The Morris Method - Green speeds made to order

[Carl Nichols]

We have just introduced the "Morris Method" to our members.  Early data seems to confirm what Tom D. said earlier, no one will circle too fast on the card...

Since we started this exercise, I have been keeping detailed information on green speed; what type of mowers used for the day, How many blade reels on the mower, staff member name and mower ID number for each mower "loop", did we groom, did we brush, did we roll, height of cut, etc.  And then, the average speed of each mower loop to determine if there is an unacceptable variance.  This is all added to a Numbers spreadsheet on my iPad.

Speeds have been very consistent and very fast (in my opinion), but replies have been surprising...
I will give two recent examples:

Green speed (4 loops): A=12'4", B=12'3", C=12'7", D=12'3". 
Response:  25% slow/OK, 25% OK, 50% fast/OK

Green Speed (4 loops): A=13'5", B=13'7", C=13'3", D=13'5"
Response:  33% OK, 66% fast/OK

Can anyone guess the scores and the pace of play for the second example....

Further, there are still comments regarding consistency from green to green...

I am certainly not writing this to brag, I am as far from a "tape measure man" as you can get. I am just pointing out the obvious, generally speaking, golfers have no idea about green speed and consistency.  Their opinion is based almost entirely on slope.

Our greens are relatively flat, and since the second world war the greens sizes are probably half of what they were in the 1920's.  Then, once modern irrigation was installed, the green sizes and shapes were "locked".  This means all the cool features and movement is now in the surrounds and collars, and we are now using only the inner flattish portion of the original putting surface.

OK, fire away, I've got broad shoulders and thick skin 

Terry--
What I found interesting about your results above is that a good portion of your membership can pretty clearly tell the difference of about 1' of stimp on fast greens.  I would not have predicted that.

[JESII]

Terry,

Thank you for that level of detail. It's great to see.

Would the optimum result be to have a bell curve with OK as the peak?

Also...do you ever measure the same locations at different times through the day? I'm always curious to see how speeds change.

[BCowan]

We have just introduced the "Morris Method" to our members.  Early data seems to confirm what Tom D. said earlier, no one will circle too fast on the card...

Since we started this exercise, I have been keeping detailed information on green speed; what type of mowers used for the day, How many blade reels on the mower, staff member name and mower ID number for each mower "loop", did we groom, did we brush, did we roll, height of cut, etc.  And then, the average speed of each mower loop to determine if there is an unacceptable variance.  This is all added to a Numbers spreadsheet on my iPad.

Speeds have been very consistent and very fast (in my opinion), but replies have been surprising...
I will give two recent examples:

Green speed (4 loops): A=12'4", B=12'3", C=12'7", D=12'3". 
Response:  25% slow/OK, 25% OK, 50% fast/OK

Green Speed (4 loops): A=13'5", B=13'7", C=13'3", D=13'5"
Response:  33% OK, 66% fast/OK

Can anyone guess the scores and the pace of play for the second example....

Further, there are still comments regarding consistency from green to green...

I am certainly not writing this to brag, I am as far from a "tape measure man" as you can get. I am just pointing out the obvious, generally speaking, golfers have no idea about green speed and consistency.  Their opinion is based almost entirely on slope.

Our greens are relatively flat, and since the second world war the greens sizes are probably half of what they were in the 1920's.  Then, once modern irrigation was installed, the green sizes and shapes were "locked".  This means all the cool features and movement is now in the surrounds and collars, and we are now using only the inner flattish portion of the original putting surface.

OK, fire away, I've got broad shoulders and thick skin 

Terry,
 
    Great work. 12.4 too slow by 25%.  That is funny and I feel for you.  I played with a guy in mid April in Ann Arbor this year and he was complaining about the green speeds running at 9.  Felt as though he shouldn't have to hit an uphill putt