SPIKES

[Anthony Butler]

One way in particular, less seed heads transferred from the fairways/rough onto the greens.

This can be looked at two ways;

Have we become a little too insane about the purity of our grasses on which we play the sport?  

I hear club players bitch like crazy about patches of poa on bent grass greens (literally forced to be that way) and simultaneously when you ask them about the greens at "XYZ GC" that has mixed poa greens they tell you how wonderful those greens are.

I for one don't care for homogeneous homogenized colored grasses as it is very unnatural.  Exhibits: Ron Pritchard renovated Ross styles (Aronimink, Mountain Ridge) and also Forse's reno of Peninsula (nee Beresford) all with sharp color distinctions of the pure grass cultivars.

Peninsula had the most perfect turf, but the homogeneity (especially compared to some other local turf on clubs) was very unsettling and unnatural.

The movement towards a mandatory soft spikes rule comes from the same place on every course-the maintenance shed. Therefore your comment about golfer's preferences doesn't play. Most supers are focused on one thing-conditions that make it easier to present the course in peak playing condition for longer periods.

Better playing conditions with lower maintenance costs–kind of hard to argue against it.

[John Keenan]

I agree with those in support of soft spikes. They do IMHO keep th greens in better shape.

I must admit I miss the sound metal spikes make. On balance I will take better  greens over that fine old sound any day  

[Dan_Lucas]

How many times do you see the pro's tap down spike marks after they miss a putt? I see it a lot. You can also see them from the worm cam when they show the putt rolling towards the hole.

They do pull up grass even with the pro's wearing them. Soft spikes don't. We occasionally get damage from the SS when someone does the twist & shout after a putt, but nothing like the old spike marks.

It doesn't matter how dry the course is kept, it still rains occasionally.

Soft spikes carry at least as much poa seed as metal spikes do.

[John Keenan]

Mark

Is that creaking back due to the spikes or age  

[John Keenan]

I can fully understand your comment and in fact have been able to experience on a quite regular basis.