Building the 12th Green at The Tree Farm

Last April, we stopped by Zac Blair’s new course, the Tree Farm, outside of Aiken, South Carolina and discussed the thought process behind the course’s 12th green, which co-designer Kye Goalby had been finalizing.

Based on a William Langford hole Kye played growing up, the 12th travels along the spine of the property up to a flattish fairway and a green that sits at grade. The front-left and back-right sections create a diagonal ridge that bisects the green, not dissimilar to a Biarritz. Given the nature of the topography and the length of the hole (about 490 yards), Kye imagined a green that would allow players to run the ball in.