Welcome to the Crosswalk, an occasional feature in which Joseph LaMagna and Brendan Porath toss out a take and then debate its merits.

Let’s dive right in!

Brendan: One of my favorite golf holes I’ve played this summer was one where I had to pick up. So maybe “memorable”, not “favorite”, would be the correct nomenclature here.

It was the 15th hole at The Creek. I’d just made a nice par and birdie on the preceding two holes, and I was feeling it. Then I left a wedge short too short at the 15th, with my ball tumbling down a massive drop-off, almost a wall, at the front of the green. A handful of too-cute attempts of varying trajectories to juussst sneak it onto the front resulted (more justly) in the ball rolling back to my feet again and again. One sure-thing hammer way past the flag and a ball scooped into my pocket later, I had a memory. But standing at the bottom of that hill trying to run it or fly it on was downright exhilarating, even as it wrecked my entire scorecard.

It had me thinking in the moment and in the time since that this kind of visibly intimidating drop-off short may be the best form of “hazard” around a green. This is a matter of subjective debate, but it’s certainly far superior to the black and white result of a penalty area. For players of all skill levels, you feel the tension of the fall-offl on the approach shot, just as much as any pond, bunker, or other no-go-zone feature. There’s an increased chance for all-out catastrophe—like mine—beyond a simple penalty stroke. But there’s also still some life and the chance, or enticement, of a hero shot. Then, even with a miss, there’s the optionality of different ways to recover. For the good player, it requires real distance and spin control on the approach. The variety of outcomes, the excitement of both success AND failure, and the challenge and option for recovery for players of all skill levels left me smitten. It was also beautiful to look at.

Joseph, this kind of design is not replicable or desirable on each and every golf course. In thinking about more well-known holes that we might see on Tour with this sort of terrifying fun: the danger that lurks short on a challenging approach of the 9th hole at Augusta National adds to that as one of that course’s best holes. This hole clearly left an impression on me and I will relish the next chance to play one with this kind of punitive feature. Are there some greenside features that you find more fun, whether it’s for variety or punitive impact, that you personally favor both yourself or for the pro game?

Joseph: Ah, yes, who amongst us has not left a wedge short at The Creek? [Note from Brendan: I also left one short at the 9th at ANGC this year, but NBD.]

In all seriousness, I completely agree. I love tight runoff areas as a test of golf at all levels. It might be my favorite feature of a golf course. Tight runoffs of short grass enable a variety of options for recovery shots, which can be attempted by players of all skill levels. They also penalize the improperly-struck approach shot instead of letting the ball get swallowed up by thick rough or a bunker.

Your description underscores why I think the 17th at TPC Scottsdale is an overrated short par 4, as the penalty associated with water hazards is so much more binary than the hazard you’ve described, and thus less intimidating.

I think it’s interesting you specify the runoffs being short of the green, given your examples at The Creek and at Augusta. When danger lurks short, it offers the possibility of spinning a shot back off the front of a green, which is much more interesting than when a moving ball gets caught by a buffer. Also, trouble short means that a “safer” play is long, which requires players to hit a shot with a wider dispersion that they have less control over. So I echo your sentiments and appreciation for the runoff area short of the green, which reminds me of a brilliant shot from Matt Fitzpatrick at the 2022 U.S. Open.

A couple yards shorter, that ball rolls back off the front of the green into a difficult spot and we might be talking about a different 2022 U.S. Open champion.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.