Bogey Hills Country Club Golf Course Maintenance: "What are the greens rolling?"

Often I get asked "what are the greens rolling?" And there's a good chance I respond with an indirect answer. I may provide a round about number or range, but more than likely I'll put emphasis on describing the greens as "smooth" or "true."

I'm not trying to hide a top secret number for the day, but the game of golf and the audience has really rallied around the speed of the greens and a magic number now days. What most have not considered is a course rolling a 10 on flat greens can't be compared to a course rolling a 10 on sloped greens. Even once you know this magic number does it even matter? I know all the new technology with drivers gives you over a dozen adjustment options but I haven't ran across one putter that dials into the magic number of green speed. It's all feel and that's what the practice green is for.

How do we even come up with this number? The answer is called a Stimp Meter. Just a strange 3ft long metal bar a ball rolls down. I won't bore you all with the history of it, but I will provide what it was invented and intended for. It was not intended to measure speed but instead to measure "trueness" of ball roll.

We all know our greens are fast, but I really try to put emphasis in trueness and a consistent smooth roll. Here's a video from our 3rd green, which is one of the only greens that has a flat enough area to make an accurate measurement.