[Kim Maengnyeong's Golf English Conversation] "What is Course Undulation?"

Recently, golf courses create subtle undulations to increase the difficulty of the greens.

A golf course created in nature cannot be flat.

The terrain around mountain ranges and seas causes the surface to change unpredictably like waves. In golf, ‘undulation’ refers to the gentle rises and dips in elevation on the fairway, rough, or subtle contours on the green. The more undulations there are, the higher the difficulty.

Designers create moderate undulation throughout the fairway and rough to add interest and challenge to the course. Most links courses in Scotland are natural, located by the sea where the wind is strong. In contrast, courses in Korea and Japan are mostly artificial.

Nowadays, greens have more humps and undulations than ever before. To accurately read the green’s slope, you should start assessing the overall undulation as soon as you reach the green. A similar term is ‘up and down,’ which refers to terrain with steep uphill and downhill slope changes.

A: Look! That green seems to have a lot of undulations.

B: Correct. It’s a very tough green to putt.

A: How can I read the breaks and undulations?

B: You should start to read the undulations from a distance before you reach the green. On the green, to see the slopes and undulations around the hole, walk around it slowly.

Written and photographed by Kim Maengnyeong, golf columnist