Fast greens, help or hindrance

[kev_off_the_tee]

How fast are the greens at your course?
Has the course condition at your place improved or hindered your scoring?

It's fair to say that our course is in AWESOME condition but all golfers are petrified of how quick our greens are, but I'm really enjoying it and have putted much better of late. I played my best round of the year on sunday but it could have been so much better as I left 8 putts on the lip and dropped 4 stupid shots for being an idiot.

A nett 70 and 7th of around 40 on the day could have so easily been circa nett 60. Conditions seemed to be perfect but I was 4th with a 70 at 5pm when I left and there were some huge numbers coming in.

After a torrid winter I'm just happy things are finally looking up

 

[JustOne]

If the greens are consistent then it helps, no point playing a downhiller and it only getting halfway to the hole because you thought it was fast when it wasn't.

 

[Foxholer]

Yes, consistency is the most important thing.

I prefer quite fast greens (10 - 11), both because they are better to play and because I play better on them, but have played (and enjoyed it) on 13 -14 ones.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Always a help if they are consistent when compared to slow inconsistent greens.

They only become an issue when you cannot stop a ball within 20 feet of a flag with the pin near or on a slope. I remember 13 putting from 8 feet because of that issue once!

 

[kev_off_the_tee]

Every green is the same as far as all players can tell and everyone is saying that the course is the best it has ever been

The joke is that it's our Centenary year and it's only taken 100years to finally get it right

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

Fast please as long as they are consistent, ours are starting to quicken up now and roll really well.

 

[One Planer]

The greens at my course are a little on the slow side.

The are consistant, but slow.

I actually prefer to putt on a slower green as I feel I can make a more positive stroke without losing too much control of distance.

 

[DaveyG]

Yes, consistency is the most important thing.

I prefer quite fast greens (10 - 11), both because they are better to play and because I play better on them, but have played (and enjoyed it) on 13 -14 ones.

Ours are really quick and pretty consistent my mate overhit one yesterday but I would say only by a foot on a flat green... This one was only slightly downhill and it ended up 20 ft past and just off the green.

Foxholer - What does running at 11-12 actually mean. I always here the commentators say it?

 

[Foxholer]

Foxholer - What does running at 11-12 actually mean. I always here the commentators say it?

I used to play at a club that actually measured (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOwHtGidKjk) and had a card displaying Green Speed in the Pro shop - at least in Summer when they were proud of it. I got used to both their speed and being able to recognise the speed. To me, 8 is slow, 9 is medium, 10 is quick 11 is very quick. My first putt on that 13-14 practice green went off the green! Sunk several very long putts on the real greens though as the surface was 'pure'.

 

[chris661]

Our greens get upto around 11 during the summer so I have been told. I don't know what they are running at just now but they are quick and very very true.

Overall I much prefer a faster green as I think a slower green can "hide" some inadequacies with a putter.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

For me, and consistent what a number of others have said above, so long as the greens are true, then I like the greens to be nice and fast. If however they are a little bobbly, then a bit slower is better in my opinion – you want to be able to hit the ball into the back of the cup without fear, if the green is both bobbly and fast then that’s nigh on impossible.

I’m lucky where I play – the greens are generally excellent, although they suffered during the winter, they’re now really getting back to their slippery best.

Also, although not what was asked, I like greens to be relatively flat, not too much deviation from a single plane (although that plane need not be dead on horizontal) with subtle and tricky borrows – as opposed to greens which look like they have something buried underneath them. That said, I’m not adverse to the odd two tiered green – so long as it’s done nicely and not like a crazy golf course! Fundamentally, I like golf to be fair but difficult.

 

[Hacker Khan]

For me as long as they are consistent and true I don't really mind. Possibly prefer the faster side of medium speed. But not a fan a super fast green with lots of borrows combined with holes in very challenging positions, as 3 putting a lot of greens kind of destroys a lot of the enjoyment to me.

 

[woody69]

Foxholer - What does running at 11-12 actually mean. I always here the commentators say it?

Basically the distance travelled by the ball in feet is the 'speed' of the putting green.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimpmeter

 

[londonlewis]

As long as they are true, I don't mind.
Would prefer to have fast greens though - I like to consider that I am playing in the same conditions as the professionals!

 

[duncan mackie]

Also, although not what was asked, I like greens to be relatively flat, not too much deviation from a single plane ....

even a single plane, as your 16th, can be more than enough (and a long way from what most would think of as relatively flat!!!

overall, this subject is always interesting because many opinions are very subjective. I do a fair amount of measuring and most people really struggle apreciate the impact that quite small differences can make to downhill putts as well as the breaks!

most struggle 'to get the ball rolling' below 8 and struggle to get it to stop above 10 - but in practice most greens are between these and yet still have the capability to represent very different challenges. You will also see large differences between 8 in the morning and an evening round at this time of year - but different greens grow and react to wear differently as well (some will get crusty and slick whilst others will get wooly and slow).

most find around 8.5 the easiest to putt (fast enough to get a good roll but without the challenges that pace brings) as long as that's what they get used to, but if used to 10 they will prefer that speed and hate visiting courses with slower ones.

the faster the green, once beyond this magic 'easy rolling speed', the harder it is to putt in absolute terms. the reason for this is that the difference between any given uphill and downhill putt increases with the speed of the green ie a stroke that goes 6ft uphill might go 30ft downhill @10 relative to 5ft and 15ft @8.5

 

[Andy808]

I don't mind if the greens are fast or slow as long as they are running true.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Ours are very medium paced running about 8 to 9.5 on the stimp but they putt true and that is all I ask. I do struggle on quicker greens as I don't come across them too often but a good 30 minutes on the practice green before going out seems to help

 

[Bucket92]

Always a help if they are consistent when compared to slow inconsistent greens.

They only become an issue when you cannot stop a ball within 20 feet of a flag with the pin near or on a slope. I remember 13 putting from 8 feet because of that issue once!

13 putting?!?!

 

[Billysboots]

I putt far, far better on quicker greens. Fast greens mean you can stroke the ball to the hole rather than having to hit it, and you can groove a far better putting action as a result.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Last week I had a wee knock at my local 9 hole Muni which is always quiet.
I was brought up on fast links greens and think I am pretty good at judging line and pace on fast greens.
I had a fairly easy looking 15 yard putt on the 7th green and was amazed when it just missed the hole then carried on for 10 yards to finish off the green.
It took me around 40 putts to get the ball to tap in distance.........loved it, haven't had so much fun on a golf green for years.