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Green Speeds

I have never asked at any course I played, what the green speeds are.

I will, and go from there.
 
The only reason I know is because I asked our pro a couple months back. He said they play to a 10-11 on a normal day. That's fast for me.
 
I've never, at any course I've played, seen green speeds posted or discussed.
 
There is a local course here that posts it on their web page:

http://www.pajarovalleygolf.com/

However, that same value has been sitting there for nearly 2 years now so take that for what it's worth. I've played that course and they are fast but ask me if I know the exact difference between 9.5 and 11. (I don't)
 
Most of the courses I play have them posted, either at the drop, inside the shop, or at the first tee if it is an 18 hole only course. One thing I've often wondered is if some people confuse greens that roll true or are very smooth with being fast.

A certain course I play doesn't post the speeds but the grounds crew checks 4 to 5 every morning because they have a range they want to stay in to help save cost. Those greens always run true and are in fantastic shape during both seasons. At that course I often get paired with others since I go off as a single. It seems everytime I play there I get someone who exclaims how quick the greens are, when in fact they aren't in double digits unless it is late January/February when the weather gets very dry.
 
Nate said:
The only reason I know is because I asked our pro a couple months back. He said they play to a 10-11 on a normal day. That's fast for me.
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Nate, what course is that? I've been looking for a course with fast greens in metroplex. I've played Dallas National and the only way I can explain the speed of their greens is to say that Hunter Mahan uses that course to get ready to play Tour events. They are consistantly 11-12+ and the last time I was there it had rained and they were still crazy fast.
 
I think that most people really don't know; me included!! Another area of the game that I must research and understand. Can someone help me?
 
BigFrank said:
Nate, what course is that? I've been looking for a course with fast greens in metroplex. I've played Dallas National and the only way I can explain the speed of their greens is to say that Hunter Mahan uses that course to get ready to play Tour events. They are consistantly 11-12+ and the last time I was there it had rained and they were still crazy fast.
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Eldorado Country Club.....let me know when you want to play and I'll take ya out there!
 
Nate said:
Eldorado Country Club.....let me know when you want to play and I'll take ya out there!
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Right on.. Don't get up to the McKinney area to much, but might have to make the trip for that.
 
I have never been to a local course around here that provided true green speeds.
I've asked in the pro shop at almost every one and the answer is always similar..."they are running at about 8 or 9...or.. X or X".
I doubt any of our courses around here actually use a stimpmeter.

My question is....does it really matter if I am told what the green speed is and would that help my putting? In my case...no. I will adjust my stroke once I get on the greens and actually putt.
I could care less if you told me they rolled 8 or 9 or 16 on the stimpmeter. I don't have that magical dial in my chest like the pros do, to adjust their putting stroke.
I will putt on the first green and adjust from there.
 
I've played some really nice courses and only ever noticed a significant difference on one.

I played with some family members at a local country club last month - Nemacolin Country Club in Beallsville, PA - and the greens were running right around a 13 on the stimp. He said, under more wet conditions, that the greens can get as fast as a 14. And I believed him. They were undoubtedly on a different level of fast than anything I had previously seen.
 
My course used to post speeds in the pro shop. They would run 9 to 9.5 early in the season and go up to 11 to 11.5 in late summer. One year in the club championship they had them at 12. I see our course super out stimping the greens. I asked him about it and he would do three or four a day and rotate them during the week. They stopped posting but if you ask they usually know in the pro shop
 
I don't know that I've ever known what any green is actually stimped at. Someone could tell me but it wouldn't really matter. I have my own personal 'feel gauge' and I just rate them as super slow, slow, fast, or super fast in my mind then adjust my putting from there as I go through the course. The numbers might actually be 6, 8, 10, 12 or they might be 2, 4, 6, 8. I don't know, don't really care what the number is, it isn't going to tell me anything. If I walk off a course and say that those were the fastest green's I've ever played on, I'd have no idea if they were a 12 or an 8. To me it's just a fancy number they use to describe the speeds on TV.
 
I have no clue how to judge the speed of the greens I play. Some are very slow. Some are what I consider fast. I know when I played Bethpage after the Open, it was the fastest greens I had ever putted. Basically pick a line and tap the ball and it would roll for days. I actually putt fast greens better
 
Chunkylover77 said:
I have no clue how to judge the speed of the greens I play. Some are very slow. Some are what I consider fast. I know when I played Bethpage after the Open, it was the fastest greens I had ever putted. Basically pick a line and tap the ball and it would roll for days. I actually putt fast greens better
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You couldn't really putt them worse now could you?
 
mcook77 said:
I have never been to a local course that provided green speeds. The only course I have played where we were informed of them was at True Blue and I think someone said they were running about 10 or 10.5. Even at that, they did not seem too quick to me. As someone else stated, I stay out of the discussion simply because I could not honestly tell anyone whether a green was rolling at 8, 10, or 12.
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I was going to ask if anyone knew the speeds at True Blue, if they were truly a 10, I would be surprised...they were just a little faster than my home course which I am told is closer to a 9.....with Bermuda greens it all depends on grain too.

Kmac said:
Ive never even seen green speed posted. I guess that speaks to the type of course I play?
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I am with you KMAC, I haven't either, the only reason I say my home course is at a 9, is I play a few times a month with the course superintendent and I asked him what they ran when I was prepping for the Morgan Cup.
 
Chunky I tend to have my better putting days on fast greens as well as long as I can get my line. My speed is usually really good on them. As far as knowing exactly how fast they are I have no clue, sometimes I go out to an outing and you hear 4 different numbers from 4 different people, and I honestly think whoever told them they "measured" it was just guessing. I have played some pro courses and thought the greens were pretty fast but I have never thought it is anything close to what the tour players play. If local courses played as fast as tour courses they would be unplayable for amateurs.
 
Lack of knowledge for sure. The only two courses I've played where I actually know the speed is the course I worked at and now the course I generally play.

The course I worked at generally runs a 7. They try and keep it as close to that as possible for as long as possible.

The course I play at generally now runs about 10-11. The only reason I know is because the Pro from that course use to come and play the course I worked at so I talk to him once in awhile.

Could never tell you an exact number, all I know is the course I play now is significantly quicker than the course I worked at.
 
Great stuff in this thread. very informative.


I'm using the make your own stimpmeter diagram link posted a few pages back to try and visualize how far the ball would roll off on the putting surfaces I am familar with. At my home course I would have previously that they were maybe a 5 or a 6, now I'd say they're maybe a 3, possibly 4. A nearby course that is known for having very nice greens I would have said was at 10 but now I'd say is probably closer to 8
 
SethO said:
My Bermuda greens always went dormant in the winters, but it was at a state park course and they probably don't have the money that you guys have. It was very grainy as well. I want to come play a round with you some time now.
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Yes, they would go dormant here as well but the USGA guy that came to evaluate mentioned covering them below a certain temperature but I don't remember what it was, somewhere around freezing.

The verticutting is required to keep the grain down and is the chief maintenance cost in summer. It's no accident that the same grass at a place with high dollar maintenance is better than where the budget is lower. We are not high budget like those guys down around Atlanta so we are looking at a heat tolerant bent grass as well.

Shoot me a message before you head over this way just to make sure I'm around and we will tee it up.
 
I think people inflate the stimp reading and dont know how fast the greens are. I have no idea what a stimp 10 or 11 play at. All i know is that my league course I have to pound the ball on rough greens and play little to no break. Then there was pebble, so friggen fast I had no idea where to hit it, thank goodness for caddies. This was 2 months after the 2010 US Open.
 
I have only played on one course that had the speed posted and that was a 12. I have never seen a stimp meter and wouldn't even know how to say this course has the greens a x speed. When I talk about fast or slow greens it's only in relation to what my expectaions are. I have noticed that rural courses are slower than resort or private courses around this area
 
At the course I play every Tuesday they post on a sign at the door which 2 nines make up the days round and the "Green Speed" and on their web site they say they cut the courses different surfaces at specific heights that are set on their mowers. Steve Elkington had a great deal to do with this course at the begining and for several years afterwards, and KJ Choi used to come use the practice green when he was home from the PGA Tour prior to moving to the Dallas area.
In the summer the sign almost always says Green Speed 12 and it seems that they verticut and top dress the greens quite often

www.Woodforestgolf.com

This is what is posted under the "Course" icon on their site under the sub heading "Course Work"
During the warm summer months, the golf course grasses are cut to some specific & consistent heights. This is part of the continuing endeavor to create the finest golfing environment for our guests. The cutting heights are as follows:

Primary rough 2"// Secondary rough 2.5"// Fairways, Tees & approaches are .450"// Greens are cut to .070"

 
I couldn't tell you anything about green speeds. I know what feels fast to me but I've never played on anything that probably comes close to tour level greens. Maybe a handful of times I've played at really nice courses that had really great greens. I'd guess those were fairly quick, but I have no idea what speed.
 
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