Green Speeds And Pace Of Play, Gullane Edition

Out watching Scottish Open opening day play, an odd thing happened: players routinely putted out 3-4 footers. The overall pace seemed brisk, but relaxed.

Case in point: the group of Fowler, Donaldson and Poulter were at the 17th green. Both Donaldson and Fowler hit mediocre first putts, leaving 3-4 footers for par. Both briefly marked their ball, repositioned for alignment, then putted out.

This is hardly unique in the annals of golf, particularly on links. Except that such putting-out rarely happens any more due to professional event green speeds consistently in the Stimpmeter 12-foot range.

The green speeds at Gullane for round one? According to the European Tour course setup "table": 10 feet, 3 inches.

The "time par" for day one threesomes at Gullane was 4:20. That's about what it took the faster twosomes to get around Chambers Bay this year.

According to the European Tour's charts of player pace for round one, groups played in the 4:28 to 4:48 pace, with the final two threesomes of the day taking a very respectable 4:48. And that's with a few long walks between greens and tees, along with enough breeze to make things interesting (and some rough too).

The moral of the story? Green speeds impact pace of play, not to mention what they do for maintenance cost and architectural integrity.

Comments

[Convert]

I heard several players say that there is very little break in these greens, also a huge factor in putting out from 3-4 feet.

Don't forget the players at Chambers Bay were dealing with dirt and poa annua bulbs, Gullane greens looked true.

[Ivan Morris]

Green speed can really slow down handicap golfers - no question.

[ol Harv]

"The moral of the story? Green speeds impact pace of play, not to mention what they do for maintenance cost and architectural integrity."

Can we send this to Greens Chairmen accross the world? 100 years from now this statement will be at the top of someone's blog or whatever they'll call it then, as a profound quote from the past, in a similar way that is done here daily. Bravo!

[Play It Forward]

Amen!!!!

I've been preaching this for years. Unfortunately no one is listening. Everyone wants to say their greens are the fastest around (arms race), but of course they never putt out the 3 and 4 footers.

@ol harv - it would be a waste of paper, time, etc. They just don't listen.

[Adam Clayman]

A Good routing helps pace. Chambers was far from a thoughtful routing.

[Shivas]

"...a very respectable 4:48".

Yeah, right.... in Haiti!

Geoff, have you lost your marbles. 4:48 is PATHETIC. How 3 guys shooting a combined 210 or so could require almost 5 hours is beyond my meager levels of comprehension.

[Abu Dhabi Golfer]

Adam Clayman - the word "thoughtful" hardly distinguishes Chambers' routing vs Gullane. In fact, there are similarities. One kind of rambles back and forth and round and round on both layouts. And both have multiple high-climbs.

In fact, I don't think routing is an issue at all. IMO, Gullane is such a natural and mature course, that this is what lends to pace of play (in addition to less complex green complexes - excuse the pun)

[KLG]

What Shivas says: "...a very respectable 4:48" in a Senior Amateur Qualifier would very likely get more than a few strokes added to your score, if you were even allowed to finish, even though I have yet to have a gaggle of marshals and spectators finding errant shots. And in my experience, on greens with goosed speeds that are way beyond the competence of your typical old single-digit golfer. I remember my first try. GM was heard by my caddie friend and me bragging that "his" fine-blade Bermuda greens (I forget which strain) were running 13+. Yes, they were. Lots of balls putted right off the greens...Including by a former Dear Leader of the USGA whose caddie was one of the Assistants at his august golf club. That did make me laugh. A little.

[Ranchobob]

4:48 would get you a brief talking to by a marshal at Bandon Dunes.

I can play in under four hours and will take about 15 to 20 more strokes (mid-80s typical score on my home course) than these guys.

I'm not impressed.

[Johnnnycz]

Slower green speeds could help pace of play. So would penalizing golfers who take more than 1or2 practice swings.

[Ted B. (Charging Rhino)]

Stimpmeter Readings
When the USGA in 1977 developed the modern Stimpmeter. they had 581 Courses measured. Even Oakmont where ancedotally the claim has always been 12'-plus actually TESTED under 10'-0". Slow down the ball? Try slowing-down the greens to traditional-levels.

Augusta National 7'-11”
Congressional 6'-4
Cypress Point 7'-8
Harbortown 5'-1
Medinah 7'-8
Merion 6'-4
Oakland Hills 8'-5
Oakmont 9'-8
Pine Valley 7'-4
Pinehurst #2 6'-10
San Francisco Golf Club 7'-2
Shinnecock Hills 7'-2
Winged Foot 7'-5

Todays PGA Tour 11'-6 to 13'-0

[ol Harv]

"@ol harv - it would be a waste of paper, time, etc. They just don't listen."

Unfortunately you're probably right. These type practices are for the "other" clubs and golf courses, "not ours".

[Brad]

It takes time to line up your 4th putt. Slow the greens and the ball down, it is what would be best for the game

[ringer]

Brad Klein quoted this one time, wasn't sure who'd said it: "The proper green speed is such that an average foursome can complete a round under the Rules of Golf in four hours." Fast greens slow play. (That's a sentence, even though it doesn't look like one.)

I heard of a club that adopted an informal rule that the player may mark his ball on each green once only (unless asked to do so by another golfer). That might speed things too.

[Todd Marsh Fitness]

That is a great point on how they holed out in the Scottish Open. Didn't think about green speeds and pace of play but when I think about the courses I have played I do slow down on those courses where I have fast downhill putts.

Ted B. where did you get those data? That is very interesting.