[Tom Kelly]

  Castle Stuart has several of these and they offer nice views. The developer refers to them as eternity greens.

  Anthony

You beat me to it. It seems most of the course are "skyline greens" with excellent views over the forth. Unfortunately I think they may have gone slightly over the top with them so by the end of the round its......not another one! It perhaps take the impact off them later in the round even though they are magnificent.

Here are a couple of them;


Not so much "skyline" but definitely an "eternity" green.


Same as above more "eternity".


From the right hand side of 12th. From the front it is a better example of a "skyline" green


13 from back in the fairway is a good "skyline" green though this pic ain't too good.


18th is again looks more of an "eternity' green here but looks more on the skyline from further back in the fairway

[Roger Wolfe]

Don't forget Roaring Gap's unforgettable 17th green.

From Ran's article...

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/roaring-gap/

I would post the picture but I have no idea how to do it! 

[Patrick_Mucci]

Ally,

You're correct, most of the photos posted DON'T depict skyline greens.

Bill,

Thanks, the photos of # 4 at Arcola are fantastic.

I've suggested that they cut back more trees on the left and right to give the horizon a broader sense.

It's a great hole, and the wind from the west makes it play better than it looks.

It's one of the best skyline greens I've seen in golf.

# 2 and # 13 at Sand Hlls are good skyline greens.
As is the 18th at NGLA when you're in the DZ or 100 yards short of the green.

Skyline greens are intimidating to the golfer, that's why I believe so many misguided green chairman "framed their backrounds" to make them "more fair".  Any club that has a true skyline green, currently deprived of that category by plantings behind the green, should remove those plantings tomorrow.

If you could see before and after pictures of # 4 at Arcola, you'd be shocked at how much better the hole is  today, and puzzled by why they took so long to recapture the skyline feature.

From the tee

 



From the fairway, average approach shot to the green





Just short of green





On the green looking west. Sorry, they just aerated yesterday...



On the green looking back at tee:

[Link Walsh]

#4 at Cateechee is a nice one.  Sorry, don't have a pic.  Great Mike Young course if you haven't played it. 

[Tim Martin]

# 6 at Paramount is a good one. Sorry but I don`t have a pic.

[Bill Brightly]

Opening up Arcola's hole to the wind has made this hole so much harder. With the trees behind the green, all you had to do was calculate the uphill yardage. No with the wind AND the hill, it plays two or more clubs longer, but you also don't want to be long and leave a dead downhill pitch shot. As close to a "links" shot as we get on parkland courses.

I played the hole twice in the same 27 hole member guest that pat played in. The first time I hit a good drive, but my 7 iron came up 1 yard too short  (misjudged the wind...) and rolled back down the hill and made bogey. Second time was in a scramble format and we had to use one of the shorter hitters drives, and my "pure" 5 iron got knocked down a bit and ended up in the left bunker. What a great, simple improvement to a golf hole!

[Patrick_Mucci]

Bill,

A decade or so ago, my good friend and great player, Terry McBride, wrote a letter to the board after I pointed out the benefits of clearing the trees behind the green.  Unfortunately, they didn't have the vision to understand how exponentially the hole would be improved by removing the trees.

The current superintendent and Ron Prichard did understand the benefits, and removed the trees, improving the hole drastically.

Now, they just need to remove a few more, left and right.

It's such a great hole into the wind, what fun.

[Lester George]

Skyline greens are intimidating to the golfer, that's why I believe so many misguided green chairman "framed their backrounds" to make them "more fair".  Any club that has a true skyline green, currently deprived of that category by plantings behind the green, should remove those plantings tomorrow.


Patrick,

Dead on!  I have made this statement or similar ones for twenty years to Club Boards and the like.  The majority of the "thinking" on this issue comes from better players (if they are better players, why do they need framing?) It is a problem for many clubs because they have listened to outside organizations (USGA, PGA, ASGCA) and the like to temper thier decisions to make changes that the better players want. 

Lester   

[Roger Wolfe]

Our 10th hole at Carolina Golf Club has one large sentinel oak behind it.  I am willing to bet that
if (WHEN) that tree dies and is removed the hole will be better for it since you will be looking at
an uphill shot to a green with nothing but sky behind it.  I like framing trees on the left and the
right as long as they are out of play, but there is nothing "cooler" or more intimidating then a flag
with nothing but blue sky behind it.

You have jarred my memory and now I remember just how much I love skyline greens.  Great
thread.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Lester,

4 three putts and two missed 4 footers have prevented me from playing Kinloch in September as I missed qualifying by a shot.
I was looking forward to visiting had my putter not betrayed me.
That putter now resides in a dark, damp, unpleasant environment with other non-co-operative clubs.

As to the issue of WHY clubs don't maximize an incredible asset, it's true that in some cases, the better player has influence over decisions on the golf course.  In many cases, they also have very narrow vision and perspectives, thinking only of their own game.

The benefit of a "skyline" green is so enormous, that you have to question the architectural IQ of the club.

Certainly the superintendent understands the benefits of tree removal.

The funny thing is that for decades the McBrides were the best players at Arcola, by a wide margin, yet, their requests went unheeded.

So, I'm not so sure that the better player is the culprit.

I think it may be a combination of "framers" and "fairness advocates"

A skyline green is challenging for a mulititude of reasons.
Some will deem it unfair and demonize it, with the curative provision being "framing"
Remember, we've gone through 50+ years of introducing trees to isolate, seperate and frame features.

Perhaps before and after photos of holes like # 4 at Arcola will serve to educate clubs with respect to the benefits of removing trees that prevent a hole from "showcasing" it's skyline greens.

We can only hope.

[JC Jones]

#7 at Belvedere is a 160 yard par 3 with a skyline green.  There is a single tree behind the green that creates a wonderful backdrop without taking up too much of the landscape.

[Trey Kemp]

This is one of my favorites...Diamante

[Patrick_Mucci]

T Kemp,

Where is Diamante ?

[Kris Spence]

Roger, if this works here is a great shot of RGC 17

[Mark Saltzman]

Would this be considered a skyline green? Or is it an eternity/infinity green?? Can anyone explain the difference?

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mark,

I can't be certain if the form in the backround is land, water or a cloud, but, a skyline green is depicted in the photos of Arcola's 4th green.

All you can see is the footpad of the green and the flagstick with nothing but "SKY" behind the green.

[Sam Morrow]

18 at Trump Philly is a cool skyline green but has a tree kind of creeping into the view back and left of the green, get rid of the tree and it's a neat skyline with that huge flag next to it.

[Roger Wolfe]

Roger, if this works here is a great shot of RGC 17

Your finest work!

(Except for CGC) 

[john_stiles]

Mike Young has a very nice skyline at Cateechee, a dogleg right par 4 up the hill.    Mike H,  am in the club now ?  My application was previously returned.


Northland in Duluth has a fabulous 'infinity' type approach to the par 4, 15th green.  There is a drop after the green providing a long view across Lake Superior, on a slightly downhill approach.  There is a lot of sky and some lake in the view.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mike Young has a very nice skyline at Cateechee, a dogleg right par 4 up the hill.    Mike H,  am in the club now ?  My application was previously returned.


Northland in Duluth has a fabulous 'infinity' type approach to the par 4, 15th green.  There is a drop after the green providing a long view across Lake Superior, on a slightly downhill approach.  There is a lot of sky and some lake in the view.

John,

If there's lake in the view, it's NOT a skyline green.

[Lester George]

Patrick,

Anytime you want to play Kinloch just let me know.  You don't have to wait for an event.

Lester

[David Cronheim]

Kinloch looks absolutely spectacular, especially all the pictures from the autumn.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Lester,

Thanks, I appreciate the offer.

With respect to "Skyline" greens, I was always surprised that Pine Valley didn't preserve the skyline greens at # 2 and # 17 and at # 9 as well.

It's such an intimidating feature.

It would work exceptionally well at # 2 and # 9 due to the length and nature of the approach shot.

While it would look great and be intimidating, it would be less so on # 17 due to the length of the approach shot, which can be short to very short.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Shivas,

Is that # 13 at Sand Hills ?

If so, was it "photo shopped"

Years ago, I seem to recall a lone tree or some scraggly bush preventing it from being a skyline green

[Dunlop_White]

Thought I would add a few skylines to the mix. At 3,200 feet above sea level, the panoramic 40-mile view beyond Hole 17 green at Roaring Gap Club can be inspiring. Add a sheet of low cloud cover and the right lighting and you have riveting backdrop.......







Photos by Superintendent: Erik Guinther

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()