The straight-on bench

[Ben Sims]

I started a thread about greens sited sideways onto a ridge/hill/dune recently and many people used it to comment on ANY benched green. So I’d like to discuss the “straight-on” bench now.


The most famous examples would be the numerous Mackenzie holes at Cypress, Meadow Club, and Claremont (among others) where a green is located at the base of or benched into the side of a hill as the general shape of the hole is perpendicular to the ridge/hill/dune.


Another one I like alot is the 14th at Friars Head. I think that hole gets the short shrift as people enjoy discussing other holes at FH more. I think that’s a mistake but I digress.


One critic I like a lot said that Mackenzie goes to the well too often on “using the ridges”. They said this in reference to Meadow Club. I’ve never seen it. But Cypress Point also featured that theme and the opening 13 holes of that course are pretty good if you ask me.


Thoughts on holes that run headlong into ridges/hills/dunes and have a green sighted directly on or at bottom of that higher terrain?

[zachary_car]

Oddly, here in Ontario and Western Quebec, we had a short-lived fad of holes playing headlong into often really shallow yet amply wide green surfaces that are raised anywhere between 10 and 20 feet from the fairway. Thomas McBroom, in particular, did this repeatedly at the golf courses that he built in the 90s and 00s in Mont-Tremblant and in the Muskokas.


He definitely overused the trope, but I do find that it works decently well on holes between 350-400 yards, when you're left with merely a finicky flip wedge in, more so than on the longer holes, when you're approaching with a mid iron or so. Considering how much the game has become a driver-wedge affair, I do think that benched - and obscured - green pads are an effective way of adding interest to holes of this length especially

[Charlie Goerges]

but I do find that it works decently well on holes between 350-400 yards, when you're left with merely a finicky flip wedge in

God I wish I was routinely left with flip wedges in on 350-400 yard holes.




These straight-on benched holes are fine to me, but like almost everything else, I prefer them to be used somewhat sparingly. But if the land lends itself to great (and varied) examples, maybe not so sparingly if it's well-done.

[Paul Jones]

Any pictures to share of examples?

[Kevin_Reilly]

I'm not sure if this is what OP had in mind, but saw this picture from Claremont this morning:


https://x.com/Top100Rick/status/1853432512581865649

[Sean_A]

Straight on bench shots tend to be more rudimentary than side by side. That said, it can often be a thrilling shot.

6 Anstruther


Appleby has a cracker version at the 4th. It is set below the hill, but straight on. Below is a look at the hole from the 5th fairway. Play is from the right.


Even Colt couldn't quite manage to achieve an aesthetic that looks "right". #3 Prestbury.


Ciao

[Ben Sims]

I'm not sure if this is what OP had in mind, but saw this picture from Claremont this morning:


https://x.com/Top100Rick/status/1853432512581865649

Kevin,


Yes this is the post that prompted my thought. As much as I’m not really a fan of Rick’s raison d’etre, he does take some nice photos from time to time.


Thanks for helping the illustration a bit.

[Mike Hendren]

5th at The Eden.

[David_Tepper]

#4 and #14 at Royal Dornoch.

https://royaldornoch.com/hole/4th-hole/

https://royaldornoch.com/hole/14th-hole/

[Alex_Hunter]

The bench green at Waterton Lakes National Park is pretty wild.
160 or so yard Par 3, often playing downwind (it gets very windy at Waterton)
Little back to front slope in the green as well

[Cal Seifert]

Goat Hill! 9th hole. Par 3, about 215 yards.

[David_Tepper]

Upon further consideration, the greens on holes #4 & #14 at Royal Dornoch, while elevated, are not really benched.

[Ben Sims]

Based on a few of the recent photos, it seems Cruden Bay #4 could fit into this category. I didn’t really think of it as a benched in my two looks. But these pictures, particularly the one at The Goat, remind me of that hole.

[Sean_A]

Based on a few of the recent photos, it seems Cruden Bay #4 could fit into this category. I didn’t really think of it as a benched in my two looks. But these pictures, particularly the one at The Goat, remind me of that hole.

I agree. Although I don’t think it is a particularly good example of the type. The green is large without much movement.

Ciao

[Simon Barrington]

A slight variation (or embellishment) of the straight-on Bench was the "Armchair Green" for the 16th downhill Par 3 at Henley Golf Club (Oxon) designed by James Braid in 1914.

This was in a a slight re-routing of his own 1907 design, which is notable as he designed it while writing "Advanced Golf" and he included most of those principles on the ground at Henley. Variety in green sites being one that certainly remains.

https://x.com/CambridgeGrey/status/1856964269587267774

Cheers

[Sean_A]

A slight variation (or embellishment) of the straight-on Bench was the "Armchair Green" for the 16th downhill Par 3 at Henley Golf Club (Oxon) designed by James Braid in 1914.

This was in a a slight re-routing of his own 1907 design, which is notable as he designed it while writing "Advanced Golf" and he included most of those principles on the ground at Henley. Variety in green sites being one that certainly remains.

https://x.com/CambridgeGrey/status/1856964269587267774

Cheers

That is an interesting take on the side bench green. Is the area in front of the green scooped out? Who built this hole?

Ciao

[Simon Barrington]

A slight variation (or embellishment) of the straight-on Bench was the "Armchair Green" for the 16th downhill Par 3 at Henley Golf Club (Oxon) designed by James Braid in 1914.

This was in a a slight re-routing of his own 1907 design, which is notable as he designed it while writing "Advanced Golf" and he included most of those principles on the ground at Henley. Variety in green sites being one that certainly remains.

https://x.com/CambridgeGrey/status/1856964269587267774

Cheers

That is an interesting take on the side bench green. Is the area in front of the green scooped out? Who built this hole?

Ciao

Posted a modern view (in a reply to the X-Post, sorry still not sure how to put pictures on here as a tech dullard!) post the addition of a protective ridge on the RHS entrance, which was a shame many years ago as it preculdes a running approach across the entire frontage which was a cool feature.
The hole is c. 210 yards down across an uninterupted valley.
They soon after 1914 added a Raynoresque strip bunker on the RHS as balls were running away down the slope of the 17th, these are now two pots.

https://x.com/CambridgeGrey/status/1856970431967682888

Designed by Braid, and built by the Club internally under the guidance of Ernest Fryer (Dir. in Charge of Construction)


Cheers

[Thomas Dai]

11th at Pennard.
4th at Knighton.
3rd at Kington.
atb

[Sean_A]

11th at Pennard.
4th at Knighton.
3rd at Kington.
atb

Pennard’s 11th is on of the best I have seen. 👊

Ciao

[Simon Barrington]

11th at Pennard.
4th at Knighton.
3rd at Kington.
atb

Braid
Vardon
& Braid's protégée, CK Hutchinson

These Professional's knew a bit about design too...

[Will Lozier]

Rutland's 5th

[Tom Dunne]

Eddie Hackett built loads of straight benches in Ireland. Carne has a few of them, for sure. There was talk a while back about "vernacular" golf architecture and I tend to think of this along those lines.



I had a fantastic conversation with Bill Coore about this type of green last summer at Colorado Golf Club. C&C and their shapers--Jim Craig and Jeff Bradley in this particular case--worked hard to avoid them at CGC, because while a straight-on bench is functional, you often can't see the putting surface from the fairway in that situation. It therefore requires a lot of finesse to blend a green into the backing landform without creating a severe back-to-front pitch in the process.


Look at the 9th and 18th greens at Colorado GC and you'll see a sophisticated response to a situation where some architects might have just carved out a simple bench.

[Kyle Casella]

I started a thread about greens sited sideways onto a ridge/hill/dune recently and many people used it to comment on ANY benched green. So I’d like to discuss the “straight-on” bench now.


The most famous examples would be the numerous Mackenzie holes at Cypress, Meadow Club, and Claremont (among others) where a green is located at the base of or benched into the side of a hill as the general shape of the hole is perpendicular to the ridge/hill/dune.


Another one I like alot is the 14th at Friars Head. I think that hole gets the short shrift as people enjoy discussing other holes at FH more. I think that’s a mistake but I digress.


One critic I like a lot said that Mackenzie goes to the well too often on “using the ridges”. They said this in reference to Meadow Club. I’ve never seen it. But Cypress Point also featured that theme and the opening 13 holes of that course are pretty good if you ask me.


Thoughts on holes that run headlong into ridges/hills/dunes and have a green sighted directly on or at bottom of that higher terrain?

Do you have the original Meadow Club reference? It would be interesting to see. It was kind of clever at Meadow to use the strategy to get off the valley floor. It can also be pretty wet up there at times, so elevating the greens naturally into hillsides was likely a strategy to keep them dry. Here are the holes that I think you could consider "benched" into a hill at Meadow, many of them are straight (but often force you to a side based on bunkers or other obstacles).


3 (straight), 6 (straight), 7 (dogleg left), 9 kind of (straight), 10 (straight), 11 (par 3), 12 (dogleg right), 15, (dogleg left), 17 (straight), 18 (dogleg right). It's a lot, I guess, but in every case but 3 and 7 (depending on tee shots), I think you can see the majority of the putting surface from your approach.