# St Andrews course



## CLT49er (Jun 19, 2020)

So why is St Andrews turf so brown? No irrigation or fert? What turf type is that? Allowed to use herbicides there? Have greens ever been redone? Appears slow and bumpy.


----------



## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

I think a lot of it has to do with tradition. They try to keep the course looking exactly like it did back when Old Tom Morris was winning The Open in the 1800s. That's just the way links courses are setup over there. I know that the greens always play slower at St Andrews, so much so that Tiger always lead tapes the crap out of his putter when he's playing.

A retired director of greenkeeping said that the turf had been studied and there are 57 varieties of grass on the course. Fescues, rye, bent, and poa so old that it hardly goes to seed anymore.


----------



## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Exactly. After all, it is a 469 year old, more or less completely natural golf course. Links golf tradition at St Andrews and many other genuine links courses in Great Britain is all about "the running game" so St Andrews only irrigate if the grass will die off if they don't, basically.


----------



## CLT49er (Jun 19, 2020)

This sounds like my neighbors yard. &#128518;


----------



## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

I think in general that greens in the UK seem to be slower than those in the U.S. because they don't cut them as low. I watch a lot of golf Youtube videos and it's amazing how the greens don't seem to ever be that quick compared to the ones I play on in the U.S. which are like pool tables at times. Might be a cultural thing.


----------



## PNW_George (May 28, 2018)

Phids said:


> I think in general that greens in the UK seem to be slower than those in the U.S. because they don't cut them as low. I watch a lot of golf Youtube videos and it's amazing how the greens don't seem to ever be that quick compared to the ones I play on in the U.S. which are like pool tables at times. Might be a cultural thing.


Part of the more moderate speed is designed to handle the wind. They don't look lush on TV because they're a mix of different grasses: 50 percent fescue, 25 percent bent, 10 percent Poa annua, 4 percent rye and 11 percent what agronomists simply term "other." The Tee's and Fairways are a similar mix. They would like to get rid of the poa and PRG but do well to keep fine fescue as the dominate grass.

Speeds will be 10-10.5 feet on the Stimpmeter, not only to account for wind but to allow the contours to be in play, but not so slick that golfers must putt defensively. If they were US Open speeds there is no way golfers could hold the green. The fairways are almost the same speed. You will see a lot of run out on drives and fairway shots and golfers putting from well off the green.

_"Most weeks on the PGA Tour, however, the green speeds are in the range of a 12 on the Stimpmeter.
For the Masters, US Open, The Players and PGA Championship, the green speeds usually get anywhere from 13 to 14 on the Stimpmeter. Of course, that can change based on weather conditions, both forecast and unanticipated, but major championships often feature faster greens to place a greater emphasis on speed control and approach-shot accuracy.
The British Open Championship is an outlier compared to its major peers, primarily because its host rota features links courses susceptible to wind gusts, like at Kapalua. Green speeds are closer to a 10 on the Stimpmeter there."_

Chambers Bay tried to emulate link style grass with Fine Fescue Tee through Green when hosting the 2015 US Open.


----------



## PNW_George (May 28, 2018)

PNW_George said:


> Phids said:
> 
> 
> > I think in general that greens in the UK seem to be slower than those in the U.S. because they don't cut them as low. I watch a lot of golf Youtube videos and it's amazing how the greens don't seem to ever be that quick compared to the ones I play on in the U.S. which are like pool tables at times. Might be a cultural thing.
> ...


----------



## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

I would not say that traditional links courses such as Old Course always has slower greens and fairways than US fairways and greens, it is just that they are maintained with a different philosophy and different conditions, with wind and natural undulations making it difficult to score without having high stimp readings.

Old Course fairways and greens this week was like concrete, actually. Monday to Wednesday it was silly hard and fast, and the wind did not help either (I am part of the broadcast production crew for the "150s", actually, so I have seen the course being played from dusk till dawn since Monday until now, basically). Thursday was actually a little more forgiving and today you could actually make the ball stop on the green if given a good lie, thanks to the perspiration the last few days.

Today's biggest disappointment for pretty much everyone of us involved in the production was Tigers missed birdie on the 18th. Even the director in charge debarked from his accurate but robotic, feeling deprived commands on how to cut next, for a moment, as his reaction was broadcasted on the intercom, "Oh...Tiger...!?!&#128532;&#128150;" in a compassionate voice that is rarely heard within live broadcast productions. To be honest, he played like crap, and is not even a pale shadow of who he used to be, but I and so many of us wanted to give him that birdie on the 18th so much. After all, he is a true legend in the sport.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Congrats to Cam Smith. He was on fire today.


----------



## GPO Man (11 mo ago)

CLT49er said:


> So why is St Andrews turf so brown? No irrigation or fert? What turf type is that? Allowed to use herbicides there? Have greens ever been redone? Appears slow and bumpy.


It's a links golf course which is the oldest type of course. Built on the sandy shores of Scotland, the playing surface is firmer than what you would see in the states. Some courses here try to replicate links-style courses but like someone said, it's tradition in the UK as the birthplace of golf.


----------

