Does course condition and quality of play go hand in hand?

[k-troop]

Of course it affects you.

--A good golfer should be able to play shots from poor lies, but they'll still be more difficult to get consistent contact, distance, and spin than from a perfect fairway lie.

--A bumpy green with inconsistent grass will not roll as consistently as a smooth, quick green.

--A shot from a bunker with wet, packed, washed out, or pebbly/rutted sand will be more difficult to judge perfect distance than from one with fluffy, smooth sand.

I played a shot yesterday (in a tournament) from the middle of the fairway.  The ball was sitting in a depression slightly larger than a sprinkler head--I had hit an excellent tee shot on a reachable par-5 but basically had to play a pitch-out shot due to the course's failure to level the ground when they replaced a sprinkler.

Everyone has had a short putt hit well and online that was swatted away from the hole by poor grass or a hole that was slightly raised because an incompetent maintenance worker didn't know how to replace it properly.

If you're playing well, poor conditions can cost you 4 shots due to inconsistent lies, missed short putts, and that failure to get up-and-down from a rutted greenside bunker.

[ghalfaire]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

In my opinion, only the greens should make a significant difference to a player who has a reasonable arsenal in his bag.  If you never play anything but a pristine course, then maybe the OP's opinion is true.  You have to work on your game from bad lies before you really know how to handle them.  But a player with a well rounded game won't be that much bothered by changes in rough, in bunker consistency, or by tight, hardpan type lies.

Poorly maintained or damaged greens are the one thing which can really screw up anyone's game.

I agree with this.  It is the greens that make the biggest difference in scoring.  It is nice to have the rest of the course in great shape but not necessary to a good score.

[JerseyThursday]

Based on the OP’s initial premise: an identical course on an identical day (weather) except course A is in great shape and course B is in goat farm condition. How could it not be advantageous to be on course in great condition? Hitting out of crusty unranked traps, putting on shaggy scuffed up greens, hitting from hardpan grassless fairways doesn't bode well for anyone.

[Jeffrey71]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

In order to be comfortable with playing under different, and possibly extreme conditions, you simply have to do it.  Just get out and play.  I played year round, weather permitting, for many years in Colorado.  Hot cold, wet, dry, frozen, sloppy - and I got so I could play fairly consistently regardless of the conditions.  A sloppy, muddy course is perhaps the worst for me.  Hard and fast just takes playing a different sort of shot.  Instead of trying to hit high soft irons, play what the course gives you.   Play low running shots as much as possible, both because it's easier to make contact on a tight lie with an 8I that with a 52 degree wedge, and because it minimizes the weird bounces you get from dry, baked ground.  I'll play a shot that's almost more like a long chip.  Its my stock shot when playing on frozen turf.  I'll tell you this - you learn how to play touch shots under those conditions.

I found out that I need some real practice with the low run shot. I've gotten too accustomed to a high, soft wedge to the green. I'm gonna start practicing a low punch n run with my 7 and 8 at about 100 yards....

[mdl]

Yes.  Absolutely.  I got a deal caddy deal for unlimited play at Lost Canyons (Sky and Shadow, Pete Dye/Fred Couples courses).   I'd only played Sky before.  So I figured start at Shadow (the cheaper one).  The course was in awful condition.  Dead spots and bare spots and diseased looking spots all over the greens.  Course almost 100% brown.  Was sort of like playing in a giant bunker with lots of dead grass strewn about, but with tons of natural divots and seams and all kinds of crap.  Bunkers alternated between concrete and decent.  Played terribly.  It was hot and we almost just bailed on the 2nd round cause it really wasn't fun.

We decided to see if Sky was in better shape.  Drove over the hill and suddenly there's green again.  Course was in pretty great shape actually, and suddenly we both started playing better.  Full shots going the distance we expect, putts roll true, green side shots not a crap shoot of whether it'll react like a sand shot, a fairway shot, a rough shot, or a hardpan shot.  Had scored probably mid-90 something on Shadow (I did keep score but tossed the card before I ever tallied it).  Was +8 through 14 (with course rating 73.3/143) before we finally caught up to a log jam of a couple groups and we bailed (it was HOT).

So, same day, fresh on a course in absolutely awful condition, shoot something like +23.  After already playing for almost 5 hours in the heat and sun, move to a course in very nice condition and play 14 holes in +8.

[Dave2512]

It definitely affects my attitude and it's not just the condition of the grounds. Everything from the how the staff treats me to how other patrons conduct themselves has an affect on my game. I'd like to say it doesn't, there are times I wish it didn't.