on their part... 

Thanks, no telling what I was thinkin' but there was whisky involved...........

[Anthony_Nysse]

Like Bradley said, it's easy-OAKMONT