Has the recent dry weather and firm conditions made golf easier... or harder

[MikeH]

afternoon all

sorry if this has been covered on a separate thread but keen to collate views (and get votes) on whether the current dry, firm and fast conditions are making the game (and scoring) easier or harder in your view

so...please vote and, if you have time, comment why you've chosen easier or harder

thanks

Mike

 

[GB72]

Easier for me, the greens have been well watered so still a bit receptive but the dry fairways have given me plenty of extra yardage meaning shorted clubs in to greens and even making some par 5s reachable in 2. Lashing it down now, back to normal at the weekend I guess for my first medal in ages.

 

[Orikoru]

Easier on my home course. Extra run gets me nearer the green, shorter iron to the green which is easier, it's that simple really.

On other more hilly courses though I'd say harder. If the fairway is on a sideways slope, it becomes impossible to put the ball anywhere that doesn't just roll off into the rough. Luckily my home course doesn't have too many slopes like that, just a couple.

 

[Garush34]

Easier, more options for playing shots. Can take different options off tees as well due to the extra roll we are getting. Only issue for us is that a couple of ours greens have got patchy in places which effects the roll on putts.

 

[patricks148]

I've gone for easier. The course is very dry and hard in places, more so than usual even for a links course. Rough is a bit sparser than usual and the ball runs for miles, even for a moderate hitter, 300 yard drives are not that unusual, the only downside is downwind its impossible to stop the ball, esp as its been very windy the last few months.

 

[Coffey]

Harder for me.

We had a few comps when it was really dry that were reduction only as our sprinklers broke and the greens were unholdable (not a word but you know what i mean).

The extra distance didn't really help me, I would actually say it took away some of my advantage. I found it really hard to choose the correct club as bunkers at the front of the green made it basically impossible to get GIR. Since the course has softened we have seen a return to normal scoring.

The course at the moment is perfect, getting run and greens receptive which makes for better scoring

 

[AmandaJR]

Feels harder to me. I don't really benefit from the extra run as have to club down on many tee shots or extra run just runs into trouble. Hate the erratic bounce too and feels like the element of luck over skill increases! I've never really liked summer golf and like a softer course.

 

[Twire]

I would say easier for many courses. I was up at Southport last month and played 4 links courses. With the rough parched and thin, balls were a lot easier to find and play. I would imagine with lush green rough, I'd have lost a lot more balls. With fairways running and greens receptive, shorter irons in made scoring easier.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I answered harder, due to the ball getting bad bounces and never stopping. Hard greens mean its harder to get near the pin for me and one putt, as I am having to land short of the green and hope for a good bounce. (when I played the brabazon the other week, their greens/fairways were well watered, I could hit the green and hold it and my score reflected it)

However, For shorter straighter hitters, easier without doubt. My mum recently shot an 10 under round due to the extra run, my wife when playing poorly is scoring well as the ball is running for ever and she is getting near greens she normally takes an extra shot to.

 

[NorwichBanana]

I'd have to say easier especially for the shorter hitters. Ball running alot further than usual, helps, so even a long par 4 becomes a manageable par 4.

Speaking to a Senior last week he said he hit a Driver then Sand Wedge into the 15th (Fairway goes downhill at 150 yards to pin, but still would normally be a Driver, hybrid in winter.) So he was able to hit driver and it rolled to the top of the slope and continued rolling, which is wouldn't usually do.

We do have 1 hole which has boarderline become unplayable. Par 4 9th. Dogleg left, but its almost a reverse camber and everything slopes to the right. It requires a perfect tee shot onto the top level otherwise it's possibly lost in trees!

 

[jim8flog]

NO difference for me the firmness of the fairways has given me more distance but the bounces are very unpredictable and can cause the ball to bounce wildly off line.

The greens are not receptive and it requires a different approach to get close to the pin particularly front flag positions. Landing short of the green can easily lead to a ball in the bunker.

Our course has a lot of dogleg holes which require reasonably precise yardage off the tees and all the bounce and run is proving difficult with a lot of balls running in to the rough.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

My own course is easier, it's made it more manageable with the extra distance and you can run the ball up most greens even though it is a parkland course.

I played two heathland courses recently and they were much harder as they were more shaped, so the ball ran into trouble when previously it would not have, and the greens were fully surrounded by bunkers so you had to hit the greens full and hope to stop your ball.

So in answer, it depends on your style of course.

 

[duncan mackie]

The word current seems a little misplaced!

The biggest issue was the extreme that resulted at many courses in the UK was beyond what most could easily adjust to -- despite many aspects making scoring a lot easier.

In out case we now have the further change that again is causing the same problem. I'm watching many struggle to play approaches anything like up to the green, let alone the pin.

In one week the fairway run out has seen over 50yds removed from drives, in today's comp the air temp was 16° down on Mondays match dropping carry distances massively.

Many just can't compute such change to take any advantage when it helps.

So in answer to your pole; conditions have been much easier on many courses up until last weekend, a bit easier this week - until today... generally scoring doesn't reflect this because people have generally been unable to adapt fast enough.

 

[merv79]

I would say harder on my course as we have many dog legs and cambered fairways where hitting and staying on the fairways has been more difficult, add to that firmer greens and its led to some higher scoring!

I play on a heathland course!

 

[louise_a]

Speaking personally on my own course, I find it hasn't really made much difference to me. My reason is that our course has a lot of ditches across the fairways and so I just find that I taking a 3 wood instead of a driver.
I will say that for our higher handicappers and people who don't hit so far that the added run is helping them a lot, certainly a few of our ladies who have never handicap cuts have had cuts this season.

 

[Imurg]

I'll go along with Amanda.
I'm finding it harder as drives run out into rough more often or run too far so I'm blocked out for the next shot and so on....
Chips and pitches have to be struck pretty close to perfectly or the bounce of the wedge works against you.
Shorter hitters are loving it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Easier for me. I'm short off the tee so extra distance has helped and I'm still not running out of room. With the greens watered it has been easy to knock balls in and using shorter clubs has improved GIR.

 

[upsidedown]

On our home course I'd say definitely a lot easier. The good lady played today and the results were 40 points winning with 37 only just getting a place, normally 35 -36 will win !!

We played yesterday at Whittlebury Park and it was very hard and made some of the holes very challenging, in fact some of them were unplayable as there was no way to stop the ball running into hazards

 

[adasko]

I would say harder, crazy bounces of the fairways bold patches around the course. Chipping around the greens is really hard, plenty of bare ground and horrible lies.

 

[richart]

I would say harder on my course as we have many dog legs and cambered fairways where hitting and staying on the fairways has been more difficult, add to that firmer greens and its led to some higher scoring!

I play on a heathland course!

Same here.

One score under nett par out of 124 players in a medal seems to indicate it is harder. We have very little semi rough, so ball just rolls off fairway into the heather. Miss a green, and it rolls off raised greens into more trouble. Greens are great and generally holding, but land a few yards short and ball will disappear over the back.

Still wouldn't swop my heathland for a parkland course.