How many strokes do you lose playing aerated greens?

[Aguirre]

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

I'd be very surprised if anyone is really all that different though I suspect a lot of people will say otherwise.....

I'd agree.

I've found that if they're done well, you'll often see more of a problem with speed , rather than a disruption in line .  I think this is because it's hard to get the sand filling consistent from green to green.  But even then, you can use your eyes to help make an adjustment.

[SoCalSwinger]

I voted much higher, mostly because my regular course recently aerated the greens but neglected to clean off the surface, so it felt like trying to putt across a gravel pathway.  Heavy, uneven sanding wasn't enough to smooth out some pretty ragged conditions and made it pretty tough to judge speed.  Another course I played just after aerating didn't have these problems, but they also were only doing the back halves of the greens and put all the pins in the front.  They did a much better job of keeping the surface smooth, though.

[Big C]

It's aeration season so I see this thread has re-emerged. I recently played on aerated greens at my home course and even though the aeration had been performed a few weeks prior, you could still see some subtle dimpling on the green surface. I know the greens pretty well, and was surprised when one of my 5 footers broke in the opposite direction of the usual slope. I pulled it back and rolled it on a similar line and this time the putt broke the "correct" way.

It's tough to putt well when you don't know where the ball is going. I still contend most people will leave a few strokes on the course when playing aerated greens.

[Fourputt]

I played last week on my old home course on recently aerated greens... didn't even realize it until I commented that they were slower than usual.  Then one of my friends who still works there said that they had just been punched a few days earlier.  They didn't use a plug aerator this time - used a pin machine that just pokes 3/8" holes about 4 or 5 inches deep.  The greens recover so fast that you hardly even know it was done.

[DaveP043]

I checked "a few strokes higher", but it really depends on how well the work is done.  Our course aerated last Monday and Tuesday.  I played Tuesday night, and the greens were rolling at normal speed, with only occasional odd deflections.  The crew had done an excellent job of putting the right amount of sand down, and dragging it well so that the holes were just about completely filled.  I might have missed one or two putts with the deflections, but i may have also made one or two.  Of course I believe that every putt I miss is a bad bounce, and every one I make is my skill, so I'm sure I lose a stroke or two.

On the other hand, I've played when the holes weren't nearly filled in, leading to frequent odd bounces, or when there was way too much sand, making it nearly impossible to get consistent speed.  It really comes down to the skill and level of effort of the grounds crew.  When they do a good job, make sure you tell them, I bet they get way more complaints and  fewer compliments than they deserve for the work that they do.

[bones75]

  I play mostly muni's and have experienced those punched greens that 9/10 times will increase your # of putts no matter who is putting on them. If you are an expert and regularly putt out of sand traps and waste areas, you may be the exception.  I've also played tons of greens that play true, but just slower when punched.

The average I would say, where I play in San Diego is that it costs me 1 or 2 putts per round on punched greens.  But the breakdown is 50-60% of the rounds it doesn't make a difference, 30-40% of the rounds it costs me 1-2 putts, and 10% of the rounds it costs me like 5+ strokes (lag putts and shorter approach shot randomness).

some of you "nicer club" members don't know how bad it can be out here...

 

Edited September 5, 2017 by bones75

[chilepepper]

It depends.....if the crew did a decent job filling the holes with sand and dragging the green well it will cost very few strokes. One can adapt. If the crew does a poor job filling holes and dragging the sand in evenly the ball bounces all over. That will cost you. I see some real crap jobs done in some SoCal courses

[Lihu]

I previously voted that I lose a lot of strokes with aerated greens.

At this point, I voted no loss. It's totally possible that I'd only lose a few strokes at most if the conditions were very different between greens. In some cases, I can really whale on the ball for lag putts and get it potentially closer than otherwise possible especially normally fast greens.

In some cases, I might even gain strokes and GIR because the ball might stick better on the greens. Some of my playing partners just give 2 strokes once on the green. No 3 putts!