Island green
All carry and no bailout. A green ringed by water with a thin collar you can just about hold, and a marked drop zone for when you cannot.
The collar is the margin
There is a thin rim of holdable ground around the green, and that rim is the entire difference between a par and a drop. It is not generous, and it is not the same width all the way round, so the side you come in from decides how much of it you get.
Because the green rolls harder than any natural surface in the game, a ball that pitches on the middle and releases can run through the collar and off the back. On an island green the back of the green is water, so being long is not a miss — it is a penalty.
When you miss
Miss the island and you drop at the marked zone and play your next shot from there. The drop zone is close enough that a good pitch saves the hole, which is why an island green punishes a bad tee shot much less than a crossing does. One mistake costs one stroke, and the hole is still there to be played.
How to play it
- Aim for the front half. A shot that pitches short and releases finishes pin-high; one that pitches pin-high finishes in the water.
- Take less club and trust the rollout. The green rolls out further than the fairway does.
- If the pin is at the back, play to the middle. The extra putt is cheaper than the drop.
- From the drop zone, play the pitch you are most confident in rather than the one closest to the pin.
Where you will meet it
Island greens turn up mostly on short holes, where the carry is a question of nerve rather than of distance.