Green shapes vary depending on the course and it’s designer. Here are the a few common shapes used the oval, kidney shaped, two-lobe, three-lobe, crescent, U shaped, teardrop, angled, deep/narrow, shallow/wide, square, cloverleaf, T shaped and L shaped green. All these types of green shapes allow for various pin placements. Having many different pin placement options is important if the golf course attracts a lot of play. A deep/narrow green can be found at Spyglass Hill’s number four hole. The green has a big slope in the middle of the green allowing only for two pin placements, but a great hole. The first hole at San Jose Country Club, San Jose, CA has a shallow/wide green. This type of green makes it hard to get a ball on the green, requiring a high lofted shot. I believe this type of green is the best first off in the hole rotation as it tests all aspects of your game. If you go long you will probably have a delicate shot to the pin, as the green is green shallow. Green shape will also dictate how the hole is shaped, square greens will usually require a fairway to enter into the green leaving lots of fairway leading up to it. The shallow/wide green type allows for a bunker to be placed in front of it, making it tougher to get close to a pin just on the green. The first green at San Jose is also elevated making it difficult to judge how far you should hit the approach shot.
I prefer the shallow/narrow green because I feel like it attracts a better player to attack pins. The shallow/narrow green I believe attracts a better player in general because it requires a soft high shot. It’s very hard for higher amateur handicap players to hit that shot type. They usually hit a low running shot without much spin. A better player will be able to create the necessary spin required. The second type of green I prefer is the L shaped green. The L shaped green is can be designed with many contours. Courses like Stonewall Links in Pennsylvania are home to a par three over water that represents an L shaped green. This greens has a contour to bank shots and let shots feed to a left pin. Contours like these are unique to many courses as it lets the player play their regular shot but still get close to pins as the golf ball can feed over. Contours on greens are very popular to professional golfers as they are able to control their golf ball vey well with spin, which allows them to get close to the pin.
TD GOLF 