The VSGA ' s Connor Jones paints a dot indicating a hole location , which the course ' s greens team will cut on the day of the event .
CHRIS LANG ( 3 ) hole location . I did not want the ball to roll more than three feet in any direction — or be at the edge of any slopes or the top of knobs .
" 6 / 6 / 6 , but often best grass is the determining factor . We avoid high area pins during summer stress and avoid lows when it ' s wet . Likewise we steer clear of stressed turf ( i . e . crowns , walk-off spots , etc .), old hole plugs and ball mark areas . I can tell you the ban on metal spikes has improved green health immensely .
“ For tournaments we do a special location sheet chosen by the tournament committee and / or in consultation with me and the pro . On ladies ' day and weekend busy times we still mix it up but make it easier to keep the players happy and the golf flowing . We may throw in one or two ringers , but not six . Unless we have special requests we set the course up properly just for golf — fair and at least three feet from the collar ,” says Dodson .
Dick Fisher is superintendent at Lake Chesdin Golf Club and is a recipient of the 2020 VSGA Service to Golf award . “ We use a 1 , 2 , 3 chart for most days , giving us six front , middle and back locations while controlling the right and left sides . We try to make it interesting enough to challenge golfers , keeping the difficulty of the approach shot in mind .
“ This means keeping the location as benign as possible ,” says Fisher . “ My philosophy is that a location can be hard to get at , but easy to putt to . Or less dangerous to play at , but a little tougher to putt to , but not both ! We try not to get too crazy during the member / guest , but the last five holes are used for a shootout so they can get a little wacky . The committee usually picks those .
“ Golf is hard enough without putting holes just over bunkers , etc . Except for superintendents revenge day , of course !” he says with a chuckle .
Renovations several years ago to Midlothian ’ s Independence Golf Club brought , among other changes , fewer trees , reworked bunkering and faster play . With the course ’ s relatively flat greens and abundant cuppable space , Independence remains a home for championship tourneys where greens
“ We place harder pins Monday-Wednesday since we have fewer players . On Thursday-Sunday we select easier hole locations when we have greater member and resort play . We want our guests to have a good time and a great overall experience .”
— Jeremy Waddell , Golden Horseshoe Gold Course in Williamsburg
are cut at 1 / 10 ’ and stimp between 11 and 13 . Such conditions permit superintendent Dan Taylor to set up a tough , but varied field of play favored by owner Giff Breed .
Independence is also the scene of considerable outing activity . With that in mind , Taylor softens the pin placements to allow for four-hour rounds . “ Easier sets are important for outings since the ability of those often infrequent players is more limited ,” he says . “ My goal is for the play to be fun . Easier locations allow for that .”
Jeremy Waddell oversees the agronomic activities at Williamsburg ’ s Golden Horseshoe Gold Course . There he uses a rotating three-quadrant system . The only exception is during occasional summer stress when he dials back the number of front hole locations . “ We place harder pins Monday-Wednesday since we have fewer players . On Thursday-Sunday we select easier hole locations when we have greater member and resort play . We want our guests to have a good time and a great overall experience . Tucked pins on those days typically do not lead to a good time . Plus , there is nothing worse than a round that lasts more than four hours ,” says Waddell .
The Last Word
“ You just have to be smart about hole locations ,” says Dodson . “ You don ’ t want to be bored and have every pin in the middle , but you don ’ t want 18 ballbusters either unless it ’ s by request . Face it , unless you put a five-gallon hole out there , golf is hard .”
vsga . org M AY / J UNE 2022 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 25