There are few more iconic golf holes than the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. One of the most photographed holes on the planet, it is the penultimate hole at the PGA Tour's flagship event, the Players Championship; and is the topic of discussion everyone asks after finding out you played Sawgrass, "did you hit the island green?"
All this, for a golf hole of 137 yards (from the professional tee!). Why the commotion about it then, you ask? Because all the hole consists of (except for a walkway) is a tee box, a green, a small pot bunker, and water. Lots and lots of water. The island green hole.
But is it a good golf hole? Are any island green holes good?
The Accidental Island Green
The 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass was not the first island green. In fact, it was not intended to be an island green at all.
The original plans for the design of the 17th was to be a "par 3 hole that ran along a relatively small lake."However, the area around the hole contained a lot of sand - a key material in the building of golf courses - and the builders kept digging and digging and the lake got bigger and bigger.
It got to a point where the builders of the course had no choice. It was either have a 17-hole golf course - hardly ideal for a course designed to hold a flagship championship(!) - or have an island green. Pete and Alice Dye "decided to go for broke" and completely surround the green with water.
And the rest, they say, is history.
Where Was The First Island Green?
Short answer: no one knows.
Wee Burn Country Club, a Devereux Emmet designed private course in Darien, Conn. which dates back to 1896, has an island green on the short par-4 16th hole.
Before A.W. Tillinghast routed the two courses (the Upper and Lower) at Baltusrol in Springfield, N.J., there was an island green on the 10th hole of the original course. This hole was actually in play during the 1915 U.S. Open!
While Tillinghast removed the hole at Baltusrol, he incorporated island greens into his designs: the par-4 18th hole at Shackamaxon in New Jersey and the "moat hole" at Galen Hall in Pennsylvania.
Of course, golf started well before it was first played in the United States. So are there courses in Scotland with an island green? According to Forrest Richardson, a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the design may date back to the ancient links at Leith which has "greens" surrounded by wet, sandy areas.
So, it appears that there is no definitive answer of where the first island was, who's idea it was, or how they entered the golf courses architecture world.
What Kind of Holes have Island Greens?
Holes of all sizes, lengths, and par values have island greens.
They range from the aforementioned short par-3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, whose island consists of only a green, save for one small pot bunker, to the 15th hole at TPC Scottsdale, reachable par five with the island containing the green in addition to fairway, rough, and two bunkers.
Another par five with an island green is the finishing hole at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills, home of Poppie's Pond, which can play up to 646(!) yards. When the LPGA held the ANA Inspiration (RIP) at the course, tournament organizers often moved the tees up to encourage the players to go for the island green in two. The hole played 531 yards from the back LPGA tee.
Par four holes also feature island greens. At Valhalla in Louisville, host to PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup, the 13th hole contains an island green. This hole is a relatively short one, playing 355 yards from the championship tee, usually requiring just a wedge for the approach.
Contrast that to the finishing hole at Hokuala's Ocean Course on the island of Hawaii which is 459 yards from the back tee. The more forward tees don't offer much of a reprieve, playing 430, 402, and 324 yards: still at least a mid-iron approach for many golfers.
Returning to the one-shot holes, the 17th hole at the Stadium Course at PGA West, called Alcatraz, mimics (as does much of the three hole finish) its more famous sibling. Playing 168 yards from the back tee, this island green is slightly larger and surrounded by rocks, a slightly wayward shot be rewarded with a lucky bounce on to the green or suffer a watery grave.
Is One Type of Hole Better Suited for an Island Green?
With such a variety of styles of island green holes, is one style better than another?
Par fours and par fives increase the challenge of reaching the island green, because there is at least one shot prior to the approach to the green. If that shot (or those shots) are not ideally positioned, it could result in not having a reasonable - or any - chance to hit the green. For this reason, if an island green is a feature on a par four or par five hole, it is better for the island to contain more than just a green: a patch of fairway and rough increasing the area of the island will allow for players to still recover from a wayward tee shot.
An added reason for an enlarged island on longer holes is for amateur, recreational golfers to have the ability to have a wider miss area while still providing enough challenge. No one wants to keep sinking balls into the water; this results in frustration, despair, and slows pace of play.
Smaller islands could be featured on par three holes - especially shorter ones - because every player has a perfect lie on the tee shot (even hitting off of a tee!) and has no potential disaster prior to the approach to the green.
So, Are Island Greens Good Golf Holes?
Another short answer: it depends.
It depends on the style of the course. Does it fit in with the rest of the course? Or is it just included as part of a marketing ploy?
It depends on the style of hole. More forgiving island greens are probably better on longer holes than shorter holes.
Like most penal or outrageous golf course architectural features, there will be some supporters and some detractors.
One thing about island greens is true, however. Whenever a golfer plays a course with one, and gets the question "did you hit the island green?" It's always satisfying to respond with, "yes."
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