Tournament pin locations

So in 2 weeks we have a high level junior tournament at our course and I will be cutting the cups and setting the yardages and was hoping to get some feedback beforehand. I’m thinking of basically setting up 6 easy pins, 6 average and 6 tucked pins. Is this too basic or am I over thinking it?

So for the tucked pins i’d Like to give them some risk reward to the shots the easy pins would be middle of the green but vary front, middle, back and the average pins will all be not center of the green but not tucked either. What do you guys like to see?

You’re overthinking it. Big events if they’re organized by any association tend to have pin sheets. But if you truly get to pick just have fun with it, make sure they’re straight up and you’re good to go!

R&A and USGA say this:

(2) Selecting Hole Locations

The locations of the holes on the putting greens can have a considerable effect on scoring and the pace of play during competitions. Many factors go into the selection of hole locations, with emphasis on the following points:

In selecting the locations, the ability of the players should be considered so that the locations selected are not so difficult as to slow down play significantly or so easy as not to challenge better players.

The speed of the greens is a significant factor in choosing the location of the hole. While a hole location may work well for a slower green, it may prove to be too severe when the speed of the greens is increased.

The Committee should avoid placing a hole on a slope where the ball will not come to rest. When the contours of the green allow, holes should be placed where there is an area of two to three feet around the hole that is relatively level so that putts struck at the proper speed will stop around the hole.

Some additional considerations include:

Setting holes where there is enough putting green surface between the hole and the front and sides of the putting green to accommodate the approach on that particular hole. For example, placing the hole immediately behind a large bunker when a long approach is required by the majority of the field is usually not recommended.

Balancing hole locations for the entire course with respect to left, right, centre, front and back locations.

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/rules-of-golf/rules-and-interpretations.html#!ruletype=cp&section=rule&rulenum=5&subrulenum=5

I take all that into consideration for placing pins daily, just excited to get to choose 1 day a year. Our green speeds match the slope of our greens very well and we don’t get them very fast because of the amount of play and tournaments (events not competitive) we get. When you cut cups in a rotation close to 300 days a year the little stuff excites you (like there being enough rain the night before so you don’t need to pull out your hose.)

I like to set at least one pin that “closes” a section of the green, or creates a desire-able miss. We have a hole at our course where I can set a front-left pin where being a few yards short off the green might be better than being on the green but 10 yards over the flag (depending on lag putting skill). I remember a guy in our member-guest making a 40-footer to that hole location and told me it was the best putt of his life. That’s what I want to hear/see for hard pins; make you think but not impossible.

We have 2 drivable par 4’s, whichever one is downwind that day gets a tantalizingly easy pin one can roll onto directly. Our club has never had a par-4 ace; I want to make it happen. (Can do for reachable 5’s too).

Lastly for our 3 par-3’s, I set one easy, one harder, and one d*** hard. Variety is the spice of life!

Interesting comments on pin placements. Sunday pot game today in 115 heat index, we had in aggregate about the easiest pin placements I can ever remember having on my course. Many guys dragged in anyway having shot substandard scores (we did have a boatload of birdies, though).

Make sure you pick a hole or two that requires/asks for a different shot shape than the fairway tends to help. In other words a draw from a lie below your feet and vice versa. Those are sneaky hard at times and takes a good player to pull off what might at first be a straight forward or even easy hole location.