How bad were the Pebble greens?

[longdrive23]

Can the people who visited the US Open comment on the conditions of the green? On TV, it looked aweful, worse than any of the muni's I have played in.

Pros attributed the varying bounces on the greens to the ball landing on a green patch (5ft release n spin) vs a brown patch (25ft bounce n roll). Phil talked about the downhill putt trickling left and then right based on the bumps on the green.

How bad was it for the people watching it? I feel all the praise and glory of pebble as a place better than heaven was excessive if they can't provide a flat 'green' green. It doesn't have to be easy but at least leave the greens 'green'.

[SpoiledRotten]

I wasn't there but I just had to laugh at the ones that stood below the 14th, hit the ball up on the green only to watch it roll around and back down to their feet. That has to be some kind of frustrating!

[golfro]

I can't personally attest but like SpoiledRotten, 14th was absolutely hilarious to watch. I watched Ian Poulter and YE Yang hit the ball back and forth...felt bad for them!

[kafka01]

Sorry but you got something wrong here - the greens were NOT bad - the dark spots you saw were different types of grasses. And that the greens get bumpy after the grass starts growing after the mowed them in the morning seems to be a characteristic of Poana. Maybe someone can enlighten us in a bit more detail who plays on Poana regulary

[TN94z]

I was wondering the same thing because on tv they looked really really bad. It looked like a course that had lost it's greens and were trying to get them back

[colin007]

i too am curious. are the greens more than one type of grass? thats what it looks like. i dont play on greens like that, i dont see why the pros would have to play on something so incredibly inconsistent.

[saevel25]

Poana usually burns off during the summer, its common on golf courses. Once it burns off the other grass grows in, so its uniform. But Poana grows faster than the normal green grass, so it gets slightly bumpy. Honestly i could care less. I loved when Jack ribbed the bunkers at the memorial a few years back, we got to stop babying these pro's. I loved hole 14, i think it was hilarious that the pro's just try to play a perfect shot only to watch it go down the front or over back. Just hit it to the center of the green, honestly, suck it up. They are to arrogant in there abilities, and they got humbled.

Though i think they do need to change number 14 greens, not for the slopes but because there is lack of pin positions you can play, it makes the hole bland. I would like to see it extended more to the right, away from the bunker. Keep the false front, but at least make some seeable difference in pin position.

[OCdude12]

Agree with kafka, the greens were in great shape, just a little bumpy in the afternoons. We sat behind the 3rd green, probably the closest grandstands to any green surface out there, and even though the greens were discolored a bit, they were still rolling pure and FAST. When they don't get much water, they'll turn a little brown but still roll well.

[CG031]

No idea really on how they were rolling, as I obviously wasn't playing...but on TV they sure were ugly!

[losingmyedge]

Sorry but you got something wrong here - the greens were NOT bad - the dark spots you saw were different types of grasses. And that the greens get bumpy after the grass starts growing after the mowed them in the morning seems to be a characteristic of Poana. Maybe someone can enlighten us in a bit more detail who plays on Poana regulary

Agree with this also. Just becauuse they aren't sprayed up like an emerald like all the other tournies it doesn't mean they aren't good greens.

I liked how they looked, marble effect is so 2010.

[zeg]

What I saw (mostly the 5th green from up close and 18th from the grandstands on Saturday, then 15th greeen from close on Sunday) the roll was fine. They were fast and hard to hold except on short iron shots with tons of spin or by banking off the rough, but I didn't see any putts that looked like they missed because of anything other than misreads.

[Easy]

Well I wasn't there but Sean O'hair said they were the worst greens he's ever putted on.

http://www.weiunderpar.com/post/2010...mber#more-3935

[Mattplusness]

regardless of the types of grass, it's the US open - the greens should be flat and not bumpy, i have never seen that bumpy of greens and I play at alot of city courses

[bkoguy07]

Poana usually burns off during the summer, its common on golf courses. Once it burns off the other grass grows in, so its uniform. But Poana grows faster than the normal green grass, so it gets slightly bumpy. Honestly i could care less. I loved when Jack ribbed the bunkers at the memorial a few years back, we got to stop babying these pro's. I loved hole 14, i think it was hilarious that the pro's just try to play a perfect shot only to watch it go down the front or over back. Just hit it to the center of the green, honestly, suck it up. They are to arrogant in there abilities, and they got humbled.

I agree... Par should be around what it takes to win and that is exactly what happened. These guys are professionals, they don't need to be babied. So what it was a little more difficult, you play everyday and you're the best in the world. Here's a challenge try to make some great shots.

[allin]

I wonder if the way they looked affected confidence levels? I feel pros are very quick to criticize course conditions as a way to protect their confidence. The truth is most of us play on greens and courses in general in which are nowhere near as good the shape as tournament courses. On the other side at those greenspeeds maybe the small imperfections are a bigger deal, with the rollout you probably can't hit if hard enough to keep it on line if the green isn't perfect.

[Stretch]

Everybody plays the same course, right? Suck it up.

[Jay-Bird]

Same greens as Oakmont CC. Poa annua greens are notoriously tricky. They roll super fast when cut low, but they grow very quickly in the afternoon, so playing late rounds can yield more tricky/less "true" rolls.

[Cornbread]

You had an assembled team of the best groundskeepers in the US working on the greens for months in advance, and with unlimited funds. How bad do you think they were? Color can be deceiving.