I think technology (of golf clubs and maintenance equipment) has completely changed what aspects of the game are most important. 50 years ago, the golf clubs were not very forgiving and hitting greens in regulation was very difficult and you needed to be a great ball striker to be a great player. There was a huge difference between great ball strikers and mediocre ball strikers. The greens were not very fast, which made putting easier. Two putting from 30 feet is much easier on slow greens and 5 footers are much easier on slow greens. Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, and Byron Nelson were some of the best ball strikers to ever live and they dominated in their day. Putting was a different story for Hogan and Snead.
I couldn't disagree more.
fast greens are much easier.
A mishit on a fast green hardly affects the ball at all.
Master a 2-6 inch backswing and you have it on today's fast greens.
Try a green sloping with 4-6 degrees with a pin actually cut in that slope that stimps at 5 and tell me a 5 footer is easy.
Try controlling distance on a 45 footer uphill 5 degrees vs. the opposite putt downhill. One requires about 1/10 the size of swing of the other and you better strike the uphiller solid or you'll be 20 feet short.
On today's super fast greens actual slopes are neutered, and when not neutered, not used for pin placements-resulting in boring flattish tiers being built or used.
A 6 footer on TOUR is a virtual certainty-30 years ago it was 50%.
Who knows what it was 50 years ago.
and I also agree that technolgy has shrunk courses, making approaches shorter, but the old equipment wasn't that hard to control-it just went shorter on smaller scale courses.It's not like all the bombers are hitting it straight, it's just that every week a new bomber happens to be hitting it where he can find it and plays well.
I'm a very crooked hiiter(about the same with today's equipment as old stuff-but longer) and today's greens help me more than the old greens ever did.
Jeff,
If fast greens are easier than slow, why were the pros complaining at Quail Hollow about how fast the greens were last week? Why would the USGA choose to make the greens as fast as they can for the US Open? Why does Oakmont make their greens run at 13+? Would going long off the tee at 16 at Augusta be as terrible on slow greens as it is on fast greens? All these courses and organizations would make their greens run at 7 if it was more difficult.
A good player can shoot at every pin on slow greens because short siding yourself isn't a problem on slow greens because it's possible to stop a flop shot on slow greens. On fast greens there are times when you short side yourself and you cannot get up and down no matter how good your short game is.
Eric,
Your wisdom is conventional and most of the powers that be would agree with you.
The pros were complaining about the SLOPES at Quail-result? The slopes will be reduced(that's what many commentators said needed to be done)-the greens will not be slowed down-just the slopes neutered.
All things equal, the greens at Augusta are going to be harder at 14 then they are at 10.
But they're not equal--- and they've flattening and tiering those greens bit by bit over the years so they can play at super high speed.
Slower greens with more slope can be kept firmer as the turf is less stressed.
More slope makes the tilt of a green actually matter and coupled with firmness can really affect a first bounce.(making angles and shot placement actually matter).
A softer, fast green will tend to have less slope (at least in the pinnable area) and while the ball may roll further, its first bounce is less and a super spinny shot doesn't actually roll much anyway-but will certainly bounce farther on a firmer green-remeber on a fast green that roll could be backwards-something seen less often on firmer slower greens.
As far as running their greens at 7?
If they ran them at 7, and cut the pins into sloped areas(2-4 degrees) to have them curve commensurately as less slope with high speed, they would be much tougher-due to the DRAMATIC differences in pace between uphill and downhill putts.
If they put them in the same mundane locations they are forced to due to high speed, yes putting would be easier at 7 stimp.
The whole fun of playing greens at the appropriate speed is to appreciate and experience the architecture-not avoid it by finding a "fair" pin placement.
Clubs and organizations don't don't run their greens fast(absolte stimp) for any other reason than to measure their johnsons.
A green
running 7 can produce an equally fast putt as a green
running 13 IF that green is allowed to have and USE an area with enough slope. And the difference between and uphiller and downhiller will be exponentially greater, due to the incredible slowness of the putt UP the hill on that green running at 7 which tolerates far more slope.
Read some old articles about Augusta and Sam Snead as well as Pete Dye's take on green speeds, slope and grain.
Signed,
less conventional