I'll let ya in on some professional tricks of the trade - it's called filters. NBC was the first to start using them a few years ago, now CBS is doing it to. I don't think ABC uses them, which is unfortunately, why the courses don't look as good to ya'll because they're not as green. The filters they use make the course look ultra-green, when they really aren't. It's like 'Photoshop-ing' the telecast. If you look really hard at the sand and some of the images in the background, and if they have a yellow or green tint, than the cameras are using filters.
Did you notice how GREEN Kapalua and Wailea looked during the telecasts? I know Hawaii is green, but it's not THAT green. From most of the pics I've seen, the turf looks a darker-green with some blue in it. This year, they looked like glowing emerald carpets.
We know that all the courses out there don't look like Augusta National, not even the best PGA stops like Riviera I don't think. From all the pics I've seen of Riviera, it does have a light-green color to the turf, and did look especially good this year as it was dry for once! nice horizontal mowing lines on the tee boxes and fairways looked good I thought, and emphasized the contours in the fairways.
What I noticed this year was all the ancient old, giant sycamores down in the 'grove' in the bottom part of the courses valley - #5, #6, #7 tee, #17 tee, and #16 green. Some of them aren't even alive anymore! and upheld by metal supports and beams - a very cool touch I thought.
Can't wait to see this great old course some day for the tourney.