Validation of Wolf Point's double green at 8 & 18

Recently I had a business round at Wolf Point.  We play the 8th as a warm up hole to get to the first tee.  The 8th and 18th share one large 14,000 sft putting surface.  In describing my hesitation to build a double green, he said "it would have been silly not to have done so".  There have been so many gimmicky, goofy, ugly and unplayable double greens built in the modern era.  


It turns out that our double green was going to prove it's authenticity today. Pictured below was the first time we played the green on our regulation round.  My guest is putting from the 18th green towards my ball near the 8th hole.  His shot drew a little too much and the swale exaggerated his miss.  I took the pic mid shot, he wound up inside my ball.  Nice pars.
(click the pictures for the bigger versions)

On the last hole of the day my approach ran a little long into the swale and my guest's ran quite a bit further, again the swale exaggerating his miss.  Below is his next to last putt of the day, from the 8th green to the 18th hole.  Proof that this green complex is no gimmick.  Both greens are in play from both holes.  Maybe next time we'll play to the opposite greens.

An interesting putting green

In designing a pair of practice putting greens for a public course, I drew a set of green surfaces that included interesting, yet subtle contour. I was asked to redraw the green contours to be simple sloped planes to match those on the course.


It is a valid request, but these putting greens are where the new player will first meet the golf course, or maybe any golf course.  I'd rather it be an interesting meeting.


Their request inspired me to compose this quote: 


One neat element of a creative putting green is you can always find a straight or flat putt on one, but the converse is not true. 
You can never find a creative putt on a flat green. 
 -- Mike Nuzzo


The following videos, while very cool, show how predictable a flat planar surface can be:

Green Contours

This weekend I got a very nice compliment from a visitor to Wolf Point. They thought the greens were excellent and not like so many they've seen before - unusual. Where a green may have flat areas separated by a slope - the greens within a green premise.

Our greens seemed so much more natural with the shapes blending and rolling and it made for so much more fun and imagination.

Subtle rolls and shapes like the ones pictured above, of the 5th green,
keep the strategy alive until the player is in the hole. With flat sections once the player picks a fairway side and hits their approach there is no strategy left.

With subtle movement the strategy applies to the putt or pitch to the hole as there is usually an aggressive and safer line to the hole.

Green Theory Notes

Some notes on our Green Theory and what we created at Wolf Point (2nd green pictured above):

There are no rules - the following are some observations from our work.
Greens fit the client and the business model, including maintenance goals
An open green front for run-up shots – few forced carries
Each green will be original and different from the rest and in the same family or seem related.
Proportional variation - some may look the same but play different.
Fit settings without any conspicuous or artificial mounding
Contours vary from subtle to bold – with no distinct levels or shelfs – more like soft organic folds
Accentuated by micro movement and drainage exit points in multiple locations
Simple circular mow patterns that would ideally blend into the subsequent teeing complex
Start with a minimum of pin settings and area based on amount of play
Rewarding of multiple approach angles based on client – front, left, right, back and multiple - which is generally accomplished with varying tilts and surface biases

(Based on client as a private club may have more greens that run away from the player)
Wolf Point is unique in total rounds will never be over a few thousand – so we designed as fun as possible – the client will be playing every single day – we needed to keep it interesting every day.
Preliminary sketches may look simple – but they are rather complex upon description
Their interest comes from the 3rd dimension
From above the greens appear as circles or ellipses – no squiggly mow lines creating artificial interest – same with the fairways.
Wolf Point greens are Emerald Bermuda – in fitting with the clients maintenance requirements
The immediate surrounds are also Emerald Bermuda – allowing for full circles and uniform water requirements
The greens mix was excavated from on site – at an installation cost of way less than $1 a ton. Morris Brown and an agronomist preferred the native materials over a spec mix.

The roots are currently over 8” long and performing great in this drought year.
The above two items saved approximately $500,000 at Wolf Point and will be a consideration for all my future warm season projects.
Greens should roll at speeds appropriate to the clientele and slope
At Wolf Point they will roll up to a 10+ and are VERY FIRM
Sizes range from 4,500 to 10,000 sft.

Linksy

The 15th hole still looks docile to the new visitor. When Matt played, pictured above, the front pin looked very inviting. I told him to play a little short, and he wound up making one of his best swings of the day. Unfortunately it was a hair strong and the ball found the swale left of the green.  No birdie for you.

A comment from recent visitor:

“… it is very, very linksy in play terms. Huge width. Unbelievably firm and bouncy. Lots of small scale contour that dominates your thinking in play. It is without doubt the most ground-oriented course I have seen in the US, and frankly outside the Old Course I doubt you'd find anything more so. Windy too.”

The 12th Green

The above image is taken of the 12th green as seen from the middle 13th tee. Just the other day I showed the severe false front. From this angle you can see the flag just behind that front - it is a very hard shot to get close - even from 135 yards - a high wedge will not stay close enough for a birdie put.  If you look real close you can see the 11th flag behind the bunker.

"What makes you think you can design a golf course?"

When I first started my journey from working as an aerospace engineer to golf course architect there were quite a few naysayers, bad advice givers and mostly those that didn't respond to calls or e-mails - all understandably so.  And eventually there were many who were more than helpful - thank you.

On Friday a young man from Texas A&M met with me in my office about his potential future in the golf design business. I think some would say "Don't even consider it!" and would probably be accurate - it will be a tough road for anyone for the next few years. But I do think there is certainly room for an excellent project for me, just like I think there would be some opportunities for this young man to find an start. He didn't know what questions to ask yet, but I'm sure glad I was able to offer some suggestions with potential.

Pictured above is proof that even a small bunker can create a big penalty.  It is me trying to hit the 2nd green.

Double Green

I don't think much of double greens outside of St. Andrews. These double greens, 8 & 18, just evolved. I kept shifting the 8th green during the routing process to minimize the walk to 9 tee.  You can play to either one from either hole, and with the flag near the swale it is a trick shot.  Hitting an approach on 18 can run long to the swale, and a slight pull on the long par 3 8th will also find the swale.

From the other direction:

The 16th Green

Above is the 16th green.

With Age Comes Wisdom

I'm 40 today. So technically a much more experienced architect. Above is the 15th green.

The 10th green complex

Above is a picture of the 10th green complex looking back towards the tee. The humps are in play if you go too far left -- away from the lake. It is the shortest par 4 on the course.

The 10th for the first time...

I haven't shown any pictures of number 10 before. Please enjoy the above image. The green is in the foreground with the tee just on the other side of the lake. When we played it for the first time it was about 265 yards. In the fivesome - there was just one par - and it wasn't me. It was a VERY difficult hole location. We all were within 25 yards of the putting surface - less one slicer who put a couple in the lake. I chipped and 3 putted from my 20 yards - I played my tee shot too far too the left away from the lake - it is a much tougher angle. The wind was down too - it usually plays into the prevailing wind. It is the first fairway we shaped. Did I forget to mention that the fairway is 60 yards wide without a single bunker on the hole.

Now for the 6th green

The bump on the front of the 6th green is there to make it a little trickier if you play the tee shot safe. I can attest that it works well.

The 2nd Green from two perspectives

Above is the 2nd green again. This picture was taken from just behind the bunker. Notice the contours.

When I take a few steps back, and get a few feet in the air, the green changes completely (see below). I hope it is evident that the tee shot placement in the fairway matters a great deal.


From the left side of the fairway the right side of the green falls away from the approach, and from the right side of the fairway the left side of the green falls away.

The other side of the bunker

Just on the other side of this bunker is the first green. Please note the lack of containment mounding. Until the construction clubhouse is complete the tee will be playing a little forward - which is fine by me as I've birdied this one twice so far. With the tee back 20 yards I will certainly need to change my tee ball strategy.

I got a very nice message saying that Wolf Point looked more like it was along the Firth of Forth (in Scotland) than along the Gulf of Mexico.

15th from the ball's perspective

I took a new digital camera to the course for the first time yesterday. A lot of experimenting - I thought the effect was pretty good. The picture is from the back of the 15th green towards a front middle pin. There is a large swale between me and the hole.

I'll make a post about the cameras as I learn more about them - every picture I've taken of the course was with an inexpensive pocket digital camera - and my new one is only slightly different.

I'll be back to the routings on Monday.

The 4th green

From the 4th tee it appears as if the bunkers on 1 surround the fourth green. One of the benefits of having holes wrap around each other.

The U.S. Open is great for the best 156 golfers in the world...

It is a great tournament, compelling to watch & makes for a fantastic weekend. It's nearly perfect.

But for the other 50,000,000 golfers in the world I can think of a better way to play every day or even occasionally...

The above picture is of the yet to be opened 1st green and its very appealing entrance (from the left). I was partly inspired by the large subtle opening green at Jasper Park. I took this picture yesterday and I have a lot more from the day in the coming weeks - it is bursting at the seams.

Why would YOU want to play a U.S. Open course on any other day?

Have a great Father's Day weekend!

The 15th Green

The par three 15th has been one of my favorite holes from the beginning. During my first round I played conservative shots to the right side of the green. One time it bounced towards the pin - result two pars. My second round it was a little different. I played a little more aggressively, and wound up in the gulley to the left of the green and then playing a little more timidly I wound up short - result two bogeys.

This was my view from within the swale. I love the hole. It plays hard and easy, but more importantly IT PLAYS FUN.

I play safe on 6 ... for now.

The 6th has always been one of Don's favorites. I'm very much looking forwad to playing together soon. We'll see how our scores compare on this one - I'm a little more conservative than him. Both times I played 6, I played safe out to the right and landed around the fringe. 3.5 is my stroke average for the hole. It is a 4wd to 3i for me - into a quatering wind from the left pushing the ball to the safe side of the green.

When I show a picture from the tee - it will be obvious how tempting it is to play aggressive. Our client did both times on our round together - and made a great up and down one of the times, almost both actually.

The picture above is the back half of the 6th green, with a tee from 7 in the background.

And in honor of Pete Dye being elected to the Golf Hall of Fame.