How many strokes do you lose playing aerated greens?

[David in FL]

Yeah the green in the first post doesn't look that bad.  Come and play some of the mogul fields I've been at and let me see if you change your tune.

Why do you give them your money?

[Hardspoon]

When it's done well, I think I shoot about the same (that's what I voted for). I may leave a putt or two way short early, but long putts are easier to leave close. Also, I don't really get much spin on my wedges in the short game, so it helps quite a bit that pitches/chips don't roll out as much.

[Strandly]

Why do you give them your money?

Because I'm bad about looking at course websites before I head out and find out on the first hole the greens are mangled.

[David in FL]

Because I'm bad about looking at course websites before I head out and find out on the first hole the greens are mangled.

Admittedly, I'm not very familiar with your part of the Country, but I'd recommend looking on GolfNow. They tend to do a pretty good job of keeping track of course conditions and golfer reviews generally give pretty honest, real-time conditions. Too many options to give your hard-earned money away.....:beer:

[Strandly]

Yeah I remember seeing icons on the golfnow listings indicating aeration.  I don't think every course told golfnow about it though because I thought I scheduled a 2 or 3 times on there and showed up to aerated greens.  No course in Idaho appears to use golfnow which surprised me.

[Lihu]

Admittedly, I'm not very familiar with your part of the Country, but I'd recommend looking on GolfNow. They tend to do a pretty good job of keeping track of course conditions and golfer reviews generally give pretty honest, real-time conditions.

Too many options to give your hard-earned money away.....

One issue, is that all the courses in the area seem to aerate at about the same time.

[David in FL]

One issue, is that all the courses in the area seem to aerate at about the same time.

They do everywhere. Within a few weeks, but by asking when you book a time, you can usually work around it. More importantly, if a certain course is poorly maintained, and improperly aerated, they can, and should be specifically avoided,

[Lihu]

They do everywhere. Within a few weeks, but by asking when you book a time, you can usually work around it. More importantly, if a certain course is poorly maintained, and improperly aerated, they can, and should be specifically avoided,

The course I play one, is pretty well maintained, but the management uses it as a parking lot for large Rose Bowl events to increase their revenue. Tons of cars and people park themselves on the championship course. The shorter course is usually spared this humiliation, and usually in better condition.

There is an army of greens keepers who repair everything, but usually only the weekend golfers get the best conditions. Weekday golfers seem to get the short end of the stick, and tougher playing conditions.

I can't wait till I check out the FL courses. I hope they're not aerating them right now.

[David in FL]

The course I play one, is pretty well maintained, but the management uses it as a parking lot for large Rose Bowl events to increase their revenue. Tons of cars and people park themselves on the championship course. The shorter course is usually spared this humiliation, and usually in better condition. There is an army of greens keepers who repair everything, but usually only the weekend golfers get the best conditions. Weekday golfers seem to get the short end of the stick, and tougher playing conditions. I can't wait till I check out the FL courses. I hope they're not aerating them right now.

Call and ask, before you book. Check out reviews on GolfNow!

[Lihu]

Call and ask, before you book. Check out reviews on GolfNow!

I called TPC Tampa when I reserved a tee time, and they seemed to indicate that they were running business as usual. Cross fingers. It's expensive, so I hope it's not going to be crappy conditions. Otherwise, I might need to go to Orlando to play a round with you and risk missing my plane.

[David in FL]

I called TPC Tampa when I reserved a tee time, and they seemed to indicate that they were running business as usual. Cross fingers. It's expensive, so I hope it's not going to be crappy conditions. Otherwise, I might need to go to Orlando to play a round with you and risk missing my plane.

Call and ask specifically, when did they aerate.

[Lihu]

Call and ask specifically, when did they aerate.

I'll do that tomorrow morning.

[BuckeyeNut]

I voted about the same......my home course does an excellent job aerating the greens so it's as minimal distraction as possible.  I may miss a few due to imperfections, but I might get lucky and make 1 or 2 too.

[Pretzel]

I would say that I usually play several strokes worse due to aeration. This is due to putts, as close as three feet in, bouncing completely offline. I notice it most on putts from around 4-8 feet after a chip or lag putt. The reason is the aeration throws off the speed of the chip/lag putt, which then compounds when you miss the second putt due to the ball bouncing offline. It's like a double whammy, it kills your speed on long putts and kills your line on the mid-range ones after the first putt.

That said, I did play once at a course that did a good job of keeping the greens playable through aeration. They had somehow managed to sand the greens enough to fill the holes, but then were able to smooth it out over the holes. While I missed a putt or two still because of the holes, it was better than most courses in my area.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David in FL

Although I hate 'em as much as the next guy, probably not that far from normal, if at all.  I voted "about the same".

Ditto.

A putt I might have missed might go in and vice versa.

And long putting (lag putting) is much easier because they're slower.

I too suspect a lot of people will say otherwise.

I think that most players just let it get in their heads.  They see the rows of sand filled holed and they freak out.  I know guys who just bat the ball with the putter or give themselves an automatic two putt without even really trying.  Golf is about being able to adjust to current conditions, and aerated greens are just another condition to deal with.

[CarlSpackler]

It's hard to say. It's more difficult to judge speed and line. I find that there is an illusion created if the aerator was going in a circle that can give the appearance of break when there isn't. Using your feet to judge break such as in Aimpoint should alleviate this. I think the biggest impact is bead and speed as the aeration holes can make your ball jump offline or lose speed by hopping. Then again, it might slow it down if you hit it too hard or bring it back online of you pull/push it.

[Slice of Life]

I don't mind them since I feel I can give the ball a more confident stroke without it flying past the hole.

[scorpion12]

I thought that putting on aerated greens cost me a few strokes per round... turns out that my score has gone up since the greens have recovered. I just can't putt well. I chose I putt better on aerated greens.