Turf and distance

[revkev]

There is no doubt in my mind that turf conditions impact distance beyond roll. It was hot and dry yesterday with the for next turf that I've experienced in my 10 years of living in Florida. I started bogey, double because I knocked it over the first two greens in what was at most 1/2 club wind.

 

After I adjusted I was even for the rest of the day. In fact I had never hit wedge on the par 3 third into the green and I had a kick in birdie for a closest to the pin and skin there yesterday.

 

The other guys in my group experienced the same thing. And the greens were not firm so this had nothing to do with run out there, wedges were one hop and stop and irons just came down and sat.

 

Does anyone know of a study about turf conditions and distance or perhaps at least a verifiable explanation for this observation?

 

Conversly the ball goes no where here off the wet turf in the summer.

 

 

 

Sent from my VS986 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[hckymeyer]

I'm not familiar with any studies, but sound like the hard turf was like hitting off a range mat.  It makes sense that every shot was crisp and solid contact.  It's tough to fat a shot when the turf is that hard.

[~^~]

Kev, sounds to me like they watered the hell out of the greens, but not the fairways. That would account for your short of the green bounce and roll, but sticking on the greens.

 

At Bay Palms, the ground is almost always a sponge. There is normally no rollout, only carry.

 

However, we are currently in a drought, and there's lots of fairway roll. But our greens have changed the last few years (new greenskeeper) and are fairly firm. The false front is, and always will be, a wet sponge. Lots of ball marks in front of the greens. So the greens are receptive, like yours, but the softness in front means a lot of irons are short, due to no roll.

 

When i played in Vermont, every club was 20 yds longer! Instead of a sand base, They had bedrock!

[revkev]

Kev, sounds to me like they watered the hell out of the greens, but not the fairways. That would account for your short of the green bounce and roll, but sticking on the greens.

At Bay Palms, the ground is almost always a sponge. There is normally no rollout, only carry.

However, we are currently in a drought, and there's lots of fairway roll. But our greens have changed the last few years (new greenskeeper) and are fairly firm. The false front is, and always will be, a wet sponge. Lots of ball marks in front of the greens. So the greens are receptive, like yours, but the softness in front means a lot of irons are short, due to no roll.

When i played in Vermont, every club was 20 yds longer! Instead of a sand base, They had bedrock!

I didn't play Bayou. The fairways are as firm as they will get there but still sponge in spots and those greens are firm. I played Mangrove Bay and was a club longer than at Bayou, at least.

[~^~]

As you surmise, it's turf conditions caused by better drainage. I played Twin Eagles in Naples. The Eagle course measures longer in yardage than the Talon course there, but the longer course plays shorter. Why? Because they installed a 3 foot layer of sand over the entire course before they finished it with a final layer of earth and sod. That Eagle course drains better and faster than the shorter Talon course. So you get more roll on the longer course, your drives and irons get more distance. You're a club longer. I found it very gratifying to play and score better on the longer course.

[BigtazzGolf]

I think drier firmer fairways allow you to pinch the ball better and the moist fairways absorb the shot just a fraction more, causing just a lil less distance.

I could be wrong but that's my thinking when I play early rounds and the fairways are moist, I club up

=)

[sp0rtsfan86]

I'm guessing the firmer conditions allowed for the ball to compress more rather than the ground give a bit and rob you of distance.

 

Any idea how much distance you saw gained? Club or two? Was the temperature any different? Or humidity? Those can affect the distance as well.

 

Out here the winds shifted slightly from their norms. I've knocked two shots over a green with a 6 iron that was perfect just because the winds shifted from the winter to spring conditions.

 

I'm throwing all this out there, but I have no ideas.

[apprenti23]

For the people who have problems getting the ball airborne, firmer turf will definitely have an impact! Think about how drastically different flight and trajectory are for some people when they hit off of a lie board or a firm range mat!

 

Warmer weather will have a huge affect, but so will levels of humidity. Heavier air vs. lighter air. Heck, I even think barometric pressure can have an affect on golf ball distance!