Greetings Golfers,

Every golf course wants to have good greens. Golfers can put up with some poor conditions … but bad greens can really take the fun out of golf.

I want greens that are healthy and the ball runs true. Splotchy greens with thin grass and thick grass can be pretty frustrating.

I also like fairly level greens. Not just flat as a pancake … but sensible slope that rewards a shot hit to right part of the green … and gently punishes a shot hit to the wrong area.

Over the years, the speed on the greens has greatly increased. For some golf clubs it’s become a status symbol to have ridiculously fast greens.

It seems to me that a green has a natural speed. That if you rolled a ball with your hand, you would expect it to roll a certain distance. If it stopped rolling too soon … the green is too slow. But, if the ball just keeps on rolling … it’s obviously too fast. Shouldn’t the goal to get ball to roll at the correct speed? This obsession with speed doesn’t make sense.

Better is better. Faster doesn’t mean better.

In the 1930s, Edward Stimpson invented the Stimpmeter to measure greenspeed in feet of roll. Stimpson was worried that the greens at the 1935 U.S. Open had become too fast.

A green that Stimps at 10 seems to be at a pretty fair speed. Not too fast and not too slow. The average PGA Tour stop is about 12. The last few U.S. Opens have been about 14. And, a lot of golf clubs try to keep their greens in the 12-14 range … how is that fun? Do they think that they’re big-time because their greens are ridiculous? Might as well grow the rough to 6 inches too. I guess they hit the ball as well as Hogan did in his prime … and need a real challenge. Must not be any fun shooting 65 every time at their home course.

Actually, I’ve noticed the opposite scenario. It’s the guys who can’t break 90 at their club who want to make it so hard that visitors shoot a million when they play their course. As Alister McKenzie said when someone proudly told him that no one had broken 80 at their club “What’s wrong with your golf course?”

Golf should be a pleasure … frustrating … but mostly a pleasure. Good greens rolling at the right pace are definitely part of the pleasure.

Cheers,

Tom Abts

GM and Head Golf Professional

tabts@deerrungolf.com