When they showed some film of the first Masters, they had one shot of a putt that looked quite slick, taking 4-5 seconds to fall breaking right from what appeared to be around 15 feet. I didn't catch what green it was on. I think this was at the start of Saturday's coverage if someone hasn't deleted their recording of it yet.
I'm sure it was downhill, but it still seemed surprisingly quick to me. A lot quick than ANY of the putts I saw, uphill or downhill, in that 1960 coverage.
That's what I was talking about.
The story I remember is that in the 40s and 50s, the ryegrass overseed was very grainy and the greens were allowed to get very firm.
As a result, the downhill putts were smoking fast, perhaps as fast as bent. And it is the downhill putts of today that are most problematic.
I've been reading Cliff Roberts' book on the Augusta National and the section I read last night documents what and when grasses were changed. (However, it was written in 1976, 4 years before bent conversion)
They did use several different overseeding combinations, and also changed to Tif 328 at one point.
I should have time tonight to retype some of those sections if anyone gives a hoot.
K