Often as designers we can make greens too punitive. We see so many perilous greens on tour that it is hard not to copy this in our designs. Growth of the sport comes from the casual golfer and their experience on the course. Whenever possible I try to add walls on hillsides where roll aways can seem random. A good wall can also be an erosion barrier and add to the sustainability of the course. Here we have the final hole at Robert L. Smith Park (the Ravine Course). Behind the basket is OB. I cleared the overgrowth and added a wall to create a natural barrier to discs rolling OB. Bad shots are still punished but the landing area behind the basket is well defined and provides an opportunity for players to make a mid range putt for birdie or to save par. Baskets right next to OB do not have this feature as par saves end up being tap ins. I also added pictures of hole 18. It is a short down hill hole that yields random OB results. The addition of a wall here collects unfortunate rolls but still creates a clear OB border for those shots too high to stay in bounds.
Walls are also a great way to corral mulch or other weed and erosion control products.
