When evaluating a course do you try to “understand” its conditioning?

[jeffwarne]

Reading some of the confusing criteria for evaluation here makes me no longer feel guilty for being positively swayed by a great view/setting or a smile from a perky 1/2 way house attendant.


If a fairway is "firm" do I need to rate how fast it is?
and is a green is "firm yet receptive" whatever that means, does it get more points for being fast too?
now I find out the "predictability of the result" is important.
I've yet to see a green that was less predictable than the stroke of the golfers playing on it......


I still enjoy the game played outdoors.

[Jon Wiggett]

now I find out the "predictability of the result" is important.
I've yet to see a green that was less predictable than the stroke of the golfers playing on it......


I still enjoy the game played outdoors.

Jeff,


I would suggest most people prefer greens that are predictable to a certain extent even if you do not. Sneer if you will 

[Kyle Harris]

I've yet to see a green that was less predictable than the stroke of the golfers playing on it......

This made me smile.


I'm working up the balls to tell a guest who asks me if all the greens are this fast/slow/whatever whether or not the plan to continue hitting their putts on the toe/heel/leading edge. 

[jeffwarne]

now I find out the "predictability of the result" is important.
I've yet to see a green that was less predictable than the stroke of the golfers playing on it......


I still enjoy the game played outdoors.

Jeff,


I would suggest most people prefer greens that are predictable to a certain extent even if you do not. Sneer if you will 

Of course you're right-especially when it comes to greens.
Just having ago at the rater directives.


I played a course recently where the greens ran 13, the approaches about 11 and the fairways were about 8-9.
Just wonder where it all ends.... and if a ball will ever again end up anywhere but a dead level spot

[Jon Wiggett]

now I find out the "predictability of the result" is important.
I've yet to see a green that was less predictable than the stroke of the golfers playing on it......


I still enjoy the game played outdoors.

Jeff,


I would suggest most people prefer greens that are predictable to a certain extent even if you do not. Sneer if you will 

Of course you're right-especially when it comes to greens.
Just having ago at the rater directives.


I played a course today where the greens ran 13, the approaches about 11 and the fairways were about 8-9.
Just wonder where it all ends.... and if a ball will ever again end up anywhere but a dead level spot

Jeff,


it never fails to amaze me how so many golfers and the golfing bodies have been conned into believing that higher stimping playing surfaces are some how more difficult. So many courses have been ruined by this stupidity with the best example of this being TOC. When I played it a lot in the mid to late 80's the fairways were firm but cut at about 18mm (3/4") meaning the ball would come to rest on a decent slope. This increased the challenge of the course immeasurably with all the sidehill, up/downhill lies. I played it again two summers ago for the first time in 20 years and the fairways were cut much lower with the effect that all the lies were flat. The course is now a shadow of its former self.

[Anthony_Nysse]

Let's back up for a second...


March is NOT off season for a course in South Carolina, unless it is in the mountains.
When I worked at Hilton Head THE Season began Feb 15th.
Sure the non overseeded courses aren't bright green in the fairway but their greens and fairways will play just fine.


A rater who doesn't understand that bermuda grass is off color(light green, to brown to nearly white in sub freezing nights) until temperatures stop dropping below 40ish at night, shouldn't be rating golf courses. Period. But I guess when magazines charge raters, they're not overly discerning about their actual knowledge.


When I worked at Long Cove I would get knucklehead visitors and raters who would comment on them needing to water the "brown" course more when it was dormant in january.
I would counter by asking them how their course in New Jersey was looking.


We opened Friday-
Raters bring it on as there is not a soul around except weekends until Memorial Day weekend(which is coincidentally when all the ratings calls start and I have to say no-interesting how many have 516 area codes on Memorial day weekend.....but I digress)


Spring is a great time to play The Bridge with tawny fairways and firm and fast wall to wall.

Agree with Jeff. When I was at Long Cove, early march we started to clean up all the beds, refresh with straw & mulch, lower the height of cuts on dormant turf to remove some of the winter chaff. Every thing got edged, painted, cleaned because high season was coming. Same could be said for Kiawah Island & Myrtle Beach areas. In fact, Id say that March -mid May is what kept most of Myrtle Beach afloat. This is also why some courses still overseed-They want to be their best at their busiest.