Bermuda Grass - What's all the fuss about?

[HawkeyeMS]

I'm off to Florida next week and have 3 rounds booked at Orange Lake where I'm staying.

On Sky the last few weeks I've heard a lot of talk about Bermuda Grass and grain making chipping and putting difficult so I was wondering if the wise folk of the forum could give me some pointers as to what to look out for around the greens, do I really need to take that much notice of grain? Any advice welcomed.

 

[G_Mulligan]

Bermuda grass is much much thicker and tougher than our lovely British stuff. If you have a chip against the grain it will react very differently than a chip going with the grain as the club will snag. Take plenty of practice swings to judge how the club will react and maybe move the ball back an inch in your stance to help ball first contact. The grain on the green will also have a much bigger affect on the speed of chips and putts so you need to take the roll into consideration too.

In deep rough be careful not to hurt your wrists and think about pitching out sideways. Good luck and have fun

 

[hangover]

its just a excuse used when pro's make a mistake. just play your normal game

 

[doubletripledouble]

Wrong... As Mulligan says, it's a very different grass compared to what you'll be used to in the UK.
The grass is sort of plasticky, grabs the club. Don't try and bump the ball through it either. It just pops the ball up in the air and it goes no where.

 

[Ethan]

I played on Bermuda greens on a course where a caddy was compulsory. On the first green, had a 10 foot putt, clearly sloping from right to left. Caddy says it is a straight putt because of the grain. I didn't really believe him, aimed out to the right, and it went dead straight. Putts into the grain had to be hit much harder and downgrain putts from above the hole were lightning. It definitely has an effect, and that effect changes as the position of the sun moves during the round.

 

[turbowoowoo]

its just a excuse used when pro's make a mistake. just play your normal game

Exactly, play your normal positive game.

Gary Player used to say he loves playign fast greens when playing fast greens, then when playing slow green he used to say I love playing slow greens.

Its all about being positive.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

its just a excuse used when pro's make a mistake. just play your normal game

Exactly, play your normal positive game.

Gary Player used to say he loves playign fast greens when playing fast greens, then when playing slow green he used to say I love playing slow greens.

Its all about being positive.

May be he just hated everything in between?

 

[USER1999]

But with Bermuda, the same green can be fast or slow.

 

[Ethan]

its just a excuse used when pro's make a mistake. just play your normal game

Exactly, play your normal positive game.

Gary Player used to say he loves playign fast greens when playing fast greens, then when playing slow green he used to say I love playing slow greens.

Its all about being positive.

I think you have missed the point. It is not just about fast or slow greens. Any numpty should be able to deal with those.

Bermuda can make the ball break the opposite direction to the slope, so you have to know how to read whether it is downgrain, sidegrain or upgrain to know how to compensate.

But that positive attitude will come in real handy when you look like a muppet as your ball misses the hole 6 feet wide.

 

[EZprophet]

its just a excuse used when pro's make a mistake. just play your normal game

Exactly, play your normal positive game.

Gary Player used to say he loves playign fast greens when playing fast greens, then when playing slow green he used to say I love playing slow greens.

Its all about being positive.

While you are absolutely right in one sense, not adjusting for playing on Bermuda grass is just plain stupid, as the difference between it and other grasses is huge.

I was born and raised in Bermuda and used to be a caddy every summer at my course growing up. Trying to get the British and American tourists to believe you when you told them a putt was going to break up the slope was challenging to say the least!!

The main difference of Bermuda grass is, as others have said, on the greens. The direction of the grain (grain being the direction that the grass is growing) can have a bigger effect on the line of a putt than the slopes and contours.

What you need to do is first work out the direction of the grain, and then adjust accordingly. Often you can tell the direction of the grain by standing in the middle of the green and looking around in each direction towards the edges. In some directions the green will look darker and spikier and that means you are looking into the grain. In other directions the green will look a lighter colour and shinier and that means you are looking "down grain".

In Bermuda the grain almost always goes towards the Ocean (or other times, towards the lowest point in the nearby area, where the water would drain towards when it rains). The grass also grows towards the sun, meaning that in areas where the pull towards the Ocean is weaker (usually greens that are farther from the water) the grain can actually change throughout the day, depending on where the sun is in the sky.

Once you know the direction of the grain you can then adjust your reading of your putting lines accordingly. As a general guide:

Putts straight into the grain will be a lot slower and even the tiniest of left to right or right to left break will become more pronounced (especially nearer to the hole when the ball slows down)

Putts straight down grain will be a lot, lot faster and will often not break at all, even when they look like they should.

Putts across the grain will just move more in the direction fo the grain. So a right to left sloping putt with the grain going across the line to the right may well be a straight putt.

Like others have said chipping is also affected hugely by the grain. If you are chipping straight into the grain the ball will check up and stop very quickly, whereas down grain it can be difficult to get and check on the ball at all.

Also if you are chipping from the fringe or something like that and the grain on the fringe itself is down grain for your chip, then you can just chip the ball normally, however if you are chipping of the fringe with the grain against you, the club can very easily get snagged and you can very easily stub this chip way short of your target.

What I used to do when chipping into the grain was grip the club a bit tighter and put a more aggressive strike into the chip with almost no follow through, like you are kind of stabbing at the ball. It doesnt look pretty but it gets the job done!!

My adice would be to give yourself a little time on the practice green, work out the direction of the grain and then practice chipping and putting into and against the grain. Also, if you do have a caddy, make sure you listen to him, even when what hes saying sounds ridiculous!!

Wow, just realised how much I've written... bit sad but hope it helps you adjust to Bermuda greens anyways, and if it does I want a cut of your golf trip winnings!

 

[turbowoowoo]

its just a excuse used when pro's make a mistake. just play your normal game

Exactly, play your normal positive game.

Gary Player used to say he loves playign fast greens when playing fast greens, then when playing slow green he used to say I love playing slow greens.

Its all about being positive.

I think you have missed the point. It is not just about fast or slow greens. Any numpty should be able to deal with those.

Bermuda can make the ball break the opposite direction to the slope, so you have to know how to read whether it is downgrain, sidegrain or upgrain to know how to compensate.

But that positive attitude will come in real handy when you look like a muppet as your ball misses the hole 6 feet wide.

Not missed the point at all.

If you turn up and play worried about the course, the line, the grain, your swing, your speed of putts, the clothes your wearing then how the hell can you expect to play well?

Turn up play your natural game. there will be natural changes to accomodate the conditions.

But if you are worrying about all that crap then what hope in hell do you have of playign well and enjoying yourself?

 

[Ethan]

its just a excuse used when pro's make a mistake. just play your normal game

Exactly, play your normal positive game.

Gary Player used to say he loves playign fast greens when playing fast greens, then when playing slow green he used to say I love playing slow greens.

Its all about being positive.

I think you have missed the point. It is not just about fast or slow greens. Any numpty should be able to deal with those.

Bermuda can make the ball break the opposite direction to the slope, so you have to know how to read whether it is downgrain, sidegrain or upgrain to know how to compensate.

But that positive attitude will come in real handy when you look like a muppet as your ball misses the hole 6 feet wide.

Not missed the point at all.

If you turn up and play worried about the course, the line, the grain, your swing, your speed of putts, the clothes your wearing then how the hell can you expect to play well?

Turn up play your natural game. there will be natural changes to accomodate the conditions.

But if you are worrying about all that crap then what hope in hell do you have of playign well and enjoying yourself?

Who said anything about being worried? I played on Bermuda. Not worried at all. Had a great time, actually. But 'staying positive' doesn't tell you, or Gary Player (who is the ultimate BS artist now, by the way and shouldn't really be an example of anything good) or anybody else how to hit the putt.

Using your noggin and a bit of wit is allowed in golf, despite the examples set by many golfers.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

EZProphet - thanks for the comprehensive answer, I'll try to take some of what you say onboard and see how I go. I don't expect to master it in 3 rounds but at least now I'll know why I look like a muppet around the greens

 

[SyR]

Great post EZprophet, it's interesting to hear just how much the grass can affect the ball.

 

[G_Mulligan]

Great post EZprophet, it's interesting to hear just how much the grass can affect the ball.

agree I knew it made some difference but did not realise it was so much.

Gary Player loved Bermuda grass because he knew how to play it when others did not. Yes what he said was based on building confidence but he still had to know how it reacted.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Mike,

I hope you won't use it as an excuse when you start three putting on Ascots greens when you get back. BTW the May sheets are up if you are playing before you go away

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Mike,

I hope you won't use it as an excuse when you start three putting on Ascots greens when you get back. BTW the May sheets are up if you are playing before you go away

Start 3 putting? I haven't stopped.

Thanks for the heads up about the sheets, I'll try and get down tomorrow before it fills up

 

[Tiger]

EZ Prophet one of the most informative posts I have ever read. Note to self don't play courses with Bermuda grass

 

[Aztecs27]

EZ Prophet one of the most informative posts I have ever read. Note to self don't play courses with Bermuda grass

Don't fear the Bermuda grass....as long as you have a caddie with local knowledge!

 

[EZprophet]

NP Hawkeye. One useful thing to keep in mind if it does start to go wrong is the old "blame it on the grain" trick. It takes some time to master but once youve got it ingrained you can pretty much use it as an excuse for any wayward shot!!

Tiger - you should definitely play a course with Bermuda grass if you can. It can be tough but it is a great experience and there also the fact that mosy Bermuda grass courses are in beutiful, hot parts of the world like Florida, and Bermuda!