Slow greens vs. Fast greens

[CG031]

Which do you all putt better on, and why do you think so?

I found out today by playing at a friends CC I putt better on FAST greens as oppose to slow, or medium (your local muni course) greens speed. I just can't putt on slow greens, seriously. Especially when I'm playing in a competition. I feel like I HAVE to SLAM the ball in, and then when I miss the hole/hit it through my break, I have a 4-5 foot tester coming back.

When I go on fast greens, however, I can hit it with a normal stroke without feeling the need to slam it in like I'm putting on carpet. I think it's so much easier to make short, compact strokes on fast greens as oppose to longer strokes from the same distance on slow greens. What do you guys believer?

[Marinemike]

I'm with you. I'm much better at judging both speed and break on faster greens. I think the big reason is that the ball rolls so much more purely instead of bouncing and jiving the whole way. An advantage to hitting on slow greens is that if you get it on speed there isn't much break to it. You can pretty much go right at the hole unless you're on a pretty big slope.

[blcorn80]

Much rather putt on fast greens than slow ones. I agree with Marinemike in that faster greens allow the ball to roll more truely and hold its line much better. I also think it is much easier to start your ball on the correct line if you are able to hit it softer than a slower green requires. A smooth stroke is just so much easier to execute when you can hit a 10-footer without having to hit it with the power normally reserved for 30-footers.

Side note: My statistics for this year seem to back up my feelings. My home course has a new superintendent this year whose main goal was to get the greens running a little faster. My putts-per-round this year have gone down to 31.2 from around 34 last year. I've also had far fewer three-putts this year.

[RC]

Fast greens, of course.

[gir]

Yes, fast greens. I don't mind slow greens that are kept well, but more often than not they're slow due to lack of maintenance and are poorly kept greens overall.

[iWALK18]

I'm gonna say slow. This is because all the courses I can afford to play invariably seem to have slow greens. This is a real shame because when i switch to faster greens I'm really screwed... I think faster greens tend to be truer tho.

[shankapotamus]

Which do you all putt better on, and why do you think so?

Wow, I thought I was the only one. I went to Firestone CC to play with my brother(the member there) and my dad. I had 29 putts!

[deronsizemore]

I'm right there with you (and everyone else it seems). I typically putt much better on faster greens. I just can't make myself hit it hard enough to get to the hole on slow greens and end up leaving myself a lot of 4 footers for par. In theory though you should be able to score better on slow greens if you can make yourself hit it with enough speed. You can be aggressive without fear of putting it 10 feet by.

I'm suppose to play Valhalla here soon so we'll see how my "I putt better on faster greens" theory holds up. lol

[ryohazuki222]

Personally, I prefer fast greens MUCH more. However, on downhill putts on a fast green, it really hurts to miss. One of my biggest weaknesses in my game is long putts. I have a nice smooth stroke, but one the greens I normally play, I just can't use my normal stroke to put enough power on the ball to even make it to the hole.

Just an example. Fastest greens I played by far at one course. I had a few 4 and 5 putts!!! But I had 2 birdies. Part of it was just adjusting to the crazy new speed. But I really liked being able to hit a smaller stroke and get the ball there without issue. I'd rather be in the game of taking something OFF my putts as opposed to adding to my putts.

BTW, I've always wondered how many people have given thought to the saying that the amateurs usually leave it short of the hole, while pros hit it passed. Anyone else on my boat that thinks that's a skewed statistic? I mean... when I play on fast greens, I'm BURNING past the hole!

[iacas]

I can't quite do it, but I remember a story about Gary Player from years ago.

Guy was traveling with him in the Florida swing or something. They played a course with lightning fast greens and the guy asked Player about them. He said "man, I love fast greens like these."

The next week it's wet and the greens are slow. Same guy asks Gary again about the greens. Gary responds "man, I love these slow greens, they're great."

Point being if you think you putt better on one or the other, you're bound to lose confidence when you have to play on the kind you don't putt well on.

Personally, I try to employ that strategy. There are things to like and dislike about slow and fast greens. Fast greens tend to be truer, sure, but you can't misread a slow green by two feet, either, and you can really bang the long putts and they tend to stop around the cup - there's more margin for error on speed and green-reading.

I read awhile back that people who hit the green in regulation are much, much more likely to three-putt AND one-putt on faster greens, while slower greens produce a higher percentage of two-putts. Study also pointed out that people had a higher scrambling percentage on slower greens (presumably because you could be more aggressive with your chips, and tiers/terraces/being above the hole didn't matter as much).

[CG031]

I can't quite do it, but I remember a story about Gary Player from years ago.

You definately make some great points. I do seem to lose my confidence on slow greens, despite growing up on them. I certainly 2 putt more often on slow greens. It's not that I three putt it's that 4-7 ft range that I seem to miss many on slow greens, and make nearly all of those on fast greens (believe it or not, haha)...

I also find it easier to chip to faster greens because you can let it roll out, and I also noticed that fast greens seem to take more of the "bite" on the ball and it "checks up" more (talking about a pitch or chip shot from the fringe/fairway cut). Maybe it's just a coincidence that the faster greens are on courses that have their fringe/fairway cut shorter? Not really sure. But I certainly rather try an up and down on a fast green then a slow one becasue I feel I'll make that 4-5 footer far more often on the fast green. But like you said a lot of it is mental. You have to be able to handle both, especially when it seems as though most of my rounds are logged on slow greens! Ah!

[MA5Bergey]

Fast greens are my standard, and I adjust to slw greens... same way a batter adjusts to a changeup in a fastball count.

[Prairie Golfer]

fast on an uphill putt, slow on a downhill putt

[uttexas]

I'll take a smooth, true-rolling green that has some "roll-out". I don't like hard, fast greens or bumpy slow ones.

[ApocG10]

Ive gotten use to fast greens because thats what is on both courses I play regularly, but I do enjoy the challenge of slow greens because its so different.

The upside to slow is that I dont overshoot the cup by 8 feet if I put a little too much stroke into it, but the downside is that I dont read them as well, because im used to our greens running about 10.5-11 on the stimpmeter year round.

[AmenCorner]

Erik has some great points. I think we all agree there is nothing like hitting a really nice putt on a fast green. But boy can they bite you if you find yourself above the hole!

[BigBoy]

overall, I prefer faster greens I think, but if I get yippy on one putt early in the round and end up stabbing the ball 15 past the hole I am ruined for the round, putting scared - so when I'm feeling grooved with my putting stroke I like fast greens, but when I'm feeling less comfortable slower greens weigh easier on my mind

BTW, I've always wondered how many people have given thought to the saying that the amateurs usually leave it short of the hole, while pros hit it passed. Anyone else on my boat that thinks that's a skewed statistic? I mean... when I play on fast greens, I'm BURNING past the hole!

While there may be some lessons to be learned by the ol "Amateurs tend to.. leave putts short, miss on the low side of the putt, not take enough club" I think using them as rules of thumb are dubious, and I've gone through stretches were I blast the ball by the hole, miss putt after putt on the high side and hit approach after approach over the green because I don't want to be amateurish

The differences in tour greens and average public course greens I believe are responsible for the two putting issues - coupled with the fact putting on poorer greens with less true rolls make a 5 foot comebacker more nerve racking - lately I've tried to dump those rules of thumb that are in every golf magazine and just try to make the best shot I can at the time

[Marinemike]

lately I've tried to dump those rules of thumb that are in every golf magazine and just try to make the best shot I can at the time

But if you hit it past the hole your friends don't make fun of you quite as much.