Are greens always super fast on championship courses?

[MarkMark]

This summer I played on a couple of championship courses for the first time (Cragun's Legacy courses) and the greens were so fast my buddy and I could barely keep the ball on the green if we were putting from 15' or more. It just rolled and rolled and rolled. I don't remember what the stimpmeter said but they were fast. Do all or most so-called "championship courses" have super fast greens? All the courses around my area have very similar green speeds or what I guess I would call average speed (sorry I don't even think they use a stimpmeter so can't tell you what it is for the courses).

So I'm just curious if super fast greens are par for the course at championship courses?

 

[Tadashi70]

I have yet to play a championship caliber course that had slow greens. Most have a reputation to uphold

 

[JRod]

links courses are really slow.

 

[coolbreeze]

I have yet to play a championship caliber course that had slow greens. Most have a reputation to uphold

I agree with Tad here. These courses can't have that once in a lifetime player come to the course and then play on incredibly slow greens and bad mouth the course. Unless maintenance is going on on the greens I would say they are always pretty fast, not tour sunday fast, but fast.

 

[lambro2]

The ones I've played have been very fast. Takes a little getting used to but I enjoy it.

 

[SW]

I don't know about everywhere else but down here courses stick the "Championship" word on there just for appearances.

 

[arwin]

Why is it 'good' for a green to be fast? What's wrong with slow greens?

 

[arydolphin]

Why is it 'good' for a green to be fast? What's wrong with slow greens?

For me, faster greens usually equate to smoother greens. If you get the ball started on the proper line, it's easier to make putts because there are less imperfections in the greens.

 

[JTnumbers]

Never seen one that wasn't fast. I love it.

 

[Zenger]

Scotland england courses can run single digit stimp readings with little wind and lil rain.

British open this year fastest they got was 11 one day I believe

tapp tapp tapp tappatalk

 

[arydolphin]

Never seen one that wasn't fast. I love it.

Come up here and play my muni when it's early in the season. The greens probably run 7 or 8.

 

[giorgiokaan]

I always play on championship courses and some greens are uber-slow while others the opposite.

 

[Wake]

I don't know about everywhere else but down here courses stick the "Championship" word on there just for appearances.

Same here, just about every course here is a "championship" course

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

 

[CharlieMoy]

Not at all. Some designers choose to make their designs extremely undulated. The more undulation in the green, the less speed, typically.

Although there are millions of courses who are guilty of making their greens way too fast for their intended design.

 

[Castor Hades]

Not at all. Some designers choose to make their designs extremely undulated. The more undulation in the green, the less speed, typically.

Although there are millions of courses who are guilty of making their greens way too fast for their intended design.

Now there's some good thinking that you can seldom see when people talk about green speed.

The playing conditions of the green should be in sync with the design, and the flag position should be considered as well. No need to put a flag in the middle of a hill if the green is like ice. The point of greens being fast, in my opinion, is not to make the game impossible, it is to challenge the player to think, play well and plan ahead. Not to make even professional players four & five putt. More than anything, greens should be true. Sneaky they can be, but true. Regardless of speed.

 

[Lefty78]

It depends on when you play the "championship" course. Bent grass can be fast during cool months but the heat of southern summers require letting it grow. The mini dwarf bermudas can be very quick in hot weather but around here they grow them longer in fall to prepare for winter. The biggest greens disappointment for me was Harbour Town during February, slow, and soft but it was still a very enjoyable round.

 

[shocktop]

I played a course the day before an amateur city championship or something ... they warned us ahead of time the greens were rolling a 14-14.5 on the stint. I think they were aiming for 12-13 on championship day.

Your options were to either leave yourself an uphill putt, or you are off the green NO MATTER WHAT.
If you left yourself an uphill putt and missed the cup, there was a good chance you'd roll back towards yourself X amount of feet.
If you put backspin on a ball and the spin caused a downhill roll, you were off the green.
You putt downhill and miss the cup, off the green.
There were 4 of us playing and we all experienced what we thought was a joke. You'd have a 10+ footer and just TAP the ball to get it going and hope for the best.
It felt like putting on concrete.

Heres the course: http://www.riverridge-golfclub.com/

Rough day.

 

[sangoram]

Why is it 'good' for a green to be fast? What's wrong with slow greens?

Generally a faster green is more of a test of the golfer's ability to control speed especially and read breaks compared to a slow green where the effects of hitting a poorly judged putt end up minimized since the ball slows to a stop more rapidly given initial conditions of ball speed and direction. So it is a more difficult test of the golfer's putting skills. Doesn't mean it is good or bad, but the more difficult courses (higher slope and course ratings) tend to have faster or more nuanced greens.

 

[Lefty78]

Why is it 'good' for a green to be fast? What's wrong with slow greens?

More skills are required to score well on very fast greens. For example the short game is easier, just pitch it close to the hole and it will stop on slow greens. Also, I think it is easier to two putt on slow greens with fewer three or four putts, an increased probability of a huge number is brought into the picture with severely undulating very fast greens. More skills are required to put the ball in the proper position on the green. I was advised, before my first round at a well known course, to make sure my ball was below the hole on the green and if the flag was up front then leave it short of the green.

For me, faster greens usually equate to smoother greens. If you get the ball started on the proper line, it's easier to make putts because there are less imperfections in the greens.

This is my take as well, fast greens are smoother and you get a truer roll. It is easier to make a long putt on fast smooth greens in my opinion.

 

[arwin]

More skills are required to score well on very fast greens. For example the short game is easier, just pitch it close to the hole and it will stop on slow greens. Also, I think it is easier to two putt on slow greens with fewer three or four putts, an increased probability of a huge number is brought into the picture with severely undulating very fast greens. More skills are required to put the ball in the proper position on the green. I was advised, before my first round at a well known course, to make sure my ball was below the hole on the green and if the flag was up front then leave it short of the green.



This is my take as well, fast greens are smoother and you get a truer roll. It is easier to make a long putt on fast smooth greens in my opinion.

This is probably why I like slower greens because my putting sucks! lol

 

[Hawk]

I thought Grand Cypress had some speedy greens. Same with True Blue. I don't remember The Champion Course at PGA National being all that fast, but maybe my memory is bad. I played TPC Deere Run 4 days before the tournament and they were quick I guess.

 

[barryboymunro]

I think with a faster green they are easier to putt, once you have the speed its all about the line and you get a more truthful putt. Fastest greens i've ever played was at Prairie Landings in Chicago which was a links and they were much faster than any championship courses i've played.

 

[interlooper]

I think with a faster green they are easier to putt, once you have the speed its all about the line and you get a more truthful putt. Fastest greens i've ever played was at Prairie Landings in Chicago which was a links and they were much faster than any championship courses i've played.

I play Prairie Landing about 5-10 times a season. When it is warm and windy, those things can sometimes get fast. But those things are slow compared to the greens at Stonewall Orchard about 20 miles north. Whoa those are lightening.

 

[barryboymunro]

I play Prairie Landing about 5-10 times a season. When it is warm and windy, those things can sometimes get fast. But those things are slow compared to the greens at Stonewall Orchard about 20 miles north. Whoa those are lightening.

I need to try that out next time I'm in town. Thing with Prairie Landing is that the pins were in such difficult positions too, always seem to be on a slope. Fantastic course, had so much fun playing it.

 

[interlooper]

I need to try that out next time I'm in town. Thing with Prairie Landing is that the pins were in such difficult positions too, always seem to be on a slope. Fantastic course, had so much fun playing it.

Definitely should!

Speaking of Prairie Landing, I am playing 36 there this weekend (weather permitting). And speaking of slope... the pin placement on hole #1 automatically gives you an indication on the pin placements for the rest of the round. It is typically on the very edge of the green, right next to a massive slope.