your strategy for firm greens?

[Paradox]

So what do you do when the greens are really firm and spin is just a dream? The past week the greens at my course have been so firm that you can't get any balls to even hop and stop and its driving me crazy to hit the front of the green and see my ball roll all the way off the back!

[kevin.chan]

I m looking for the same advice too ! II faced the same problem too when I played at another course where the greens is hard and fast . This does not happen when I play AT&T; home course where i can stop / back spin most of my approach shot .

[carpediem4300]

If the greens are over firm the fairway is also likey firm, so pitch it short,....instead of a 9i to hole high, go PW just short etc Or try to fly it high as possible to land soft

[boogielicious]

+1 on the short strategy.  Apart from uphill greens, I try to land it just short of the green and let it roll up.  This works best for the longer approaches, say 160 to 120.  120 and in, plan for a certain amount of roll out and know what the green does.  My league course gets firm early in the season.  for uphill approach shots, you just need to try to make the edge of the green and let it roll out.

[saevel25]

On firm greens, being able to come in at a steeper ascent helps out, if not then your going to have to try to aim shorter to account for the bounce and roll.

[JerseyThursday]

This raises a good point. The course where I play in a league doesn’t have firm greens it has HARD greens. They put a 80/20 mix of soil sand as a dressing on greens built on a soil base. It actually takes a lot of the fun out of it. Pitch shots over a trap have no hope of stopping, even if they are hit perfectly to the front of the green, just clearing the trap. The plus side is you rarely have to worry about needing to repair your ball marks.

[saevel25]

I like greens were the ball mark is just an indentation, not taking chunks out of the green. There is a fine line to hard greens, i don't mind firm greens, but fairness has to be maintained

[Parker0065]

On a hard fast course I'll switch to a ball with a higher spin rate. They tend to fly a little higher with more bite.

[Zeph]

I usually hit the ball high enough to get it to stop, but on long approaches and firm courses, I sometimes take a club or two less and bounce the ball onto the green rather than carry it.

[Paradox]

I am a high ball hitter but it seems like nothing is stopping on these greens anymore.  I know its early in the year and what not but even using a 60 won't get the ball to stop quick enough.

The short strategy I use whenever its available but on a lot of the greens, you aren't able to run the ball up due to rough or banking or things like that.  I dunno, hopefully when the watering starts, they'll start being more receptive again.

[WUTiger]

As carpe and boogie said - If you are facing hard greens, take a club less and bounce it on. When you land on the light rough or the green's collar, the longer grass will cushion impact and take some of the speed off.

If anyone is a historian of the PGA tournament golf, maybe you can point us to accounts of later-summer tournaments in the 1940s (?) when "bounce on" was the only way to go. I've read about this in past, but I can't remember which old-time pro described it.

[JerseyThursday]

Landing short and rolling it on not always an option. Not sure why the trend seems to be towards rock hard greens.

[mdl]

I've never played a course with hard enough greens that an iron shot that hits the front 1/3 of the green literally won't stay on the green.  I've played some really fast greens but maybe never anything really hard?

If you do play courses like that or have low spin so generally firm greens give you that problem, maybe one option is to hit a big cut?  I know if I club up and hit a big cut I'll get less roll out (at least back to front, they tend to kick right of course).

[westcyderydin]

1.  Hit tee shot to set up desired shot into the green.  Sometimes it is easier to get the ball to stop on the green with a full wedge than a 50 or 60 yard shot.  There are also places on most greens that are better to run the ball up on than other spots...such as slopes and rough.  Don't short side yourself or you will be left with long par putts.

2.  Don't get over-aggressive if you don't have to.  Going long on most holes equals death, so try to get the ball to stop on the front of the green if not a bit short.  Now obviously there are some holes that warrant more aggressive shots, but pick your spots.

3.  Everybody else has to play the same greens, so they are probably going to struggle with it, too.  Play smarter than them and execute your shot...

4.  Pray for rain...optimally at night...and also for the course to start watering the greens.

I really don't have anything better than that.  As for trying to land the green and getting it to stop...i don't really have much there.  I guess another thing is to know the difference of each green.  If the green is elevated or always in the sun it is more likely to by harder...and if the green is low, close to and somewhat level with a water hazard, or in the shade then it is more likely to be a bit softer.

[Paradox]

getting lots of rain overnight and in the morning so the greens should be pretty nice tomorrow afternoon....now the only problem is the 20mph winds, lol.