With the US Open just concluded at venerable Oakmont and the PGA headed for Southern Hills, home of Stewart Cink’s miss of an eighteen inch tap in on the 72nd hole followed by Retief Goosens three putt from 15 feet I’d already been thinking about the USGA and it’s fascination with lightening quick greens.

I played a local course which was still set up for a major state amatuer event.  The hole on the first hole was cut on a slope, nothing really severe but definitely an incline.  One of my group had a 15 foot uphill putt that rolled a few inches beyond the hole.  As he strode towards the ball  to tap it in, the ball started back toward him eventually ending up about three feet closer to the hole than his previous stroke.  Bizarre.  Utterly frustrating.  Very very  destructive to the vocabulary.

Why are we so enamored with greens that are so slick a ball mark might slide off into the fringe? Is this how Mr. Fownes envisioned the devilishly sloped contours of Oakmont playing?  Did Donald Ross, in a precient moment, devise the inverted teacup greens of Pinehurst #2 to bedevil golfers by playing at 11 on the yet to be invented Stimp meter?  How about Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie building those Augusta greens to be played so quick Gary McCord would be reminded of bikini waxing?  Was that the plan?  I think not.  In fact lost in the discussion about equipment advances, balls that fly to far, grooves that are unfairly square is the changes made to historic designs because the speed of the greens exceeds that of the Interstate system.

I don’t know about you, but I have been curious for a while how some of those marvelous old courses would play with green speeds consistant with the era in which they were created.  Watch some film from that bygone era of persimmon and balata with an eye toward how hard those players hit the ball with their putters.  I doubt that the smack they lay on the ball is due to the fact that they hadn’t yet heard of a fitness trailer.  I shake my head at some of the real pops applied to a fifteen foot putt, and the ball doesn’t wind up twenty feet beyond the hole.  I envision some devilish pin placements that would be brought into play if the greens ran at the historic speeds you could get back in the day. (sorry I’ve always wanted put that phrase in print, childish but there you have it)  A course designed and built in the 1930’s or before was never meant to be played with the green speeds todays agronomy can attain.  I know the rest of the equipment has evolved, but putting remains putting and if the ball will sit on a sloped green as was intended by the designer lets see what kind of challenge that brings.  Make players put a hit on the ball and let’s see what happens.

Just for fun, the USGA and the Tour should take some of these old venues, grow the rough, slow down the greens and hide the pins on some slopes and ledges so more players than Woody Austin would beat themselves in the head with their putters.  In my mind, this would be a noble and worthwhile experiment.  Of course I could be wrong, but until we do it how will anyone know.