The biggest difference I see now from a a few years ago is the how the ball stops on the greens. I know most say ANGC will never go to the ultradwarf greens but I bet they do...when the greens there release it's a totally different place....people are calling the greens fast but shots such as the shot Speith had from the right of 15 green would not grab at all or even Bubba's chip from behind 15 (if he had touched the green)...
Interesting thought, Mike. I'm reading Gil Capp's book on the 1975 Masters. He makes an interesting comment about the early April date contributing to the difficulty putting as the toonamint occurred during a transition period from rye to bermudagrass. In waiting until Wednesday to give the greens a close cut, they staved off the annual ryegrass die-out until after the practice rounds, producing an entirely different putting surface for round 1.
Anyway, about that Spieth pitch on 15: are you saying it would have run out with ultradwarf because the grain would have gone away from him (and it was late afternoon) or would the grass not grab regardless of the direction from which the golfer's ball approached? I think from your Bubba comment you mean the latter but just checking.
What kind of game(s) would ultradwarf favor? Would the type of game favored change? Would there be an even greater premium placed on the ability of the golfer to hit high approach shots?