The Eden Template

Naaed after the River Eden in St Andrews, the Eden is a template green commonly used by CB Macdonald and other American designers for mid length par 3’s.

Prior to discussing the protection of the green, let’s talk about the green itself. The eleventh at St Andrews is sloped severely from back to front. On a windy day, it can be difficult to stop a shot from behind the green on the putting surface. Some template greens found in the States have a spine that runs from back to front essentially splitting the sloped surface into two distinct sections.

Greenside bunkering is dynamic on a typical Eden hole. Normally there will be a bunker that protects short and right of the green. In some cases, this is a pot bunker, but not always. The Hill bunker is located left of the green and is typically very deep. Finally, there is typically a deep long strip bunker representing the Eden river behind the green. The depth of all these bunkers combined with the slope of the green make getting up and down very difficult.

The green is often large in size, but should players miss, making par is a great feat.