What's the green speed of a Tour tournament?

I called the KLGCC course manager, En. Md Nizam, to enquire about the green speeds of the recently concluded LPGA Sime Darby tournament.

Here are the speeds.

Day 1 - 10 ft 8 in
Day 2 - 10 ft 8 in
Day 3 - 11 ft
Day 4 - 11 ft

Ever tried putting to a speed of 11?

How would we fare?

I went to the putting green one day after the tournament.

And came away full of new respect for the ladies of LPGA.

At 11 ft, the smallest of break will curl the ball away from the hole at the last few inches unless the line was absolutely true.

And a miss will result in a stunningly long comebacker.

Now I know why the obsession in keeping the ball below the hole. It makes a world of difference.

And why the zero offset Scotty Newport 2.6 is so light. It is very hard to make a tiny stroke go straight and at the right speed when the movement is so small.

was fortunate to play Serapong when it was at 11. Had 43 putts, despite a good 15-20 mins at putting area before the game. My lag putts were just down the drain.

A lot of that was due to the shock, and this was only 8.5 to 11. Dont even mention the 13 at some thai courses I read from few FRs here.

I tried both HH & Warrent at 9.5 and loved it. Not too fast, not too slow.

Watched Asian Tour weekly show the other day, and the stimp at Macao Open was listed at only 9.

The green speed at the Barclays Singapore Open this year will be between 11-12. I'd say this is pretty much the norm for a European Tour event. I have played on much faster greens when I was studying in New Zealand (Between 10-12 at my home course in Auckland)and in Australia. I remember playing the Mastercard Junior Masters at the Vines in Perth. It was my first time playing in an Australian tournament. I 5 putted the first green. I went on to find out the green speed was 14 that day. My stint in New Zealand did help me tremendously when i next played a string of events in Australia. The greens must have averaged 11-13 every week.

pushslice wrote:

...
A lot of that was due to the shock, and this was only 8.5 to 11. Dont even mention the 13 at some thai courses I read from few FRs here.

I tried both HH & Warrent at 9.5 and loved it. Not too fast, not too slow.

...

Tell me about the shock; I know it well. One just cannot wrap the mind around how far it will roll.

It takes several holes to get the stubborn mind to accept the evidence presented before it. Funny how the mind works. It will cling stubbornly to our beliefs and defend it at all cost.

To get my putts into the cup on the practice green, I found a way. I almost 'hypnotize' myself into believing the stroke will go in, I visualize and feel it clearly in the practice stroke. And made 5 curling putts in a row. I was stunned. The moment I allowed any doubt to creep in, the ball stayed out.

In comparison, HH at 9.5 does not seem so bad right?

The regular speed in KLGCC I checked just now is 10 ft.

13 ft? Wow, I would be speechless.

jhan18 wrote:

The green speed at the Barclays Singapore Open this year will be between 11-12. I'd say this is pretty much the norm for a European Tour event. I have played on much faster greens when I was studying in New Zealand (Between 10-12 at my home course in Auckland)and in Australia. I remember playing the Mastercard Junior Masters at the Vines in Perth. It was my first time playing in an Australian tournament. I 5 putted the first green. I went on to find out the green speed was 14 that day. My stint in New Zealand did help me tremendously when i next played a string of events in Australia. The greens must have averaged 11-13 every week.

14?????

What is the average and the maximum on the US PGA tour?

yup they get near 14 on hot summer days. no idea lee.

jhan18 wrote:

yup they get near 14 on hot summer days. no idea lee.

Thanks bro. I have been schooled.

Will practice putting on my marble floor instead of the mat from now on.

Lee36328 wrote:

At 11 ft, the smallest of break will curl the ball away from the hole at the last few inches unless the line was absolutely true.

And a miss will result in a stunningly long comebacker.

Now I know why the obsession in keeping the ball below the hole. It makes a world of difference.

I appreciate what was written after trying Tanjong course this morning with a registered speed of 10.8. Found out after 9 holes, doesn't help much knowing the speed. Mental battle to adjust putting distance. One long putt was so fast that it rolled over the fringe and into the rough, and got to chip it back.

Lion Iron wrote:

Lee36328 wrote:

At 11 ft, the smallest of break will curl the ball away from the hole at the last few inches unless the line was absolutely true.

And a miss will result in a stunningly long comebacker.

Now I know why the obsession in keeping the ball below the hole. It makes a world of difference.

I appreciate what was written after trying Tanjong course this morning with a registered speed of 10.8. Found out after 9 holes, doesn't help much knowing the speed. Mental battle to adjust putting distance. One long putt was so fast that it rolled over the fringe and into the rough, and got to chip it back.

Yes. Sometimes, when you think you are on, but on the 'wrong side' of the green, you're not really on. There's no line that does not take your ball back out to the fringe, other than holing it.

In such a case, it's better to be on the fringe below the hole, chipping upslope.

Lee, try spring city kunming.
I was there earlier this year I think March or April
Green speed 13-15. Yes putting on marble feel and on downsloped, the tendencies of over run it out of the green is very very high. Even the gentlest tap gets the ball going and going and going which feels like forever.

The funny thing is the green is not the only thing that is fast. On one of the elevated green the slope on the green continuous through the fairway. One of my made was supposed to be 2 on, but the ball just won't bite it keep rolling out of the green and fairway. Chip up, then roll down again, up and roll down again, he finally 6 on it at the far back side of the green to avoid the slope entirely, and ended up with a double par!

Now the fun part all the wood and drive are very very far since the ball keep rolling for what seems to be eternity on the Fairway. so 250 yard carry and 60-70 yards roll is normal That's the only place where I managed to drive at the 300-320 yards distance (plus the thin air helps tremendously).

Back to singapore, we all short the holes for 2-3 games before getting the feel and confidence back on the norm 8.5 - 10 green speed. Drive back to the norm 200 +. sigh....

dmateo wrote:

Lee, try spring city kunming.
I was there earlier this year I think March or April
Green speed 13-15. Yes putting on marble feel and on downsloped, the tendencies of over run it out of the green is very very high. Even the gentlest tap gets the ball going and going and going which feels like forever.

The funny thing is the green is not the only thing that is fast. On one of the elevated green the slope on the green continuous through the fairway. One of my made was supposed to be 2 on, but the ball just won't bite it keep rolling out of the green and fairway. Chip up, then roll down again, up and roll down again, he finally 6 on it at the far back side of the green to avoid the slope entirely, and ended up with a double par!

Now the fun part all the wood and drive are very very far since the ball keep rolling for what seems to be eternity on the Fairway. so 250 yard carry and 60-70 yards roll is normal That's the only place where I managed to drive at the 300-320 yards distance (plus the thin air helps tremendously).

Back to singapore, we all short the holes for 2-3 games before getting the feel and confidence back on the norm 8.5 - 10 green speed. Drive back to the norm 200 +. sigh....

Great story, thanks for sharing.

Which is why the driving distance of our american or european counterparts need to be taken with this in mind.

A typical Golfwrx forummer drivers 300+ yards easily. But where, what elevation, humidity, temperature, fairway hard or soft, etc all make a lot of difference.