slow greens or fast greens?

[saevel25]

Fast greens, they have less imperfections and roll truer. Also, faster greens mean less of a putting stroke is needed so the putting stroke becomes even more less complicated.

[wils5150]

I don't really enjoy the super fast greens.  Too penalizing I guess.  And it always seems that when I do play one like that, I enjoy how true they roll, but some of the pin placements are just too tough.  You can roll it within 3 inches and rolling slow and then your ball ends up 20+ feet away.  I'm not sure it is intended to be that way.

Its funny the faster you make the greens the more of this you hear. Greenspeed should be determined by the skill level of the people playing the course and the slope of the greens.

[iacas]

Generally speaking, the better the player, the more they prefer fast greens. Fast greens tend to be true greens, and better putters can separate themselves from poorer putters on faster greens.

[flopster]

The greens at home are fast and very firm, some of the back pins you have to land in the middle or even closer to not roll off the back unless you put enough spin on the ball. When the course was new back in 2000 I was told the greens were absolutely insane hard and fast, to the point that people were staying away. I like fast but I like true rolling better, regardless of the speed if the greens roll true and are consistent then it will be a fun day of golf, I think of an indian casino resort near here that has greens not near as fast but roll so smooth and true you can really putt with some real confidence if you got the feel down.

[Gioguy21]

as iacas said...i don't care if they're fast or slow as long as they're true.

[BuckeyeNut]

Explain this a bit.

Speaking in very general terms:

I equate slow greens with shaggy and bumpy.   Fast greens=smooth and true.   Get the ball rolling online on fast greens.....it's probably going to drop.   On slow greens, ya need to hammer it and hope it doesn't bounce offline before it gets to the cup.  In my experience, slow greens are the result of poor maintenance.   Of course everything is relative............

I prefer fast and smooth greens.

In contrast.....High Cappers tend to prefer slow because it's easier to get the ball to stop nearer the cup whether chipping or putting.

[BuckeyeNut]

Generally speaking, the better the player, the more they prefer fast greens. Fast greens tend to be true greens, and better putters can separate themselves from poorer putters on faster greens.

Yes..what he said.

LOL

[rkim291968]

Speed doesn't matter to me, slow or fast.  I prefer well maintained green.  I will adjust to green's speed but can't adjust to bumps, grooves, hidden ball marks, ....

[David in FL]

Fast greens, they have less imperfections and roll truer. Also, faster greens mean less of a putting stroke is needed so the putting stroke becomes even more less complicated.

This exactly..... Slower greens require more "hit" for a given distance and that can help contribute to a poor stroke and getting the ball started off line.

[Spitfisher]

Fast. Can't stand slow greens.

THIS.........My clubs greens typically are 9-11, often faster for tourneys in the summer

[WUTiger]

I enjoy the fast greens more as long as they are not too fast. ...

Greens that are "too fast" in May are that way because of really close cutting. These greens also get the most beat up by middle of summer.

All things in moderation... this goes for golf too.

[dchoye]

I played on concrete like greens and they are not fun. Anything faster than 11-12 I hate I also hate inconsistent greens. Some greens are not well maintain can be faster. I sure everyone played on a green where a part of it is dry and hard and not growing grass due to disease /poor water/etc. try putting thru that. I rather be putting on sticky fringe

[jetsknicks1]

Generally speaking, the better the player, the more they prefer fast greens. Fast greens tend to be true greens, and better putters can separate themselves from poorer putters on faster greens.

Even though I'm a high HC, I prefer faster greens. I average 34 putts a round and can usually make up some ground on my buddies on the green, especially if they're fast.

[saevel25]

I played on concrete like greens and they are not fun. Anything faster than 11-12 I hate

I also hate inconsistent greens. Some greens are not well maintain can be faster. I sure everyone played on a green where a part of it is dry and hard and not growing grass due to disease /poor water/etc. try putting thru that.

I rather be putting on sticky fringe

Note, fast greens don't have to be hard greens. Though hard greens tend to be fast. I've played on soft greens that were 11+ before.

Yep, been there done that, but that is no knock on fast greens. That is just poor maintenance, which is totally different than having fast greens.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meltdwhiskey

I don't really enjoy the super fast greens.  Too penalizing I guess.  And it always seems that when I do play one like that, I enjoy how true they roll, but some of the pin placements are just too tough.  You can roll it within 3 inches and rolling slow and then your ball ends up 20+ feet away.  I'm not sure it is intended to be that way.

Yup.  One of the putts where the guy hit it off the green yesterday was like that.  I've played golf with people who overcook putts and slam them off the green, but this was nothing like that.  He barely tapped it ... it was never going "fast" ... it just never stopped.

If I was striking the ball well, and I had some knowledge of the course (meaning I had a clue which part of the green I should be on) then I would love to play a course with greens like that.  But a resort course, where people are usually playing $280 to play there, I would think, would typically want to "help out" their guests a little more than that, with easier pin placements, as well as slightly slower greens.

Some of the responsibility goes to the committee/greenskeeper for placing the holes fairly.  If that was the case, then it's up to the player to play the putts at the right speed.  I understand the difficulty of that when you are unused to the speed, but even from above the hole it should be possible to stop the ball near the hole with the right speed.  If that isn't possible, then it's the fault of the setup, not the player.

I played in a group of 4 walk-on singles a few years ago, and had to laugh at two of the guys.  One was complaining all day about how slow the greens were - couldn't get anything to the hole.  The other guy was putting the ball off the green and bitching about how they shouldn't make greens on a public muni play as fast as the pros.  The greens were their normal 10-11 on the stimp.  They have been essentially the same during the season for at least the last 10 years.

[saevel25]

I agree on pin placement, but there is something to not hitting the ball above the hole. I played an old Donald Ross course, and the mantra for that course is, "Below the hole, below the hole, and when in doubt below the hole."

Believe me, when you are 30 feet above the hole on the wrong side of the green, it can feel like you are on a putt putt course. Awesome course, awesome greens, really really fun, but sometimes you just have to play smart about it. Sometimes if the pin is in the front, and you are in-between clubs, maybe club down and swing hard. If you get there, you are fine. If you come up short, an easy up hill chip is better than that treacherous 30 foot down hill putt.

[Golfingdad]

Some of the responsibility goes to the committee/greenskeeper for placing the holes fairly.  If that was the case, then it's up to the player to play the putts at the right speed.  I understand the difficulty of that when you are unused to the speed, but even from above the hole it should be possible to stop the ball near the hole with the right speed.  If that isn't possible, then it's the fault of the setup, not the player.

I played in a group of 4 walk-on singles a few years ago, and had to laugh at two of the guys.  One was complaining all day about how slow the greens were - couldn't get anything to the hole.  The other guy was putting the ball off the green and bitching about how they shouldn't make greens on a public muni play as fast as the pros.  The greens were their normal 10-11 on the stimp.  They have been essentially the same during the season for at least the last 10 years.

Yeah, it was the bold.  I don't think the pin placements were unfair at all.  These greens weren't terribly contoured or anything ... just really, really, fast.  It was the first time I've played on greens that appeared to roll like the greens on TV do.  The putt I mentioned could have stopped near the hole if he hit it at the right speed, it's just that that "speed" needed to be much, much less than any of us were used to. (I may have been a bit hyperbolic when I said he barely tapped it.  I should have just said that he didn't hit it all that hard) ;)

This is the kind of course, and greens, I think I'd absolutely love ... once I was familiar enough with the course to know where I needed to be on each of the greens.

Originally Posted by saevel25

I agree on pin placement, but there is something to not hitting the ball above the hole. I played an old Donald Ross course, and the mantra for that course is, "Below the hole, below the hole, and when in doubt below the hole."

Believe me, when you are 30 feet above the hole on the wrong side of the green, it can feel like you are on a putt putt course. Awesome course, awesome greens, really really fun, but sometimes you just have to play smart about it. Sometimes if the pin is in the front, and you are in-between clubs, maybe club down and swing hard. If you get there, you are fine. If you come up short, an easy up hill chip is better than that treacherous 30 foot down hill putt.

Yeah, for what its worth (I don't know different designers' characteristics so it doesn't mean much to me) this is a Tom Fazio course.  But after playing it, I think that mantra applies.  When I had putts going up the hill ... I swear those were super easy.  I didn't make them all, but it was not at all hard to get it really close.  When I was above the hill, I was lucky to keep it from slipping 6 feet or more past.

[Maddog10]

Fast greens for me. As others have mentioned, I tend to make better strokes on fast greens because less movement and effort is required.