Off the tee: Too fast, too furious

Players on both sides of the Tasman were blown away by the speed of the greens last week. But were they right to complain about something modern players demand?

In Australia, the hugely experienced Peter O'Malley had a triple-bogey on the 12th hole of the Moonah Links course during the Australian Open. At Titirangi, players in the interprovincial championship recorded double and triple bogeys as they struggled on slick, tiered greens.

O'Malley showed remarkable restraint when his putt from a metre for par lipped out and was whipped 5m away by a gust of wind. He twice marked the ball and had a practice putt but each time the ball moved further away, eventually requiring a chip from 40m.

After his experience, officials ordered watering of the green between each group of players but offered O'Malley no relief. He said he continued playing only for the good of the game.

Three years ago, the outcome was rather different on the first day of the Open at the Victoria Golf Club when lightning-fast greens made play impossible and the tournament was completed over three rounds.

The Titirangi event was matchplay and par was a good score on the short holes, particularly on the seventh and 14th where tee-shots above the flag often resulted in third shots from off the green.

But the player's fate was generally in his own hands rather than at the whim of the wind.

Fairness is the key both to green speed and pin placement. Holes on steep slopes or too close to the edge of the mown surface fail that test. But there is nothing in the rules of golf that dictates the speed of a green.

Maungakiekie course superintendent Mike Leitch, an Auckland representative golfer for many years, can see the pros and cons from both sides of the mower.

"When I started, the greens were much slower because the equipment we had wasn't as good," he says. "We used to hand mow the greens. Now the equipment is much better and with rolling and cutting you can get the speed up. But you've got to be fair.

"Speed is definitely a modern fad. They all want quick, quick greens but there is sometimes a price to pay.

"For the members we aim for nine feet on the stimpmeter, or they won't be back. Tournament players want 10-12 feet and I believe the greens at Augusta for the Masters are around 11 1/2 feet."

The stimpmeter, a device for measuring the speed of greens, was invented by American Eddie Stimpson 65 years ago. It is essentially a metal ramp down which a ball is rolled. The further it rolls the quicker the green.

To increase accuracy, three balls are used on a basically level piece of green and the readings are taken from several angles. The results are always expressed in feet.

The United States Golf Association gives this advice: "Knowing the speed of the greens may assist in determining whether a hole location is fair or unfair. A green so fast [or a hole cut in such a position] that a ball cannot be stopped near the hole from any point on the green, for example, is an unfair challenge.

"Championship greens should be fast and uniformly paced, firm but resilient. They should place a premium on well-executed shots, while exacting a penalty for less precise shots."

Moonah Links was clearly unfair to O'Malley and retrospective watering added insult to injury. Titirangi tested the skills of the players, but it is reasonable to ask whether the much-vaunted Alister MacKenzie designs of last century need some adjustment when modern green speeds are so much quicker.