Should my club build a short course?

When Marvin Leonard, the Texas retail visionary, was building Shady Oaks Country Club, he started with the "Little Nine," which sits completely within the routing of the main course. At just 1,200 yards, a mix of par 3s and short par 4s, it was built for children and beginners while Robert Trent Jones, Sr. worked on the main course.

A year after the Little Nine opened, in 1958, its undulating terrain became the preferred practice area for Ben Hogan.