Two Holes cut in the Green - Which to Play To?

[trackster]

Today my home course had a scramble to support the local high school athletic booster.  Later that night me and my friend went out to get 9 in before dark.  We got through the first 9 pretty fast and I decided to go solo onto the back 9.  After 5 holes though It started to get too dark so I started to walk back to the club house.  As I am walking by hole 16 I see that there are still 2 pins in the green from the scramble this morning.

Had I gotten to this hole, what is the ruling?  Can you play to either pin?

[MEfree]

At some Scottish course, 1 pin would be for hole on the outward 9 (i.e. #7) and the other for the inward 9 (i.e. 16)...no idea in your case, but if it was me, I would just pick 1 as soon as I noticed that there were two and play to the one I picked.

[Golfingdad]

Yeah, what mefree said.  I've played a few 9 hole courses that were set up for 18 with 2 pins on each green.  Play the white ones the first time through and the green ones the next time through.  In this case, as long as you chose a specific pin as soon as you noticed it, then you're fine.

[dennyjones]

The Elks Club near my house sports a huge.... Huge green with two holes for two different holes. Works well. I played a course near Port Huron Friday that actually had two different greens for the same hole. One played a par 4,the other a par 5.

[RickK]

Agree with MEfree.

There used to be a course in the Greater Houston area (long gone now because of airport) that had 2 holes cut into some greens.  There would only be one flag out for those holes.  The idea was that you would play to the one with the flag and when you left the green, you would place the flag into the other cup.

[geauxforbroke]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why where there two pins? From your post, it sounds like this was an 18 hole course. Was it a gimmick for the tournament?

[TJBam]

As stated by rule 101-9-b you play whichever hole is closest to your approach shot

[Rulesman]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why where there two pins? From your post, it sounds like this was an 18 hole course. Was it a gimmick for the tournament?

I've seen reference to a 'fun' variation where multiple (upto 3) holes are made on each green counting different points for different coloured flags.

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by Rulesman

Quote:

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

Maybe I'm missing something, but why where there two pins? From your post, it sounds like this was an 18 hole course. Was it a gimmick for the tournament?

I've seen reference to a 'fun' variation where multiple (upto 3) holes are made on each green counting different points for different coloured flags.

I played in a tournament that had something similar, except only one hole had a flag in it and you could play to any of them. I could only imagine the debate that would ensue if someone made a "hole in one" in that tournament.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

I played in a tournament that had something similar, except only one hole had a flag in it and you could play to any of them. I could only imagine the debate that would ensue if someone made a "hole in one" in that tournament.

No debate. It would be a hole in one-third.

[luu5]

Originally Posted by iacas

No debate. It would be a hole in one-third.

Or one-third hole in one?

[Hacker James]

I seem to recall that there are courses where some of the greens were "shared" by two holes. I don't know what the rules would be in that scenario. It could lead to a real donnybrook if two players from different tees happened to land on the green at the same time.

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by Hacker James

I seem to recall that there are courses where some of the greens were "shared" by two holes. I don't know what the rules would be in that scenario. It could lead to a real donnybrook if two players from different tees happened to land on the green at the same time.

Do you mean a green with only one hole cut in it that's shared by two holes? I don't think I've ever seen that (apart from on a 9 hole course).

[Rulesman]

I seem to recall that there are courses where some of the greens were "shared" by two holes. I don't know what the rules would be in that scenario. It could lead to a real donnybrook if two players from different tees happened to land on the green at the same time.

One of the features of St Andrews Old Course are the large double greens. Seven greens are shared by two holes each, with hole numbers adding up to 18 (2nd paired with 16th, 3rd with 15th, all the way up to 8th and 10th).

[RayG]

Agree with MEfree. There used to be a course in the Greater Houston area (long gone now because of airport) that had 2 holes cut into some greens.  There would only be one flag out for those holes.  The idea was that you would play to the one with the flag and when you left the green, you would place the flag into the other cup.

Same here on a course on Long Island quite a few years ago. Mostly on the smaller greens that would spread out the wear and tear over the course of the day. There WAS a local rule that stated if you holed out to the unflagged hole, it did count. It was mostly on weekends when it was busy. And before it went private and didn't matter anymore.

[Hacker James]

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

Do you mean a green with only one hole cut in it that's shared by two holes? I don't think I've ever seen that (apart from on a 9 hole course).

I don't remember whether or not there were one or two holes

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by Hacker James

Quote:

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

Do you mean a green with only one hole cut in it that's shared by two holes? I don't think I've ever seen that (apart from on a 9 hole course).

I don't remember whether or not there were one or two holes

I've played several courses with shared greens, in the sense that there are two holes cut in one large green. But I've never seen shared greens with only one hole cut. I would be really curious to know if there are any.

[dhanson]

i came across this today - each green had two holes cut into the green, one with a flag in it and the other without a flag. these weren't "shared" greens, but it was a nine-hole course. i'm assuming they didn't replug the old holes when they cut the new one since all the grass is still dormant? i really have no idea.

the question is, what happens when/if your ball finds its way to the hole w/o a pin in it? do you remove it from the hole and place it in a position no closer to the actual pin, but in a manner that ensures that the old hole isn't in your line of play? i would assume that to be the case, since it is a man-made, immovable obstruction.