[Kevin_Reilly]

Saw this at another board...in my limited comings and goings I've never run across a measurement like this:

[Patrick_Mucci]

Kevin,

I know a number of clubs that do this.

I'm not a fan of it, but, it's a product of TV and the "must know everything" culture that pervades golf these days.

It can't be good for superintendents.

[Tim Gavrich]

Pawleys Plantation used to have a board that showed green speed, but I haven't seen it in a while.

Most of the people who play Cascata are hoping for really fast greens, probably.  I love fast greens too, and it's nice (but certainly not essential) to know the green speed.

[Ryan Farrow]

Hopefully someone can help me out here but I remember a bunch of postings like this in the clubhouse at TPC Scottsdale. Not sure if greens speeds were listed or not.

[Steve Pieracci]

I'm not a fan of it, but, it's a product of TV and the "must know everything" culture that pervades golf these days.

I have been playing my entire life with out knowing those numbers.  Now that I know them, I will play better.  Especially the UV index.  

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I've never seen UV index.

LuLu posts green speeds. I don't think any other privates in the Philadelphia area do.

[Andrew Summerell]

Posting the green speed is fairly common in Australia, especially for the weekly Saturday & mid-week comps.

Unfortunately, a lot of clubs develop a weird sort of pride in the speed of their greens. One club in Sydney (Monash) is famous for its quick greens, even though the speed of their greens render some pin positions impossible.

[JohnV]

This is a great way to deflect criticism that the green are too slow.  Most players wouldn't know the difference between a 9 and an 11.  The Super can keep them a foot or 18 inches slower than the sign and the members will be bragging about how fast their greens are.

[TEPaul]

This is a great way to deflect criticism that the green are too slow.  Most players wouldn't know the difference between a 9 and an 11.  The Super can keep them a foot or 18 inches slower than the sign and the members will be bragging about how fast their greens are."

You've got a real valid point there, JohnV, that members like to brag about a high stimp number and supers can definitely fudge the difference in what the speed is and what they write down. But most all golfers would definitely see a big difference in play between a 9 and an 11. Most golfers if they ever did play an 11 would think it was about 16!  

[John Kirk]

I believe players are getting used to faster green speeds.  Most courses cut their grass shorter than they did 15-20 years ago, and the green speeds are faster as a result.  The change has been gradual, so nobody noticed it happening.  A stimpmeter reading of 10 feet means a medium speed green to me.  11 feet is nice and fast, and I see 12-13 feet a few times a year.

As a result, some vocal members at my home club complain about slow greens, because 10 feet looks slow to them now.

JV, at Pumpkin Ridge they told us the speeds before we played last year in the club championship.  On the last two days, they were 10' 8" and 11' 4", or something like that.  Very enjoyable, but not lightning fast.

[Jim Nugent]

I have a question about what the stimp numbers mean for golfers.   Is a green that stimps at 12 twice as fast as one that stimps at 6?  Assume all other conditions the same.  "Twice as fast" to me means you hit the putt half as hard for it to go the same distance.  

I know how the Stimp Meter works.  I'm just not sure how that translates for the golfer, who does not roll balls down a ramp, but instead must putt them.  

[David Ober]

This is a great way to deflect criticism that the green are too slow.  Most players wouldn't know the difference between a 9 and an 11.  The Super can keep them a foot or 18 inches slower than the sign and the members will be bragging about how fast their greens are."

You've got a real valid point there, JohnV, that members like to brag about a high stimp number and supers can definitely fudge the difference in what the speed is and what they write down. But most all golfers would definitely see a big difference in play between a 9 and an 11. Most golfers if they ever did play an 11 would think it was about 16!  

I actually purchased a stimp meter last year. 11 is fast, but not ridiculously so. In fact, for most of 2005 and at least half of 2006, the SCGA Golf Course in Murrieta, California had their greens running between 10.5 and 11 day in and day out. I played a qualifier there when thery were running over 12.5, which is definitely very, very fast, but really not too fast for those greens -- they're HUGE and only gently sloping for the most part.

I absolutely love putting on super fast greens.

[Paul Stephenson]

This is a great way to deflect criticism that the green are too slow.  Most players wouldn't know the difference between a 9 and an 11.  The Super can keep them a foot or 18 inches slower than the sign and the members will be bragging about how fast their greens are."

You've got a real valid point there, JohnV, that members like to brag about a high stimp number and supers can definitely fudge the difference in what the speed is and what they write down. But most all golfers would definitely see a big difference in play between a 9 and an 11. Most golfers if they ever did play an 11 would think it was about 16!  

Another way to fudge the number would be to take the measurement on the "fastest" green on the course.  

We used to have green speed measurements at our course.  Our new Super stopped the practice since every green in essense measures differently.  Posting green speed only sets up The Super for un-needed abuse from the members.

[SL_Solow]

We rejected the idea for a variety of reasons.  I think it is a reflection of club members' desire to compete with other clubs for bragging rights and results in increased pressure on greenkeepers which in turn leads to unhealthy agronomic practices and inevitably leads to increased incidence of burned out and lost greens.  You don't need to know a number to know if the greens are fast or slow; nobody calibrates their stroke to an 11 or a 12.  The stimpmeters best use is as a tool to assist the green keeper in achieving consistency among his greens by introducing an objective measure.

As for those who need to know, our long time (47 yrs) greenkeeper has the best answer.  When asked about the speed of the greens, his standard response is "too fast for you."

[JESII]

I have a question about what the stimp numbers mean for golfers.   Is a green that stimps at 12 twice as fast as one that stimps at 6?  Assume all other conditions the same.  "Twice as fast" to me means you hit the putt half as hard for it to go the same distance.  

I know how the Stimp Meter works.  I'm just not sure how that translates for the golfer, who does not roll balls down a ramp, but instead must putt them.  

Jim,

You see the difference as you add slope to the equation. Ideally, the stimp reading is taken on a dead flat part of the green. Usually the super will find the "flatest" part and go in both directions and take the average.

TEP talks about the increased runout on a ball when a green gets to about 10.5 feet (if I remember correctly) having some dynamic effect on the golf course in total.

On a 2% slope, a 12 foot green will yield exponentially more roll than a 6 foot green.

[Dan Kelly]

Coming next:

Bunker Density.

Rough Thickness (Blades/Sq. Inch)

Cart Girl Age.

[Paul Stephenson]

Coming next:

Bunker Density.

Rough Thickness (Blades/Sq. Inch)

Cart Girl Age.

That last one could be very important.

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