How fast should greens be

There is a notion that only greens that are quick are good, and therefore, by definition, all slower greens are bad. However, only an uninformed person would use green speed as the sole criterion to judge putting quality. Ideal greens to putt on are those that are smooth and roll consistently, irrespective of their speed.

The question is how fast is fast enough? There are two conflicting issues when it comes to answering this question. Green speed as a measurement on the Stimpmeter is linked to factors such as design contours, turfgrass variety, volume of play, maintenance budget, environmental conditions, sustainable mowing heights and so on.

Green speed as a measurement of enjoyment of the game is linked to the expertise of the golfers playing the course. Greens are the most costly component in maintenance on a cost per square foot basis. If they are over-stressed by removing too much leaf they become prone to disease unless they are intensely maintained. Many greens are built with undulations to make them more interesting. Faster speeds make it impossible to use some hole locations and therefore less interesting to play.

Next, I hit some putts from a distance that is farther than the steps I originally counted. For these putts, I want to make sure that I take the putter head back further than my right toe.

Finally, I hit some putts from a distance that is half of the steps that I originally counted. On these putts, I am making sure that the putter head only goes back half as far towards my right toe. In the simplest form, I am controlling the speed of my putt by how far back I take the putter head while maintaining a consistent rhythm to my putting stroke.

If I have totally confused you with all of this language, please watch this video and hopefully this process will become more clear. Speed control is such an important component to scoring, so be sure to dedicate 3 — 4 minutes before each round to identify the green speed for that day. Prior to leading golf operations at Hazeltine, Withington was on the golf staff of Merion, Seminole Golf Club, and other highly regarded clubs. Withington is a historian of the game, and values the life lessons learned on the course.

The club opened in with a mission to build and maintain a golf course suitable for the conduct of national championships. Hazeltine is one of only two courses in the United States to have hosted the U. Senior Open, U. Amateur, and Ryder Cup. Dr Micah Woods is chief scientist at the Asian Turfgrass Center and he has undertaken a study to discover what the average differentiation is across golf courses.

Taking measurements at clubs in East Asia and America, he brought together a database of stimpmeter readings. But I wanted to find out what difference in speed was reasonable to expect? I discovered that 0. He came up with a magic number of 0. This means that if a greenkeeper reports a speed of 9 feet, the average speed on the course will actually be between 8. And half of the golf courses Dr Woods measured had a standard deviation of more than 3.

Consistency, it seems, takes incredible skill to achieve. At the Ryder Cup in at Hazeltine, the green speeds for the three days of play were