Fast Greens

[Crazyface]

Played yesterday on the fastest greens I think I have ever played on. I have never three putted so much. The wife was four and five putting. We were scared to death on every putt. Miss a tiddler and you had a nasty long putt back. Pins in nasty places too.

 

[rulefan]

Played yesterday on the fastest greens I think I have ever played on. I have never three putted so much. The wife was four and five putting. We were scared to death on every putt. Miss a tiddler and you had a nasty long putt back. Pins in nasty places too.

Richmond in Yorkshire has a notorious reputation for both

 

[Oddsocks]

So what is people’s ideal stimp? Anything around 8.5-9 seems about right for club golf at ours, when we start getting late 9’s and into the 10’s pace slows right up. I’m sure one year in club champs we got to about 10.8 IIRC and the rounds were so slow

 

[wjemather]

So what is people’s ideal stimp? Anything around 8.5-9 seems about right for club golf at ours, when we start getting late 9’s and into the 10’s pace slows right up. I’m sure one year in club champs we got to about 10.8 IIRC and the rounds were so slow

This is the maximum speed most clubs should ever have their greens at, so a little bit slower is probably ideal. Anything quicker is regarded as tournament speed and just ridiculous for recreational golf.

It's also worth noting that older clubs are unlikely to have greens that were designed to be that quick. When Augusta switched their greens to bent grass in the early 1980s, they ended up having to flatten out parts of several greens a few years later because they were almost unplayably fast.

 

[rulefan]

Whilst not officially publishing, Augusta has been reported to have been excess of 14 in recent years.

As Lee Trevino was reported as saying re pros
11 fast
12 super fast
13 too fast
14 stupid fast

 

[Neilds]

A group of friends played recently at Goring and Streatley where the greens were a reported 13.5! People were putting off the green and they wonder why it was a 5 hour round

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I've played at some very nice courses but I've never been somewhere that states the stimp. I've therefore no idea what, 9, 10, 11 etc actually feels like. I know what slow, medium, fast, silly fast feels like but is my silly fast really that fast

Personally, I like fast greens as you can concentrate on your stroke rather than thinking about whacking the ball. Most places I've played that are fast do not have big slopes though. That's the combination that looks silly.

 

[clubchamp98]

This is the maximum speed most clubs should ever have their greens at, so a little bit slower is probably ideal. Anything quicker is regarded as tournament speed and just ridiculous for recreational golf.

It's also worth noting that older clubs are unlikely to have greens that were designed to be that quick. When Augusta switched their greens to bent grass in the early 1980s, they ended up having to flatten out parts of several greens a few years later because they were almost unplayably fast.

Yes ours are quite slopey and anything over 9 is just not playable.

you need to judge wind speed also if they are in the open.

 

[clubchamp98]

A group of friends played recently at Goring and Streatley where the greens were a reported 13.5! People were putting off the green and they wonder why it was a 5 hour round

We played Harmony golf club in Florida .
HG said they were 14 on the stimp.
they had killed the grass to reseed with a different type.
they were just stupid to play on.

 

[BrianM]

I’m not sure on what the stimp actually means, I’m just slow,Medium and fast
Fortrose was brutally fast yesterday, took me a while to find my feet with them, sometimes the pin positioning has a lot to do with the difficulty as well.

 

[bobmac]

If you're on fast greens, address the ball off the toe of the putter, at least an inch away from the sweet spot.

 

[Teebs]

We're usually between 10 and 11 in summer.

10 is a lovely pace, 11 is very quick, especially on greens with lots of slope.

 

[Billysboots]

I recall playing at Monte Rei in Portugal a few years ago and the greens were rapid. We asked the pro after what they were running at and he said between 12 and 13.

When asked what they ran them at for events when pros were there he said never more than 11, as nobody wants to see a pro four putt.

But it’s okay for me to have a downhill 6-footer and de-green it nearly thirty yards? Gee, thanks.

 

[wjemather]

We're usually between 10 and 11 in summer.

10 is a lovely pace, 11 is very quick, especially on greens with lots of slope.

We rated a course earlier this year where the club insisted they were 10-11 on the stimpmeter. They were measured at 8.5.
Interestingly, the USGA advise against keeping greens consistently above 10 as it commonly results in turf problems.

 

[Orikoru]

I’m not sure on what the stimp actually means, I’m just slow,Medium and fast
Fortrose was brutally fast yesterday, took me a while to find my feet with them, sometimes the pin positioning has a lot to do with the difficulty as well.

Glad it's not just me. I was wondering how the hell anyone knows what stimp it is when they're putting.

On the Club Champs this year our greens were the fastest they can be, I lost the plot and three-putted ten times. Problem was, our greens are so slopey that there were some genuinely impossible putts out there. Just no chance of stopping it anywhere near the pin.

 

[PNWokingham]

If you're on fast greens, address the ball off the toe of the putter, at least an inch away from the sweet spot.

most of us are at leat an inch away from the sweet spot!

 

[IanM]

If you're on fast greens, address the ball off the toe of the putter, at least an inch away from the sweet spot.

Trevino said, "Hover the putter and hit it with the shadow!!"

 

[Deleted member 1147]

We get up to about 10.5 most of summer. Which is very nice.
When it’s extra fast it’s getting tough on downslopes.

 

[sjn]

A group of friends played recently at Goring and Streatley where the greens were a reported 13.5! People were putting off the green and they wonder why it was a 5 hour round

Thats my home course ; the greens are regularly around 11 or 12 in the summer , maybe a touch more for major competitions . Your friend may have been there just after the club champs or a regional scratch competion

 

[chrisd]

Ours are pretty small greens so 10 is pretty much the maximum