The architectural and playing variety and appeal of tactical

[Patrick_Mucci]

kick plates within greens.

Recently I played a course with a tactical kick plate within and just outside of the putting surface (connected)
Not a punchbowl, but, punchbowls often duplicate the effect in a universal sense.

I reflected on that feature as manifested in the 5th at Newport and the 6th at Pine Valley.

IMO, their genius starts with the tee shot.

At PV, if you cut the corner, the more successful you are in hugging the right side, the more that kick plate works to your disadvantage with many, if not most of the hole locations.

At Newport it's a little different.  There, if you take the more aggressive line and challenge the bunkers, you're rewarded by having the kick plate help you on your approach, whereas, if you take the more conservative route off the tee, the kick plate is going to make your approach more difficult.

Two different applications of the same essential feature.

What other holes, on what courses, present tactical kick plates whose effectiveness is a function of the golfer's drive.

Did Crump ever play Newport prior to embarking upon his project at PV ?

[Tom Dunne]

8 at Yale in a big way. 5 at Mid Ocean, too. The kick plate strikes me as an essential component of the best Capes.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tom Dunne,

Good call on # 8 at Yale.

But, I'm trying to recall if it makes a difference where you end up in the fairway with your drive ?

Is it tactical in the sense that the tactics go back to the tee ?

[Tom Dunne]

I think so, absolutely. That plate is so pronounced that it really works against you if you've driven it safely down the right side. Successfully flirt with the steep fall-off into the woods on the left and it becomes your friend. If I'm anywhere right of the sideboard and the hole location is back, I'll just dump it short of the green and hope to chip and putt--the penalties of missing to either side are just much too severe for me to play the hero.

It's a great green. Drops first-time visitor's jaws almost as much as the Biarritz.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tom,

I really liked the hole.

Has modern day distance adversely affected it's effectiveness.

[Tom Dunne]

That's a good question. I don't personally know the answer, but it's clearly answerable given that Yale hosts a couple of collegiate tournaments a year. I'd very much like to see how the flat bellies approach the hole, but my guess is that plate can still cause plenty of trouble even for those who can hit it high and spin it.

One thing I can say is that the hole also features a ridge that bisects the hole horizontally at roughly the 280 mark from the tips. Unless you've landed in the small area where that ridge recedes (Noel Freeman calls this garden spot "Raynor's Notch") the approach ranges from partially obscured to blind. That doesn't instill confidence, given that the green is flanked on BOTH sides by some of the deepest bunkers in the country.