Legend has it Oakmont’s greens reach head-spinning Stimpmeter readings around 14-15 feet on a regular basis. That’s brutally fast on flat greens – and Oakmont’s greens are not flat. The course traipses up and down the hilly farm country outside Pittsburgh, Pa., and the enormous putting surfaces match the topography.
Full Answer
How can i Improve my average green speed?
Rather than making faster speeds even faster, work on improving average green speed by bringing lowest speeds up, aiming for consistency of speed both between greens, throughout the day and over time.
What is green speed in golf?
Golf green speed is probably one of the most contentious issues on the golf course, and one which can give the course manager the biggest headache. Fast greens are sometimes perceived to be good greens but this is not necessarily the case. This theory is probably partly due to televised or tournament golf and in particular The US Masters!
What is the best grass to putt on a golf course?
The majority of golf course greens in the UK are composed of a mixture of grasses ranging from colonial Bent grass ( Agrostis sp .), Fescue ( Festuca sp .) and Annual Meadow Grass ( Poa annua ). The Bent and the Fescue grasses are the desirable species, as they provide the best year round surfaces to putt on.
How can we improve the quality of golf greens?
If good management practices are adopted with sensible heights of cut, this will help to encourage the desirable species, which produce the best, most consistent greens to putt on. Golf green speed can be measured with a device known as a Stimp meter.
Which golf course has fastest greens?
Oakmont Country ClubRecommendations. The greens at Oakmont Country Club (where the device was conceived) are some of the fastest in the world, with readings of 15 feet (4.6 m).
What golf course has the toughest greens?
Oakmont is known by many as the toughest golf course in America, bringing a mix of deep rough, penal bunkering everywhere, and one of the scariest sets of greens in the world, combining extreme slope and hellacious speed to bring golfers to their knees.
What course has the smallest greens on the PGA Tour?
Pebble Beach Golf LinksWith the Smallest Greens in Major Championship Golf. Pebble Beach Golf Links is the shortest course on the PGA TOUR. Even when Pebble Beach hosts the 2019 U.S. Open, it will take some creative tee boxes — No. 10 backs up to practically the middle of the ninth fairway — to stretch the course to 7,075 yards.
Do faster greens break more?
Fast greens break more than slow greens Whatever break you're used to playing at your normal course, you're going to want to double it for greens rolling at a 12 or higher.
What is considered the toughest golf course in the world?
World's 10 toughest golf coursesPalm Course, Saujana Golf Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ... Bethpage Black, New York, United States. ... Cape Kidnappers, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. ... Le Touessrok Golf Course, Ile aux Cerfs, Mauritius. ... Championship Links, Royal County Down, Newcastle, Northern Ireland.More items...•
What is considered the most difficult golf course in the world?
Carnoustie Golf Links, Dundee, Scotland Measuring 7,421 yards, par-71 the course can play much longer when the wind whips in from the North Sea which it usually does. It is also the most difficult golf course in the world.
How fast are the greens at Pebble Beach?
For the U.S. Open, the greens are pushed to their limits, rolling faster than a 12 every day, and settling between 13 to 15. Yikes. You'll hear this refrain throughout the week: keep the ball below the hole at all costs.
What is the longest golf course on tour?
Kiawah Island's Ocean Course in South Carolina will measure at 7,876 yards and be the longest course in major history when it hosts the PGA Championship - watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports Golf.
What's the shortest par 4 on the PGA Tour?
10th hole, Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, Calif. Often referred to as the best short par 4 in golf, and for good reason. The shot options on Riviera's 10th hole offer a variety of ways to play the hole.
Should you use a light or heavy putter on fast greens?
Consider a heavier putter on faster greens. Several putters on the market now have adjustable weight technology that allows you to add or take weight away from the putter head. A heavier putter head will help you slow down your stroke, which will be needed on fast greens.
Does rain make putting greens faster or slower?
Rain makes greens slower than normal as the moisture on the ground and the ball slows it down. In instances of rain over a number of days greenkeepers will likely not be able to mow greens as normal meaning the grass will be longer and even slower. Putts on wet greens also take less break.
Are Bandon Dunes greens fast?
One place that rejects the modern obsession with green speeds to excellent effect is the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. Partly to help pace of play and partly because high winds generate plenty of carnage anyway, Bandon Dunes keeps its greens slower than most top-tier resorts do.
What is the hardest course on the PGA Tour?
The Country ClubToughest Courses (Season)RankingCourseYardage1The Country Club72542Southern Hills CC75563Augusta National Golf Club75104Bay Hill Club & Lodge746633 more rows
What golf course has the highest slope rating?
(Eight of our top 50 were created by the man they call the "Marquis de Sod.") The Ocean has the highest combination of Slope Rating (155) and Course Rating (79.6) in America, according to the U.S. Golf Association.
Is Augusta a hard course?
Augusta is a challenging golf course, but not in the usual eye-watering tight, tree-lined fairways, greens surrounded by water and vegetation sort of way. Its difficulty is mostly due to gravity.
What is the slope rating of Carnoustie?
145Carnoustie has a Course Rating of 75.1 and a Slope Rating of 145 from the regular (yellow) tees, making it officially the hardest course in Scotland. (St. Andrews, by comparison, is 72.1/129, Royal Troon is 73.2/134, Muirfield is 73.0/133 and Turnberry is 75.3/133.)
What does it mean when a golf course has fast greens?
Pace of play. Faster greens mean slower rounds and a snail’s pace of play, particularly at daily-fee and resort courses. Even private clubs will notice slower rounds on busy days. Consider investing in some lights for night golf.
What are the design features of a golf course?
Design. Green size, surface contours, pitch and slope – these design features affect green speed and the ability to set hole locations. Any pre-1960 golf course, built when green speed was not an issue, presents challenges due to undulations and the era’s construction methods.
Why is speeding up greens important?
Speeding up greens takes away good-quality hole locations. That makes the game easier for the better player since most holes will eventually end up near the middle of the green. And while we’re talking about the Stimpmeter, just who is taking the readings? Does this person really know what he’s doing? I can speak with authority on this subject…as can my knees.
Do you need to tap the ball on a fast green?
On fast greens, you hardly need to tap the ball to get it moving, so you’re usually putting defensively. Slower greens require determining how hard to stroke the ball, how far will it roll, how much affect break will have – in short, the skills of putting. I don’t know about you, but I like to be responsible for my putting success (or failure), rather than be at the mercy of super-slick greens.
Is it better to keep turf grass soft or firm?
Firmness and moisture. Maintaining firm, smooth conditions is definitely the healthier choice for turfgrass than keeping it wet and soft. But firm and fast requires patience and resources, and the firmer and faster you want it, the more time, material, and manpower you need.
What is putting green?
Putting greens are comprised of living plants that change and perform differently from season to season and even day to day. Temperatures, humidity, rainfall and routine maintenance practices all influence daily green speed. Maintaining the same green speed throughout the year is impossible, and letting a target number dictate management practices is a recipe for damaged greens and undesirable playing conditions.
What are the best ways to maintain fast greens?
While golfers hear a lot of discussion about courses with fast greens, they don’t hear as much about all that goes into providing those conditions. Lower mowing heights, regular topdressing, verticutting and hand watering are just some of the practices involved in maintaining faster greens. In addition, courses that maintain faster greens typically invest heavily in improving putting green growing environments by removing trees and enhancing drainage. The investments required on a daily and yearly basis to deliver faster green speeds are substantial, and beyond the budget of most golf courses.
What is the most important thing to know about green speed measurements?
One of the most important things to know about green speed measurements is that they should not be used to compare one golf course with another. A green speed that is perfect for one course could be way too fast for a course down the road that has steeper green contours or golfers with different skill levels. There are simply too many variables involved to make reasonable comparisons.
Features - Agronomics
Putting quality and player expectation are more than just speed. Experts look beyond fast and firm to other factors that impact high-performance greens.
Change the message
It can be difficult to shift the players’ focus on green speed to other qualities like trueness or consistency. But some of this could be due to the players’ lack of education on the turf pressure it takes to hit high Stimpmeter rates.
lastings
I'm not sure I agree. It's differences in green speeds that affects people more.
lastings
ok, so just so I am clear here. The argument that is being presented is that assuming both are well groomed and roll true, faster greens do not typically cause more putting strokes than slower greens.
lastings
That's not really how that works. Slower greens have longer blades of grass, so they will have more irregularity.
lastings
I think this would be a pretty good test for an avid game golf user (or, group of users). note green speeds for every round played and see what the average strokes gained is at different speeds.
lastings
I suggest you do more than "a quick google search." That quickie statistical thing Pete Sanders did is not the studies I've referred to. That study is basically what happens when you show up and your course has faster greens that day, often because of a tournament.
lastings
I will agree that article I posted is quite flawed. I will look for something better.
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Day 112: Covid-19 day 6/7 drills, and then went inside for more backswing work with LVP camera.
What type of grass is used in golf greens?
The majority of golf course greens in the UK are composed of a mixture of grasses ranging from colonial Bent grass ( Agrostis sp .), Fescue ( Festuca sp .) and Annual Meadow Grass ( Poa annua ). The Bent and the Fescue grasses are the desirable species, as they provide the best year round surfaces to putt on. However, Annual Meadow Grass is a ubiquitous species and is generally found in most fine turf situations. This species grows in clumps and patches and is susceptible to disease attack and is generally considered to produce poorer greens.
How to manage golf greens?
Golf greens can be managed to produce firm, true putting surfaces without the need to cut them down to excessively low heights. Some of these routine treatments include: light and frequent top dressing, regular light verti cutting treatments, good surface and sub surface drainage, a balanced minimal nutrient input, and minimal use of irrigation.
Why are my greens so slow?
Therefore if the Greens staff have pressure put on them to reduce the height of cut this can actually, in the long run, make them poorer greens and ultimately slower greens.
What is the USGA green speed?
The USGA guidelines set out for green speeds are achievable with good management techniques and if the course manager is not pressurised to significantly reduce heights of cut. The Stimp meter can be used to good effect to measure consistency from one green to the other not to see how fast the greens can get up to.
How to measure golf green speed?
The distance the ball rolls is measured which can then give an assessment of the current speed of the green.
What is the most contentious issue in golf?
Golf green speed is probably one of the most contentious issues on the golf course, and one which can give the course manager the biggest headache.
Can rolling grass help with green speed?
However, occasional light rolling can help to increase green speed without the need to lower grass cutting heights.
How fast can you get in golf?
Most clubs will already be achieving over 9ft for summer competitions, which is plenty fast enough, especially if you have undulating or sloping greens. Higher speeds become very challenging and even unenjoyable for the average player.
How to improve green speed?
Rather than making faster speeds even faster, work on improving average green speed by bringing lowest speeds up, aiming for consistency of speed both between greens, throughout the day and over time.
What are the key factors affecting green speed?
Figure 1 shows the main aspects that will affect green speed. As you can see, top of the table in importance is the weather, which we have no ability to control.
Why is it important to mowing greens?
Regular mowing is required to maintain green speed. If greens remain wet for prolonged periods due to poor drainage and/or sheltered position and shade , then the surfaces will not be suitable for mowing for a large percentage of the autumn to spring period.
Why is a sward better for golf?
High growth and density creates more friction or drag on the ball, slowing it down. A slow growing, lower density sward is preferable and will dry out more readily , so gaining a firmer, drier surface more rapidly after rainfall.
What grasses produce smooth green surfaces?
Fescue grasses, with their slow growth and needle-like rolled leaves, naturally produce a fine textured and unproductive sward. Which is why this grass species naturally produces surfaces of appropriate green speed and smoothness/trueness, without the need for intensive maintenance and high inputs.
How much moisture does a green need to be year round?
Very few UK greens have sufficiently high infiltration rates to be able to maintain moisture less than 30% year-round.