First Thought at St. Andrews: Two-Putt

[elleng]

If this were an average golf tournament, the putting green that sits next to the first tee at this British Open would provide more than enough space for proper preparation. The rectangle of green is 40 paces across, well over 100 feet. But in the peculiar, throwback world of the Old Course at St. Andrews, this is a limited testing ground.

“Get the wrong bounce, and you could end up 100 yards away on a putt,” said Bernard Gallacher, Europe’s former Ryder Cup captain.

With its seven double greens, a vestige of 19th-century course design, the Old Course offers the most putting acreage of any major championship. The green shared by the 5th and 13th holes measures 101 yards from front to back: something that, as the BBC pointed out last week, requires a greenskeeper to walk seven and a half miles and spend two hours to mow just once.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/sports/golf/18lagputting.html?ref=golf