In recent months we’ve often been asked how fast the greens are running and how do we measure them, so we thought a wee video of Peter Ormiston, our Head Greenkeeper actually doing the measurement and explaining the process would be the answer.
Follow the link to see the video which lasts a couple of minutes.
The fact that the balls, when rolled, stopped so close together is a sign of the trueness of the greens which has been greatly helped by the use of the turf iron – this has been an excellent acquisition.
A couple of additional bits of information which might be helpful:
10 feet on its own does not mean much, so here’s the USGA’s summary.
Green speed of 4.5 feet+=Slow
Green speed of 6.5 feet+= Medium
Green speed of 8.5 feet+ = Fast
The European Tour generally look for green speeds around 10 feet for normal events, whereas US Open venues look for green speeds of around 12 feet.
We have had the greens running at 11.5 feet on occasion this year for our bigger / more prestigious events and we’ve been asked why they can’t be as fast as that throughout the Summer. It’s quite simple – keeping the greens cut as low as that all of the time would stress the grass too much and could result in long term damage / loss of areas of the greens.
It’s also encouraging to have received so many positive comments from members and visitors alike, including feedback from former Club Champions, Tom Scott and Davie Meldrum who both recently commented that they ” have never seen the course looking or playing better.” This is praise indeed, especially from two highly respected members of more than 50 years standing.
We also had a letter from longstanding member Jim Hughes, on behalf of himself and a number of his playing partners, in which Jim said,
“we have no hesitation in saying that the course is in the best condition we have seen for a very long time. Fairways are lush, and the greens are fast and true. The greens may be a little hard to suit some players but you can’t please everyone.
When you have the rough looking good then you know everyone concerned with the upkeep of the course is working very hard.”
These comments are really appreciated by everyone involved, from the Greens Team to the Club Management and Committee members who are already working on plans to make the course even better next year.
