Hello from South America

[Secretariat]

Hello from São Paulo, Brazil. From the last station of the SP Railway, 450 km from the state capital, where we play in a Scottish links-style course from the 1920s, and on sand greens! Have to master bump & run, not attack flags from above, be a good tap dancer to level your putting line, definitely will be at an advantage if your putter has a back flange (like the Anser-2) capable of easily collecting sand from the "dunes" and scattering it over hardpan and around the cup. A whole different ball game, yet all the courses are the same (Bobby Jones). Pinehurst was no different up to the early 1930s.

Club membership is plenty of sandbaggers, gamblers and thieves. 

As to the rub of the green: "the grass was not green, not even grass to him".

 

[boogielicious]

6 minutes ago, Secretariat said:

Hello from São Paulo, Brazil. From the last station of the SP Railway, 450 km from the state capital, where we play in a Scottish links-style course from the 1920s, and on sand greens! Have to master bump & run, not attack flags from above, be a good tap dancer to level your putting line, definitely will be at an advantage if your putter has a back flange (like the Anser-2) capable of easily collecting sand from the "dunes" and scattering it over hardpan and around the cup. A whole different ball game, yet all the courses are the same (Bobby Jones). Pinehurst was no different up to the early 1930s.

Club membership is plenty of sandbaggers, gamblers and thieves. 

As to the rub of the green: "the grass was not green, not even grass to him".

 

Welcome to The Sand Trap!

[CarlSpackler]

Hello and welcome!

[mcanadiens]

Greetings @Secretariat.

While I've never played sand greens, it certainly is a pretty enough looking place based on your photo. What is the name of your club?

Also, sandbaggers, gamblers and thieves are universal. We've got plenty over here.

[RandallT]

Definitely broadening the definition of sand trap! For those who hate bunkers, now they have to deal with greens that torment them with sand as well. 

Welcome!

[Secretariat]

Thx everybody for the welcome!

Club is currently known as Barretos Golf Club, in the town of Barretos, state of São Paulo, Brazil, former Anglo Golf Links, former Blue Star GC, part of an old British settlement from the 1910s linked to the huge Anglo meat plant.   

Definitely, the greens are just another sort of sand traps and source of endless torments... Two-putt every green, and you'll be just fine at the end of your round.    

[boogielicious]

3 hours ago, Secretariat said:

Thx everybody for the welcome!

Club is currently known as Barretos Golf Club, in the town of Barretos, state of São Paulo, Brazil, former Anglo Golf Links, former Blue Star GC, part of an old British settlement from the 1910s linked to the huge Anglo meat plant.   

Definitely, the greens are just another sort of sand traps and source of endless torments... Two-putt every green, and you'll be just fine at the end of your round.    

I've been to Campinas for work several times.

[GolfLug]

Wow, never seen a sand green. Interesting. So I am assuming you can fix all types of marks and holes by 'shoveling' sand and tamp it down before you putt?

 

@Secretariat, welcome to TST.

 

[Secretariat]

That's correct, GolfLug, as long as you have worked quickly between putts and is ready to play when its your turn. You can step on your line, touch it, tamp it down with the sole of your putter or shoes, you just can't build inroads to the cup or "funnels" around it. A good putter is almost always a good earthworker. So that putting here is twice a game within a game... 

[Hardspoon]

Welcome to TST!

I first read about sand greens a few years ago, and have always wanted to try it:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323728204578515661811319052

Very neat.

(Edit: if you want to read the article, but it's behind a paywall, just Google "oiled sand greens WSJ", or the title of the article, and the link will work.)

[Secretariat]

18 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I've been to Campinas for work several times.

When I was a kid, I played a course in Campinas close by the highway leading up north to Barretos. If I'm not mistaken, it was run by the 3M corp. The course was in formation back then, and I have only vague memories.

If you ever come back to Brazil and Campinas, consider travelling to Barretos and you will be welcome playing there as my guest.   

[boogielicious]

4 hours ago, Secretariat said:

When I was a kid, I played a course in Campinas close by the highway leading up north to Barretos. If I'm not mistaken, it was run by the 3M corp. The course was in formation back then, and I have only vague memories.

If you ever come back to Brazil and Campinas, consider travelling to Barretos and you will be welcome playing there as my guest.   

Thanks! 

[natureboy]

On 1/3/2017 at 8:29 AM, Secretariat said:

we play in a Scottish links-style course from the 1920s, and on sand greens! Have to master bump & run, not attack flags from above, be a good tap dancer to level your putting line,

The times I've read about sand / oiled sand greens there was usually an special rake/hoe that you could use to smooth the surface from your ball to the hole (rather than your foot or putter). Don't they provide one? Putting without a provision like that sounds very tough.

[Secretariat]

On 06/01/2017 at 1:08 AM, natureboy said:

The times I've read about sand / oiled sand greens there was usually an special rake/hoe that you could use to smooth the surface from your ball to the hole (rather than your foot or putter). Don't they provide one? Putting without a provision like that sounds very tough.

On 04/01/2017 at 0:02 AM, Hardspoon said:

Welcome to TST!

I first read about sand greens a few years ago, and have always wanted to try it:

These greens are different from the sand greens of the US Great Plains and possibly Australia’s, though they also use wasted motor oil to bring the sand together and make the putting surface smoother and more receptive to approaches. Their preparation somewhat resembles that of tennis clay courts, involving implements such as hoes, two or three types of rakes, large wire brushes, hand roll and, finally, a large, rectangular piece of oilcloth and tarpaulin that is swept gently over the putting surface, in larger and larger concentric circles around the hole. Pin placement also changes, like in grass greens. In fact, shoveling a bit of sand and scattering it here and there to level the surface do not take much more time than removing leaves or wormcasts from your line in a grass green. It is all done quickly between players' putts. 

The green you see in the pic is not prepared for play. The photo was taken the day after a heavy rain fell and flooded the greens. You can see the sand is a bit darker on the right, lower portion of the green where water accumulated. The other photo shows caddies putting on a green almost ready for play, on caddies’ day (Monday).  

  

[Secretariat]

Pinehurst #2 (before 1934)