Can greens be too unfair?

thewobbler

This question sprung up on me over the weekend. Between various golfing trips and a curiosity for playing every course I can, I've experienced a lot of greens. Sometimes it might take me 10 holes to get to grips with the pace, but I've rarely come away feeling cheated.

I played Druids Heath twice at the weekend though, and felt quite a bit cheated. They aren't just tricky greens - many of them are pure and simple trick greens. The speed of them was downright inconsistent, and I never holed a 'true' putt in 36 holes.

Golf is, in my opinion, a difficult enough game from tee to green, without making greens an obstacle too. There should be undulations and challenges of course, to help concentrate your approaches. But hitting a green in regulation and not feeling you've a chance of getting par - like I felt 8 or 9 times over the weekend - well that's not golf. I average 30-32 putts a week normally, but hit 41 and 39 here!

Druids Glen greens were an absolute joy in comparison.

Opics

If you don't like a challenge then you aren't a golfer

foxyboxer

Greenkeeping is an art form in itself.

However, I don't mind if a green seems tricked up so long as there is some roll on them.

As Ben Crenshaw said, you've got to roll the ball into the hole.
This is tough when in some places you have to feckin hit the ball into the hole.
Very frustrating indeed. When you play a pitch and run and there's no roll then it's incredibly soul destroying.

The last 2 rounds in the past 2 weeks have been blighted with this problem, felt like I was putting on a fairway at times.

Anatom

I'm no expert on golf, and my putting is absolutely shocking at the moment, so I'm probably not qualified to comment on this, so I'll ask a question instead...

Could this have something to do with the time of year?

Our greens are pretty good at the moment and I would have to say that, in general, they are pretty consistent in terms of speed when compared against each other (apart from the new 10th which I think is still just bedding in). However, you do notice that some greens get more light or wind than others and some would hold more moisture than others etc., depending on their location and elevation. I would imagine that this is the same for most if not all courses.

As the growing season has just started, your problem could be that its too early in the golfing season just yet to see how they're going to turn out?

GreeBo

Anatom wrote: »

I'm no expert on golf, and my putting is absolutely shocking at the moment, so I'm probably not qualified to comment on this, so I'll ask a question instead...

Could this have something to do with the time of year?

Our greens are pretty good at the moment and I would have to say that, in general, they are pretty consistent in terms of speed when compared against each other (apart from the new 10th which I think is still just bedding in). However, you do notice that some greens get more light or wind than others and some would hold more moisture than others etc., depending on their location and elevation. I would imagine that this is the same for most if not all courses.

As the growing season has just started, your problem could be that its too early in the golfing season just yet to see how they're going to turn out?

+1 on this.
Lots of courses dont cut the greens on a Sunday for costs reasons.
At this time of year many greens will have been recently poleforked & sanded & you will also have patches on the greens that are growing at different rates.

I found the greens in Lough Erne last Autumn very hard to putt on, but they were true so thats all you can ask for IMO.

Fore Iron

thewobbler wrote: »

This question sprung up on me over the weekend. Between various golfing trips and a curiosity for playing every course I can, I've experienced a lot of greens. Sometimes it might take me 10 holes to get to grips with the pace, but I've rarely come away feeling cheated.

I played Druids Heath twice at the weekend though, and felt quite a bit cheated. They aren't just tricky greens - many of them are pure and simple trick greens. The speed of them was downright inconsistent, and I never holed a 'true' putt in 36 holes.

Golf is, in my opinion, a difficult enough game from tee to green, without making greens an obstacle too. There should be undulations and challenges of course, to help concentrate your approaches. But hitting a green in regulation and not feeling you've a chance of getting par - like I felt 8 or 9 times over the weekend - well that's not golf. I average 30-32 putts a week normally, but hit 41 and 39 here!

Druids Glen greens were an absolute joy in comparison.

I agree completely actually. Nothing drives me mad more than trick greens or inconsistent or poor quality greens. I firmly believe that poor greens act as a leveller that hurts better players more. If you play very well tee to green only to have an effectively unmakable putt because of inconsistencies or bumps and bobbles, then you lose the advantage your better play should have given you and suddenly playing to handicap becomes very tough indeed. Someone who almost always two putts from 6 or 10 feet will most likely still two putt on poor greens, but the better putters don't get the chance to score with a good stroke....

chazbar

There is many factors for this. The height of cut is could at the winter height or close to it. This could be because the greens are to weak from the harsh winter, recovering from disease or moss. This is time of year when prep is being done for the Summer, so there is pencil and hollow tining, top dressing etc.is going on the greens. What are the staff levels like? can they mow more frequently, golf course budgets are being more restrained so maybe that is a factor. Any head greenkeeper of any worth is devoted to getting the highest standard they can achieve, but very often there are circumstances that the golfer does not know about.

Glencarraig

Just going a tad off subject here but if anybody is considering playing Delgany in the near future..dont bother, the greens are absolutely sh*te at the moment, apparently one of the strains of grass in the mix died as a result of the snow/ice and I cant see it doing a Lazarus rising from the tomb thing in the near future, was there the other day and came away completely pi**ed off.

chazbar

sounds like poa annua got hit with snow mould. 4-6 weeks before that will be back right. concra woods is an excellent alternative in the mean time

d2ww

As of today I have played here four times as I live locally, but no more. Ironically, I have always found the greens in Druid's Heath to be excellent, it's the fairways that have done my head in.
Time and again you hit a perfectly good drive down the fairway only to find your ball on a severe slope. The course is long enough and hard enough with well protected greens, without having to put bloody crampons on for your second shot. It's just too hard to be fun.

zztop

Slieve Russell............wheeeeeewwwwwwww