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Green Speeds

Growing up in OKC, the only course I ever played that posted stimp readings was Lincoln. There was a big chalkboard behind the counter that has the stimp for both courses, and lemme tell you the fastest it ever read was 13 on the west (and it wasn't a joke either, you could seriously putt off the greens going downhill without much effort, really nerve racking). The east almost always read 9-10. My club try's to keep theres at about 11, but more often than not it's a 9-10. 10 is what most would call fast. Your typical muni runs between 7-9 to give a gauge, but really I find that most of the time unless your over 11 it's pretty much playable for me. After that though, it's just a little bit evil!!!
 
I played this course way out in the sticks between Western Md and West Virginia called Fore Sisters a few years back... country guy behind the counter says greens are fast, between 11 -12. I was like, "yea, O.k". I had played Grande Dunes in MB in early May, and they were the fastest greens I have ever played on. Well, me and my best bud get on these greens, and they are lightning! My ball is on the green, in a flat area. A breeze of maybe 10mph kicks up, and hand to God, my ball starts rolling across the green. It was honestly like putting on linoleum - but I loved it! All the greens this summer have been slow because of the excessive heat, and that really sucks!
 
BIGBALL said:
I played this course way out in the sticks between Western Md and West Virginia called Fore Sisters a few years back... country guy behind the counter says greens are fast, between 11 -12. I was like, "yea, O.k". I had played Grande Dunes in MB in early May, and they were the fastest greens I have ever played on. Well, me and my best bud get on these greens, and they are lightning! My ball is on the green, in a flat area. A breeze of maybe 10mph kicks up, and hand to God, my ball starts rolling across the green. It was honestly like putting on linoleum - but I loved it! All the greens this summer have been slow because of the excessive heat, and that really sucks!
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This is where it gets confusing. I would think the greens get rolling faster with less water and more heat. Our course is focusing mostly on keeping the greens in good shape, so ours have stayed close to normal. They are the greenest thing on our course right now.
 
They are cutting our greens less frequently and not as short due to the drought (from what I hear). Basically just want to make sure they make it. The last three summers have been brutal on golf courses in our area.
 
Smallville said:
This is where it gets confusing. I would think the greens get rolling faster with less water and more heat. Our course is focusing mostly on keeping the greens in good shape, so ours have stayed close to normal. They are the greenest thing on our course right now.
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Could they be keeping the greens on the long side to avoid killing them?
 
SharkHat said:
Could they be keeping the greens on the long side to avoid killing them?
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They are not mowing them as close as normal, but they are watering them daily.

But at any rate, wouldn't less water and high heat make them faster, not slower? I would think a hard surface would be faster than a soft surface.
 
I have putted greens that roll 10-11 this summer. I played with the greens keeper on media day at a tournament I volunteered at and thats the speed they aimed for and kept for most of the tournament.

That said, the greens at the closest muni run likely in the 12+ range. They are way too fast to putt if you are above the hole as you have very little chance of making a putt from above. Side hill is nearly impossible as the ball will roll nearly if not actually off the green on some greens from within 10'.

I think golf courses need to work on speed relative to the type of greens and size of greens they have. Having an 10' side hill putt that barley rolls by the lip of the cup should not cause your ball to run down the hill 40' and off the green. Thats too fast.
 
I can guarantee that I've never played on anything approaching tour speeds.

For your average consumer, I think speed is all relative. Limited experience means limited basis for comparison. I also think that tour players have phenomenal touch with their putters, so their misses on a green playing to a 12 may be similar to our misses on an 8.... So if that 8 is the fastest we've played, we assume "Man this green is lightning fast"
 
Tedfroop said:
I have putted greens that roll 10-11 this summer. I played with the greens keeper on media day at a tournament I volunteered at and thats the speed they aimed for and kept for most of the tournament.

That said, the greens at the closest muni run likely in the 12+ range. They are way too fast to putt if you are above the hole as you have very little chance of making a putt from above. Side hill is nearly impossible as the ball will roll nearly if not actually off the green on some greens from within 10'.

I think golf courses need to work on speed relative to the type of greens and size of greens they have. Having an 10' side hill putt that barley rolls by the lip of the cup should not cause your ball to run down the hill 40' and off the green. Thats too fast.
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Dang those are some crazy fast greens
 
i think its inexperience and lack of knowledge which i personally don't know much about i mean 95% of the courses i play don't advertise the stimp of the greens and i never ask. im actually curious more now than ever with testing the SeeMore because i put if they are fast or slow in my reviews but i am putting if they are fast or slow compared to what i personally think is normal speeds. that could be something completely different than what someone else thinks is normal speed to where they play. JB maybe you could answer this what do you think the Stimp was at at Grand Cypress when we were there for the outing? im genuinely curious about it now.
 
Kmac said:
Ive never even seen green speed posted. I guess that speaks to the type of course I play?
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When I lived in the N.Va area I never saw green speeds posted. I think they are listed in Fla as an added customer service feature. Mostly resort courses
 
I didn't notice the green speeds posted at True Blue or Caledonia. Did I miss them?
 
blugold said:
I would just say that it is a lack of actual knowledge. People just think they know fast greens.
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This^^^^is what I think as well.
 
I also think that most people who post their speeds, exaggerate. They can without people ever being able to call them on it.
 
I don't know the exact speeds at the courses I play down here. If the super is out I'll usually ask just so I know if they're on the fast side or slow side, at my Boca course the super says 9.5 to 10 and they're pretty fast, but the majority of courses around here roll about 9 or a touch slower. I couldn't imagine 12's or better 11 is screaming.
 
I think the main difference between the greens on tour and public course greens are the slopes on them. I've heard from people that have been to The Masters that the slopes are what really makes the difference from normal as it just produces crazy possible lines as sometimes seen on TV every year.
 
Hawk that was a great article. I never considered some of that stuff like pace of play and what it would possibly due to the health of the green.

I do agree that most golfers think they are better than they are and I think I am just fine putting on the greens I putt on, I dont need to putt on a sheet of ice.
 
Yea, the line at the end of the first paragraph made me chuckle. I will agree that if they made the greens on our course much faster it would really ruin the experience. A good portion of them are the old style greens that slope hard from back to front. The slope alone on some would make a good portion of the potential pin placements almost impossible to work with. Supposedly they've done that in the past, but that's likely just guys tooting their own horns.
 
I enjoy the "Sunday" pin placements at a lot of courses I play at, and would be sad to see them move due to faster greens. I am just fine with the majority of the greens I have played on so I dont want any of mine changed either
 
I love Fast Greens. I believe they allow for a better roll because you don't have to swing the putter. You can put your ball on a line with confidence. Not having said that, I can't measure how fast a green is. i can compare it for the most part, but to know the actual stint is close to impossible. I will always go in and ask the front desk and they usually give you an accurate reading. The fastest greens I ever putted on were 12 at The Trophy Club of Atlanta and it turned out to be one of my better putting days (28 total putts I believe). So yeah, that's my 2 cents.
 
This week, I played at one of the courses that have converted to a dwarf bermuda from bent. Those greens were very fast, very firm, and great for putting. Problems of the conversion include they had to take out trees to allow more sun and the contours of the greens make for some impossible putts and very difficult approach shots. One hole which required an 8 iron approach across water to a small green. I hit what I though was a good shot, gonna be close. When I get to the green, the ball was up a slope behind the green in tall rough. It had hit the surface and rolled through the green and up that slope about 4 feet. Four of four shots on that green in our group had gone through the green into the rough behind. There were places on the greens where holes could no longer be cut due to the steepness of the slopes.

Once on the surface the greens were extremely good for putting but many of those contours weren't designed for that kind of speed. So with that in mind, I am changing my previous answer to, I like fast greens as long as the contours of the surfaces are designed for those speeds.
 
I thought I'd bump this thread. I played with a guy at my club who has a stimp meter today. I hadn't asked him about the stimp since they redid the greens last summer. I asked because they seemed to be faster than normal today.

He said they have been keeping them in the 11 range, but had fallen to a 9-10 last week. Today they had them up to a 13. Fastest he has seen them is a 14.
 
Wake said:
I thought I'd bump this thread. I played with a guy at my club who has a stimp meter today. I hadn't asked him about the stimp since they redid the greens last summer. I asked because they seemed to be faster than normal today.

He said they have been keeping them in the 11 range, but had fallen to a 9-10 last week. Today they had them up to a 13. Fastest he has seen them is a 14.
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Pretty sure that's pushing Augusta and Oakmont fast, the 14 part.


THPing on Tapatalk
 
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