Cored greens and the impact on different handicap ranges

[MissionMan]

Played a golf comp yesterday a day after they cored and sanded our greens.

When I looked at the leaderboard at the end of the day, I saw something really interesting which I hadn't thought about, the impact of cored greens on handicaps. I just assumed it would have the same impact, but I don't think it was the case in the comp which was stableford. 

There was only one sub-10 handicap in the first 30 scores and only one sub-10 played to their handicap. Normally, out of 150 golfers on a fair weather day, there would be a fair few under 10's in the top 30, about 10 or so.

After looking at the round, I think the biggest issue was not the predictability of putting, but chipping. Whilst the putting wasn't great, and probably resulted in a few extra putts here and there, I think chipping had a bigger impact. I'd normally rely on getting up and down on almost every miss, being 80% or better getting up and down around the green. Yesterday I wouldn't have been close enough for an up and down, primarily due to the difficulty in predicted run. Under normal conditions I would plan on a landed spot and know how much it would roll out but in the case of sanded greens, sometimes it would land on sand, splash and stop within a meter or two without running out, whilst other times it would run out heavily. Chatting to higher handicaps, they were happy to land on the green and two putt where I would expect to one putt. The other benefit I noticed was that it was far less punishing to chips where the golfers hit it in the teeth. Normally it would run over the back of the green where suddenly it would stopping on the middle

Edited March 22 by MissionMan

[Hook DeLoft]

Interesting insight. I’ve never thought about it. 

[Golf2Much]

I play three times a week, 52 weeks a year.   Over the last three years or so my home course has aerated and top dressed with sand 4-5 times a year during our slower season (May through October).  I went back through my scores to see how the Playing Condition Calculation (PCC) was implemented looking for dates that they typically would be aerating.  The dead timing giveaway was during or after we played two nines twice in a day (aerating the other nine).   Between 2020 and 2023, I found only three times out of the possible 12-16 times where they aerated where a PCC correction (+) was applied indicating that fewer golfers than normal met their anticipated scores.   That would suggest that with all golfers that day, aeration doesn't have a statistically significant impact on their scoring.

That being said, I think your theory is sound.  Single digit handicap golfers typically rely on finesse around the greens where higher handicap mere mortals rely on brute strength.   Single digit handicap golfer expect to get up and down where higher handicappers prey to get on, stay on and two putt.  I agree on your chipping comments too.   Depending on if your ball hits any part of a hole when it lands on the green will definitely have an impact.  At least with putting, you know and see where the aeration holes are and it's "hit and hope."  You sort of expect the ball to do funky things and it typically does.  

I figure I'm about eight weeks away from the start of aeration season.  Some of our greens have been hit with a fungus, so I expect more frequent aeration this year.  I'm going to enjoy these next eight weeks and dread the end of May!

[MissionMan]

11 minutes ago, Golf2Much said:

I play three times a week, 52 weeks a year.   Over the last three years or so my home course has aerated and top dressed with sand 4-5 times a year during our slower season (May through October).  I went back through my scores to see how the Playing Condition Calculation (PCC) was implemented looking for dates that they typically would be aerating.  The dead timing giveaway was during or after we played two nines twice in a day (aerating the other nine).   Between 2020 and 2023, I found only three times out of the possible 12-16 times where they aerated where a PCC correction (+) was applied indicating that fewer golfers than normal met their anticipated scores.   That would suggest that with all golfers that day, aeration doesn't have a statistically significant impact on their scoring.

That being said, I think your theory is sound.  Single digit handicap golfers typically rely on finesse around the greens where higher handicap mere mortals rely on brute strength.   Single digit handicap golfer expect to get up and down where higher handicappers prey to get on, stay on and two putt.  I agree on your chipping comments too.   Depending on if your ball hits any part of a hole when it lands on the green will definitely have an impact.  At least with putting, you know and see where the aeration holes are and it's "hit and hope."  You sort of expect the ball to do funky things and it typically does.  

I figure I'm about eight weeks away from the start of aeration season.  Some of our greens have been hit with a fungus, so I expect more frequent aeration this year.  I'm going to enjoy these next eight weeks and dread the end of May!

I played with a guy who shot a gross 66 yesterday on sanded greens and his comment to me on chipping on sanded greens was interesting. He doesn’t use chip and run on sanded greens unless he absolutely has to. He shifts more to lofted shots, trying to land next to the hole. 

[Golf2Much]

2 minutes ago, MissionMan said:

I played with a guy who shot a gross 66 yesterday on sanded greens and his comment to me on chipping on sanded greens was interesting. He doesn’t use chip and run on sanded greens unless he absolutely has to. He shifts more to lofted shots, trying to land next to the hole. 

Great strategy.  The greens should be softer and hopefully hold better with a more lofted shot.  I'll have to give that a try in a couple of months.

[GolfSpy SAM]

2 minutes ago, MissionMan said:

I played with a guy who shot a gross 66 yesterday on sanded greens and his comment to me on chipping on sanded greens was interesting. He doesn’t use chip and run on sanded greens unless he absolutely has to. He shifts more to lofted shots, trying to land next to the hole. 

I will agree with this assessment 100%.  My local club had cored and sanded, and I was laughing with my friends about how much it made me look like a chipping genius, as the ball would just literally stop within 2-3 feet of wherever it landed.  I actually holed out multiple shots, as well, as I could just throw it to the pin and trust that, at worst, I'd be inside 5'.  

Sadly, the next week, the sand had mostly been absorbed into the ground, and I no longer looked like a genius.  Shock, I know.  But it WAS very helpful to know this little "trick", since I only get to play once a week and am at the whims of the groundskeepers if they need to core/sand that week.