Golf Australia – August 2019

SPEEDFORNORMALPLAY CATEGORY TOURNAMENTPLAY CATEGORY

8’6” FAST 10’6” FAST

7’6” MEDIUM FAST 9’6” MEDIUM FAST

6’6” MEDIUM 8’6” MEDIUM

5’6” MEDIUM SLOW 7’6” MEDIUM SLOW

4’6” SLOW 6’6” SLOW

T

he speed of greens is a

talking point from

majors, to Tour events

to club monthly medals.

Speeds are measured

with a device known as a Stimpmeter,

an aluminium bar which is raised to an

angle of about 20 degrees so a ball can

run down its length and along a fl at part

of a green. The distance the ball rolls

is measured in feet, which is then the

speed of the green. The fastest greens

in the world – like those at Augusta

National for the Masters – run at

about 12-15ft on the stimp (we’ll never

know for sure because the club doesn’t

talk about it), whereas the greens at

a normal club would be about 6-8ft.

This table below shows di… erent green

speeds produced by the USGA:

O

neofthebiggestmistakesclubgolfers

makeisunder-playingbreakand

missingonthelowside(theamateur

side).Dothatandgravitydictatesthat

theballneverhasachanceofcatching

theedgeoftheholeandgoingin.Instead,youneedto

shiftyouraimawayfromtheapex(thehighpointofthe

break)andtowardsthestartofthearc.

HOWQUICK?

Q

R

THE ART OF

GREEN READING

You will never hole putts

unless you know how to

assess break

PRACTICE DRILL
Find a 15ft putt with substant ial
break and plot the apex. Starting
the ball on this line (as shown by
the yellow ball), hit a series of putts
and note how gravity pulls the
ball below the hole. To get the ball
rolling on the high side, you need to
visualise where the start of the arc
is and get the ball running on that
line, as shown by the string line.

VISUALISE THE FINISH

Try to simulate the last two or three

feet of the putt by making a couple

of practice putts close to the hole

and visualising how the ball enters

the hole. The ball will break the

most when it starts to slow down, so

consider this if you’re trying to die the

ball into the hole. The optimum speed

of a putt should fi nish 18 inches past

the hole.

RULES CHANGE: TOUCHING THE LINE

Under the new rules there is no longer a penalty for merely

touching the line of play on the putting green. But a player is still

subject to the prohibition on improving his or her line of play on

the putting green (see Rule 8.1a).

It’s a simple device, but the

Stimpmeter is very effective.

golf australia | AUGUST 2019 63