'Illegal' Pin Positions

[sunshine]

I changed all our pin positions for a Texas scramble competition last weekend I tried to put some in positions that they have rarely been in before.

My favorite was on a par 3 that if you hit a tee shot to the right there is a steepish bank and the ball will roll down towards the hole, there were a few that got close to a hole in one.

You can have some fun with pin placements for certain competitions but have to be sensible for others competitions.

I like a mix: 6 easy pins, 6 tough, 6 medium.

I like it when the pin is placed in a location where the ball feeds down to the hole, like Augusta where some positions are real birdie magnets if you know where to hit it.
Also great when the pin is placed in a position where you have to find the right part of the green (e.g. wrong tier above the hole you are dead).

Most of us know our home course so this keeps me on my toes.

 

[Rlburnside]

For most competitions I like to see just 3 tough positions I agree about trying to land on the right part of the green it makes a big difference.

I played today not very well but that’s another story ?anyway that par 3 I mentioned I hit probably the best tee shot of the day ,you can’t see the bottom of the pin because of the shape of the green my ball landed in the right spot up the bank one bounce and rolled towards the hole, I couldn’t see where the ball finished but I thought it must be close it was 5 foot from hole and I managed to hole the putt.

 

[cliveb]

5E(2): "Committee should avoid placing a hole on a slope where the ball will not come to rest. When the contours of the green allow, holes should be placed where there is an area of two to three feet around the hole that is relatively level so that putts struck at the proper speed will stop around the hole."

The problem at Grims Dyke is that there are some greens with very few areas like that, so if the pins were always in such positions the greens would wear badly in those few places.

 

[KenL]

R&A give guidance (at least they used to) on how to select pins for competitions.
6 front, 6 middle, 6 back.
6 left, 6 middle, 6 right.
Suggest min 4 paces from edge and more if there is a bunker on that edge.
Biggest one for me is to avoid slopes and to not position a pin that you cannot stop the ball beside the hole when putting from above the hole.

 

[AmandaJR]

R&A give guidance (at least they used to) on how to select pins for competitions.
6 front, 6 middle, 6 back.
6 left, 6 middle, 6 right.
Suggest min 4 paces from edge and more if there is a bunker on that edge.
Biggest one for me is to avoid slopes and to not position a pin that you cannot stop the ball beside the hole when putting from above the hole.

I did take this information for a debate with our head greenkeeper after a medal round where it seemed so many holes contravened that advice. It was an interesting exercise as our greens are pretty small so to follow the 4 paces etc would mean only the middle of the green could ever be used. I still think there are too many difficult/impossible to get to holes with bunkers protecting and a front pin but understand a little bit more why that is.

 

[HampshireHog]

We had a note from our green keeper last week apologising for the pins one day and promising some retraining ?

 

[patricks148]

I did take this information for a debate with our head greenkeeper after a medal round where it seemed so many holes contravened that advice. It was an interesting exercise as our greens are pretty small so to follow the 4 paces etc would mean only the middle of the green could ever be used. I still think there are too many difficult/impossible to get to holes with bunkers protecting and a front pin but understand a little bit more why that is.

we had a comp 2 years ago, where they put pins on high points of the green where there was no flat at all, his excuse was he's seen a forecaste for heavey rain... fair enough, the forecaste was also for 40MPH winds, not a drop of rain all day, but FM it was windy, oh and they had ironed the greens that morning just to complete the woe. to make matters worse, all the downwind positions were on the front edge some behind bunkers... no one broke 80 including all our low plus handicap players

 

[AmandaJR]

we had a comp 2 years ago, where they put pins on high points of the green where there was no flat at all, his excuse was he's seen a forecaste for heavey rain... fair enough, the forecaste was also for 40MPH winds, not a drop of rain all day, but FM it was windy, oh and they had ironed the greens that morning just to complete the woe. to make matters worse, all the downwind positions were on the front edge some behind bunkers... no one broke 80 including all our low plus handicap players

The decision making in such conditions still irks me and I still whinge about it! Holes where a long approach is always necessary and so many times they're a front pin 2 paces behind a bunker! Don't get me started on tee box marker placements!

 

[Deleted member 3432]

we had a comp 2 years ago, where they put pins on high points of the green where there was no flat at all, his excuse was he's seen a forecaste for heavey rain... fair enough, the forecaste was also for 40MPH winds, not a drop of rain all day, but FM it was windy, oh and they had ironed the greens that morning just to complete the woe. to make matters worse, all the downwind positions were on the front edge some behind bunkers... no one broke 80 including all our low plus handicap players

PCC will take it into account ????

 

[patricks148]

PCC will take it into account ????

two years ago dear boy was RO, but that wasn't my point