What's up with practice greens?

[jmtbkr]

Got to the course half hour early on Saturday. So I practiced my putting beforehand. First tee, boom down the fairway, chip on to the green and my birdie put, which I hit like the practice green, sailed off the back end of the green! Par put, the ball flies off the other side. wound up 3 putting.
Why can't the practice greens be more like the regulation greens? Is it that much harder to groom/cultive them? I was really pissed after the 1st hole, but got over it to recover and hit a 40 for 9.
But really, you prcatice on velcro and you play on ice....tital bull$hit!

[famousdavis]

Got to the course half hour early on Saturday. So I practiced my putting beforehand. First tee, boom down the fairway, chip on to the green and my birdie put, which I hit like the practice green, sailed off the back end of the green! Par put, the ball flies off the other side. wound up 3 putting.
Why can't the practice greens be more like the regulation greens? Is it that much harder to groom/cultive them? I was really pissed after the 1st hole, but got over it to recover and hit a 40 for 9.
But really, you prcatice on velcro and you play on ice....tital bull$hit!

A good player can determine the speed of a green b sight. Don't blame the greenskeeper for your bad putting. You probably blame others when u get in a sand trap.

[jmtbkr]

A good player can determine the speed of a green b sight. Don't blame the greenskeeper for your bad putting. You probably blame others when u get in a sand trap.

What a load of crap. Nobody can tell how fast just by lookng at it. If that were the case I could win every lottey just by looking at the entry tickets.

And the occasional time I do hit into a trap, my sand play is exceptionally great!

[mongrel]

The sensible strategy is to land your shot on the green closer to the hole than at least one of your fellow players so that at least one goes first and you can watch how his ball rolls. Of course my strategy is to miss the first green leaving a relatively short pitch or chip and then I watch how the shot rolls out. At this time of the winter where some of us live, just being able to play is a luxury and I wouldn't expect a lot of attention to be given to the consistency of the course greens versus the practice green. During normal golf season, that's a different deal. I play courses where some of the greens are faster or slower than others. Just local knowledge. Some of the tree-shaded greens can't be cut as low as the exposed ones due to the danger of burning out. And the trees around the green can't be cut due to environmental regulations. So you just do the best you can to remember which ones are fast and which are slow or which parts of the greens are faster than the other parts. Same with fairways. Sometimes I will purposely try to land a drive or par 5 layup in the rough since the fairways are soggy sometimes or cut so short that you have bare baked clay lies in the summer.

[lorenzoinoc]

The sensible strategy is to land your shot on the green closer to the hole than at least one of your fellow players so that at least one goes first and you can watch how his ball rolls. Of course my strategy is to miss the first green leaving a relatively short pitch or chip and then I watch how the shot rolls out. At this time of the winter where some of us live, just being able to play is a luxury and I wouldn't expect a lot of attention to be given to the consistency of the course greens versus the practice green. During normal golf season, that's a different deal. I play courses where some of the greens are faster or slower than others. Just local knowledge. Some of the tree-shaded greens can't be cut as low as the exposed ones due to the danger of burning out. And the trees around the green can't be cut due to environmental regulations. So you just do the best you can to remember which ones are fast and which are slow or which parts of the greens are faster than the other parts. Same with fairways. Sometimes I will purposely try to land a drive or par 5 layup in the rough since the fairways are soggy sometimes or cut so short that you have bare baked clay lies in the summer.

Very good suggestions. Really, how could anyone expect a practice green which gets no ball marks and is cut on a completely different schedule to be the same as greens on the course?

I favor an approach which while mysterious and would never occur to some seems to work very well for me. Here it is, are you sitting down? I ask one of the pros: "How does the speed of the practice green compare to what I'll find on the course?" I know, I know, it's mind blowing.

[jmtbkr]

Very good suggestions. Really, how could anyone expect a practice green which gets no ball marks and is cut on a completely different schedule to be the same as greens on the course?

reasonable answer. I really thought the main purpose of a practice green was to give the player an idea of how the greens are running. Stupid me to assume that - DUH! I guess they are for the hacks to show off their latest fashions befor their rounds

This was my first round at the course so I had no idea what I was in for. I played with 3 choppers and we got passed by a forseome of 'diagonal cutters' by the 5th hole.

Mongrel, just to rub it in.....it was 82* on Saturday in south Florida

[famousdavis]

reasonable answer. I really thought the main purpose of a practice green was to give the player an idea of how the greens are running. Stupid me to assume that - DUH! I guess they are for the hacks to show off their latest fashions befor their rounds

This was my first round at the course so I had no idea what I was in for. I played with 3 choppers and we got passed by a forseome of 'diagonal cutters' by the 5th hole.

Mongrel, just to rub it in.....it was 82* on Saturday in south Florida

I know how fast a green is by touch and sight. It's called hand eye coordination. I rarely need to practice putting. You're not going to win this one so accept it's you and not the greenskeeper Mr Picky.

[jmtbkr]

I know how fast a green is by touch and sight. It's called hand eye coordination. I rarely need to practice putting. You're not going to win this one so accept it's you and not the greenskeeper Mr Picky.

You can pick your friends
you can pick your nose
but you can't pick your friends' noses


Please elabortae on the touch and sight. Always looking to pick up a pointer or three from a pro.

[Pky6471]

Got to the course half hour early on Saturday. So I practiced my putting beforehand. First tee, boom down the fairway, chip on to the green and my birdie put, which I hit like the practice green, sailed off the back end of the green! Par put, the ball flies off the other side. wound up 3 putting.
Why can't the practice greens be more like the regulation greens? Is it that much harder to groom/cultive them? I was really pissed after the 1st hole, but got over it to recover and hit a 40 for 9.
But really, you prcatice on velcro and you play on ice....tital bull$hit!

in the Northeast, I don't think they call it "practice green" but "temp green" ... when you are on a green, take NO MORE than 2 putts - as a rule

[famousdavis]

You can pick your friends
you can pick your nose
but you can't pick your friends' noses


Please elabortae on the touch and sight. Always looking to pick up a pointer or three from a pro.

I'm feeling Froggy.

[jmtbkr]

C'mon C'mon C'mon FD.....you're not gettin off that easy.
Please tell us mere mortals your secrets of the greens.....I'm holding my breath...............

[famousdavis]

C'mon C'mon C'mon FD.....you're not gettin off that easy.
Please tell us mere mortals your secrets of the greens.....I'm holding my breath...............

It's not rocket science. I analyze the sheen, thickness, retraction rate and look for shag. It's just a feeling I get. I automatically know exactly how hard to hit my putts through Thacker of the five senses. I beat you with the sixth sense.

[mongrel]

C'mon C'mon C'mon FD.....you're not gettin off that easy.
Please tell us mere mortals your secrets of the greens.....I'm holding my breath...............

If the green is grass, there will be grain. If the grass between your ball and the hole is shiny, the grain is growing away from you and the putt will be faster than normal and may not break as much as you read. If, on the other hand, the grass is dull then the grain is against you and the putt will be slower than you think and maybe break a bit more. Grain running diagonally will act like a combo of the above. Sometimes if I am unsure how fast a putt is I will foregone my typical longer flowing "door open to door closed" path and just use a short jab that I first used as a young boy on the green at our farm. Watch the pro who won at Torrey Pines two weeks ago (forget his name but he beat the guy who won in Phoenix yesterday) and copy his short jab. Sort of a pop putt like the old guys used back in the '50's and '60's before the Stimpmeter Era and the Soft Putter Insert Era and assorted b*llsh*t of the sort.

[mongrel]

reasonable answer. I really thought the main purpose of a practice green was to give the player an idea of how the greens are running. Stupid me to assume that - DUH! I guess they are for the hacks to show off their latest fashions befor their rounds

This was my first round at the course so I had no idea what I was in for. I played with 3 choppers and we got passed by a forseome of 'diagonal cutters' by the 5th hole.

Mongrel, just to rub it in.....it was 82* on Saturday in south Florida

Well that hurts even more since I can't afford to take my typical first week of March Florida golf excursion this year because the old lady's still out of work. Next year, hopefully. And yes, you have every right to expect the practice green to be exactly like the greens on the course. Proper course preparation dictates that each green receive the same cutting and rolling and logic dictates that the crew start with the practice green and then go do the rest sequentially. In this economy, though..................

[Pky6471]

Well that hurts even more since I can't afford to take my typical first week of March Florida golf excursion this year because the old lady's still out of work. Next year, hopefully. And yes, you have every right to expect the practice green to be exactly like the greens on the course. Proper course preparation dictates that each green receive the same cutting and rolling and logic dictates that the crew start with the practice green and then go do the rest sequentially. In this economy, though..................

sometime I wonder how true that practice green is, i.e. how close is that to those greens on course.

Talking about practice greens... Yrs ago when I just got into this stupid game I took my family to the Pinehurst area and we stayed at the Foxfire Resort CC. This Pinehurst , North Carolina area is incredible, I bet that when you drive within 10 miles radius you would see fairways and greens. Foxfire has 36 holes of its own, But The Pinehurst country club at that time already had eight , yes 8 courses and you all know the famous N0.2 at Pinehurst. The club house is impressive, and its putting green is even more incredible. At that time you had to stay at its grand hotel to be able to play at No.2 (but they close at least one month in advance in preparation for any major tourney)...

[oldplayer]

You don't need to evaluate the speed of the green necesarily. Most good putters are touch putters and don't think how hard to hit the ball. They just look at the hole, the ground in between, the percieved line and let their hands work the ball to the hole. Although not a reality, I like to think the eyes tell the hands what to do, bypassing thought processes.
If finding the first green different to the practice green then you are surely forewarned about the second. Missjudgeing the speed of the first green does not wreck a round of golf.

[SoonerBS]

It's not rocket science. I analyze the sheen, thickness, retraction rate and look for shag. It's just a feeling I get. I automatically know exactly how hard to hit my putts through Thacker of the five senses. I beat you with the sixth sense.

This is so amateur, I expected better from you. Anyone knows that you can take a pinch of the green and place it between your cheek and gum to determine the speed of the greens. A truly tangy taste means a high acidic level which produces a slower green speed, while a dry, or sweet taste means low acid and a faster green speed. Over time, you get attuned to the levels of taste and quickly determine just how fast the greens will be and how much touch you need to put on the ball.

I thought everyone knew this.

[lorenzoinoc]

This is so amateur, I expected better from you. Anyone knows that you can take a pinch of the green and place it between your cheek and gum to determine the speed of the greens. A truly tangy taste means a high acidic level which produces a slower green speed, while a dry, or sweet taste means low acid and a faster green speed. Over time, you get attuned to the levels of taste and quickly determine just how fast the greens will be and how much touch you need to put on the ball.

I thought everyone knew this.

The Skoal method works however after watching Fast Food Nation I'm willing to learn green speeds the hard way.

[mongrel]

Here's two things you could do if you have the stones to skirt around the Rule Book. When you get to the green and you've got a putt of some decent length and have no idea how fast it will be, you can use the Polish Stimpmeter. The way this works is that you bend down to mark your ball and then pick up your ball and reach into your pocket to grab a fresh and clean one of the same make, model and number to putt with. You accidentally fumble the first ball when trying to get it into your pocket and it rolls a couple of feet. You observe how far it rolls and you will know, because you have practiced this accident many times, how fast the green is by how far the errant ball rolls from your feet. Be carefull not to over-use this as you will get called on it if you are playing in competition.

The other method is to walk to the hole after you have marked your ball with the putter held loosely by the grip end. You accidentially brush the leading edge of your putter across the top of the green next to the intended line of your putt. If the leading edge kicks up some blades of green grass, the grain in against you and the putt will be sow. If the subtle brush does not raise any blades of grass, the putt will be slick. Note: If the greens are planted with one of the modern hybrids with no grain, this ain't gonna work. Again, you need to be sly about this since it is a violation of the Rules of Golf if it seems to have been done intentionally. Another note: I do not do these things but have seen others do them. But nothing anyone else does against the rules bothers me a whit because in the end, Karma prevails.