The state of greens?

[timgolfy]

WARNING: THIS IS A WHINGE.
Is this a common experience for you guys?

The greens at my course seem shockingly poor at the moment. Just finished a round of +14 and can attribute 7 dropped shots to the physical state of the greens (with another few to the hardpan state of the fairways and thin grass, but that's a different whinge).

Nearly all the greens are bumpy so the ball rarely rolls smoothly. Many of the holes are crowned and the grain seems to be growing like spaghetti. For example, I played a great tee shot today over water (similar to the 17th at Sawgrass) to 5 feet of the pin, then two putted.

I know I'm not a professional putter, but most people would normally expect to make a 5 foot putt on a flat green. Whilst waiting for the next tee to clear my playing partner and I repeated our missed putts. After 5 attempts we still couldn't hole from 5 feet because near identical shots were being deflected by lumps and bumps and the crown. Only a dead centre hard putt (which would have finish 4 feet past) would drop.

Forget about sinking 50% from 10 feet - anything over 2 feet was a lottery.

Are all courses like this, or just sh*t ones?

 

[Aztecs27]

Nope, greens at my place were lovely last weekend. Smooth, true roll, nice speed.

Fairways are fine too. A little dry, but still a pleasure to play off.

 

[USER1999]

Our greens are superb, and getting better by the week.

 

[richart]

Our greens are the best i have known them. Think the mild spring has brought them on quicker this year.

 

[Imurg]

Ours are getting better all the time now. The work done on them is paying dividends now.
Ours were bad a few weeks back and dried out to the point of dying but they've come back well.

 

[golfandmoregolf]

You should be at the range tim rippin those manimal drives!!!!!Not worrying about greeens??!!

 

[SatchFan]

Tim, the greens on my course are exactly the same as yours. The only time they have been decent recently was after the heavy downpour most of us got over a week ago. I can accept bumpy greens to an extent as they have all been aerated again but for crowning around the holes is no excuse. New holes need to be cut more frequently (and the greenkeepers know it). Crowns cost me at least four shots in my last round - well struck but huge deviations in line in the last couple of inches from the hole. Very frustrating.

 

[Billysboots]

Ours were shocking a month ago - full of meadow grass, fluffy, uneven roll. I had no confidence on them at all from 3 feet and in.

I played this morning and they were 110% better. Still a fair bit of meadow grass but even roll, even pace and getting quicker.

To be fair, the weather this year has been a nightmare for greenkeepers up and down the country, so I'm prepared to cut them a little slack.

 

[timgolfy]

Crowns cost me at least four shots in my last round - well struck but huge deviations in line in the last couple of inches from the hole. Very frustrating.

Yes, that it exactly.

I get a little envious of the Tour Pros on telly - carefully lining up their 15 foot putts and sinking them knowing that have a fair chance of doing so. Try that on my greens and their putting stats wouldn't look quite so good.

Still, at least it makes the approach targets smaller!

 

[Leftie]

To those who like to blame "crowned" holes for missed putts.

Extract from our course director's notes a while back.....





CROWNING OF PIN HOLES "THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER"

I discussed crowning with the agronomist when he did his course visit as
I know it "appears" to happen yet I also know we always use a board to
cut the holes.

He said it is the strength of the grass v the weight of the putt
depending on whether the putt is with, against or across the grain. We
cut to 3mm which leaves enough strength in the grass for it to make a
difference when a putt is hit to softly!

In other words "It's an age old excuse for a poorly hit putt to say a
hole is crowned when it turns away just before falling in the cup" and
one of which I am as guilty as anyone else having used it myself on many
occasions! .....




Like every other shot in golf, if you hit a bad one there is no-one else to blame.

If you miss a putt it's your fault - not anyone else's. You either mis-hit it or mis-read it (have a look at the last 6" to the hole just to see if by any chance it is crowned as part of your read).

 

[ScienceBoy]

The recent rain has turned ours from wolly lumpy mess to slick rolled ice rinks!

What a turn around, I say well done to our green staff!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I don't think I've ever played on greens so bad I could honestly say cost me that many shots. Also, it's interesting that people are quick to blame bad greens for missed putts but are quick to tell everyone they meant to make the ones that went in.

Just playing devil's advocate, if the greens are that bad, how do you know that you didn't misread the ones you made and were rescued by the bad green?

I always expect to make 5 footers but give me 10 per round, I'll miss 3 or 4 on perfect greens through misreads or bad putts.

 

[timgolfy]

I take your point Hawkeye. Realistically, how many of those 7 putts would I have holed? Ultimately I am to blame for the misses putts, not the greenkeeper.

As it happens I was playing with another player who normally plays at another course (first time here this year), and he too said the greens were poor. I think the combination of the dry weather and heavy usage has taken its toll.

As another example - I faced a 4 footer for par on a very gently breaking green (almost flat). 6 inches from the strike the ball hit a bump and went off line - clearly visible - and so missed. Impossible to "read". The same with some of the crowned holes - add a couple of bumps along the way and getting the right side of the crown becomes more luck than judgement.

Oh well! Whinge over.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If I was being cynical I'd say its more to do with you not practicing holing out enough rather than the green itself

 

[timgolfy]

 

[Imurg]

It's a fact as well that occasionally there are putts that are impossible to hole.
Playing solo a few years back, I missed a 6 footer on a sloping green. There was nobody else on the course so I spent the next hour trying to hole this putt. I tried every conceivable speed and line but I couldn't get the ball in the hole.
Now I'm not the greatest putter in the world but I'm not that bad and I could not find a line or speed to hole it. The ball would either stay high, fall below, lip-out even firing it straight at pace didn't work.
An hour - for a 6 foot putt. And I never did hole it.

 

[timgolfy]

It's a fact as well that occasionally there are putts that are impossible to hole.
Playing solo a few years back, I missed a 6 footer on a sloping green. There was nobody else on the course so I spent the next hour trying to hole this putt. I tried every conceivable speed and line but I couldn't get the ball in the hole.
Now I'm not the greatest putter in the world but I'm not that bad and I could not find a line or speed to hole it. The ball would either stay high, fall below, lip-out even firing it straight at pace didn't work.
An hour - for a 6 foot putt. And I never did hole it.

That is truly astonishing.

 

[Imurg]

I was Tim I was.
I mentioned it to other members and they all said much the same thing about this particular putt.
Some putts just ain't meant to go in!

 

[Mark_G]

I had a terrible time last week trying to putt, thankfully I now know its due to the greens and not my oomplete inability to putt. Or maybe not.

 

[timgolfy]

Time to upgrade to a Ping Redwood Anser.