The Redan's Fairway

[Mike Hendren]

Should the fairway short and right of the green: a) brake the ball (Shinnecock); b) propel the ball forward thereby requiring a right to left ball flight (NGLA and Pacific Dunes); c) kick the ball leftward (Kingsley Club, Lookout Mountain); or d) some combination of a or b with c?

I like C but believe B makes for the most interest.

Bogey

 

[Bill_McBride]

Should the fairway short and right of the green: a) brake the ball (Shinnecock); b) propel the ball forward thereby requiring a right to left ball flight (NGLA and Pacific Dunes); c) kick the ball leftward (Kingsley Club, Lookout Mountain); or d) some combination of a or b with c?

I like C but believe B makes for the most interest.

Bogey

 

I prefer C because a draw is not typically in my repertoire.  The slope helped me at Pacific Dunes.  Mountain Lake doesn't seem to me to have much right to left unless you fly onto the green OR hit a pretty good draw.

[Matt Bosela]

Brushy,

You forgot:

E) Make you tremble with fear, knowing how impossible it is to hit a perfectly flighted 200+ yard shot, sometimes into the wind, to such a small target area (12th at Old Macdonald)

I played two rounds there and out of 8 shots, only John Kirk's driver off the bottom groove bumped and rolled onto the surface.  What a tough tee shot!

[Mike Hendren]

Matt, with your game I'm astonished anything is tough.

As for OM's redan, I think the green is one of the best I've seen.  However, the fairway approach is more Shinny than National and the hole suffers slightly in my sophomoric opinion from being pushed up in the front.  Of course it had to be since it is constructed on flat ground. 

Bogey

[Jeff_Brauer]

Michael,

Great ? and the type I like to discuss here.

I have tended to make the ball kick left, and with a little reverse slope so a shot landing in front right of a Redan green will keep rolling on the green as intended. Any upslope would probably kill the ball in typical at medium lengths, average watering, etc.

I think modern Redan slopes can be closer to the green than formerly.  At the same time, I love the up and over at a Redan like Blue Mound for its look and to see if anyone really would hit a real long runnning shot, but haven't built one that way.

[Alex Miller]

Michael,

Great ? and the type I like to discuss here.

I have tended to make the ball kick left, and with a little reverse slope so a shot landing in front right of a Redan green will keep rolling on the green as intended. Any upslope would probably kill the ball in typical at medium lengths, average watering, etc.

I think modern Redan slopes can be closer to the green than formerly.  At the same time, I love the up and over at a Redan like Blue Mound for its look and to see if anyone really would hit a real long runnning shot, but haven't built one that way.

I haven't played many redans, but the slope you prefer sounds like the 4 at Riviera. Is that an accurate comparison? If it is, that is my preference as well (from a playing standpoint).

[Kevin Jackson]

My question is about option (c).  Do you mean kick left onto the green or into the bunker?  Would it be too penal of a hole if the fairway fed running shots that went to far left into that front bunker?  I can't decide whether or not that would eliminate some of the uncertainty of playing that shot, or add to it.  Obviously it forces the player to be more precise with the running shot played off the right mound.

[Bill Brightly]

My question is about option (c).  Do you mean kick left onto the green or into the bunker? 

Both. Imo, the best Redans offer a fairway that will kick a good shot on the green, but also kick a slightly too aggessive line (or slight underhit) into the bunker.