Word to the wise: Practice long on the short of it
By Conrad Rios

Name any one of a thousand golf gurus and he or she will tell you the quickest road to a lower handicap is to get your short game under control with special emphasis on chipping and putting. Since nearly half of all strokes during a typical round of golf take place on or around a green, it’s a fact that any improvement in this aspect of your game will pay off with the ultimate dividend: consistently lower scores.

To state the obvious, no one will ever have a perfect short game. However, the skills of chipping and putting show fast progress by simply taking to heart the basic principles of proper set up, stroke mechanics, and managing speed. Also, it’s important to establish realistic priorities on how much practice time should be spent on these key components of your game. In other words, because half of all shots during a typical round of golf are chips and putts, half of a typical practice regimen should be dedicated to the short stuff. Remember; there is no short cut to short game nirvana.

If dedication to chipping and putting won’t lead to perfection, it will certainly bring more pleasure to your game because the outcome of your play will be better from consistently lower scores. It’s amazing how good the rest of your day gets when you perform well on the course. Is it fair to draw the conclusion that playing better golf will make you a nicer, happier person? Yes! Just ask the people closest to you.
So how can the weekend golfer find the time to spend on practicing skills for a game that already takes a good half day to complete? With “honey-do” lists, activities with the kids, dog park duty, and other assorted details of life, golf often gets the short end of the significance stick. If you want to maintain family obligations and still get in the work, why not practice your short game in the comfort and convenience of your own back yard.

A natural grass putting surface at home would be the ultimate dream-come-true. However, when you do the research on cost to construct and maintain a natural grass green, the impracticality will come crashing down on most of us. According to Jim Snow, head of the USGA's Greens Section, the low end on a USGA spec Green is around $25,000 and could be as much as $80,000. The bad news does not end there: the cost to keep it alive, disease free and trimmed daily would drive your little practice buddy into the hundreds of thousands of dollars with no end to the bleeding in sight.

With today’s technology and workmanship, a synthetic putting green is an excellent and affordable alternative to “au naturel”. Synthetic is a bargain considering the benefits a man-made surface can provide in relationship to cost. Per Gary Tettenburn of One Putt Greens, “A top quality synthetic putting green does a great job simulating the real thing at a fraction of the cost with no expense for maintenance”. Including design and installation, Tettenburn quotes a starting price as low as $5,000 with the most elaborate green still well under $25,000.

“We can duplicate any kind of challenge on a One Putt Green”, promises Tettenburn. “Our customers can have breaks, undulations, sandtraps, and chipping areas built in to the experience”. He guarantees that no yard is too big or too small because every One Putt Green is custom designed to fit the available space.

One Putt Greens is the oldest synthetic putting green company in San Diego, having installed more than 2,000 synthetic greens over 12 years. With this kind of experience, Tettenburn knows what he’s talking about. “We have an amazing client list of notable figures from the world of sports and business”, he says, “but the strength of our company has come from building top quality greens for people from all walks of life… you don’t have to be rich and famous to work on your short game in the convenience of your own back yard”.

Are all synthetic putting green surfaces created equal? Absolutely not! Just like natural grass greens, quality is based on a variety of factors including functionality of design, materials used, the builder’s level of skill and craftsmanship, industry experience, and company reputation.

According to Tettenburn, there are a number of important considerations in selecting the company capable of delivering the synthetic green you desire:

• First, what is the putting green surface material they offer? There are three primary materials of choice: Nylon and Polyethylene surface fibers are commonly used by a number of companies, primarily because of their lower cost. Polypropylene is the latest development and is considered state-of-the-art because it best simulates a natural putting surface. Polypropylene has also proven to wear better as it more effectively endures the elements over time.

• Next, choose a synthetic turf brand that can boast a “non-uniform tufting pattern”. Tettenburn explains that tufting is how the strands are attached at the base of the under layer and it’s the only way to achieve a true roll on a synthetic surface. “The non-uniform or random strand sequence promotes roll along the lips of the putting green without predictability”, he says. “The ball will move as directed by the putter and will not be influenced by the surface of the green. A less costly way to construct a surface is by tufting in straight lines like rows of corn”. In this case, Tettenburn points out, balls often end up guided by the linear nature of the tufting which will disrupt or re-direct ball roll.

• Another important factor is blade length. Tettenburn points out the length of surface material are critical in reproducing a “natural roll”. One inch blade length has proven to deliver the best results for several reasons: “First”, he explains, “one inch blade strands allows for more fill material per square foot. The amount of fill material is crucial as it restricts the blade movement and eliminates unnatural surface “noise” by providing a substantial foundation like you get from natural turf”. According to Tettenburn, the golf ball should roll on the lips of the blades and not on the fill material between the blades. Longer blades also hide seams much better and allow a greater variety of putting speeds. “Ball speed is established,” notes Tettenburn, “by systematically moving a 300 lb. turf roller over the entire surface to crimp the blade tips. This rolling, in effect, creates a natural bent lip in each blade and the amount of lip surface is how the desired level of roll resistance is produced”. A big problem with putting surfaces that offer shorter blades is there is no way to effectively manage ball speed. The tendency is for the ball to roll between the blades because the blade lips are nonexistent. The ball ends up rolling primarily on the fill material with the common result of an “untrue or directed line”.

• Because the fill material is such an important supporting factor, Tettenburn recommends the buyer be certain only the best components are utilized: “As a cost saving measure, some companies will use silica sand as their primary fill material with a short lived “top dressing”. Within months the top dressing will dissipate, leaving the silica sand to compact and harden. In less than a year, you may find yourself putting on a "mini parking lot”.

One Putt Greens is a company that understands the significance of great fill and their components are unmatched in performance: 1) Granulated rubber. This keeps the synthetic green soft with a natural feel. It also expands and contracts within a silica sand base as the temperature changes, thus eliminating compaction. 2) Anti-compaction minerals in the mix allow a synthetic putting green to react just like a natural green. These minerals keep the fill porous by reacting to the water content below the surface. Controlling moisture also helps manage ball speed: a wetter One Putt Green will result in a slower ball roll; a dryer One Putt Green promotes a faster ball roll. 3) Their top-line fill includes the finishing touch of a non-slip flooring material made from synthetic green and black sand. This extra touch adds more substance to the turf foundation and provides a natural look to the green.

• Final considerations: confirm the warranty in writing, ask for references, and validate company history. A One Putt Green comes with an industry best 10-year manufacturers warranty on fading and surface breakdown, plus one year on installation. References and a company profile are readily available.

One Putt Greens combines a revolutionary designed Polypropylene synthetic turf with non-uniform tufting and specifically formulated natural aggregate fill. It is a cutting edge product that looks and plays like a natural bent grass putting green.
For more information on One Putt Greens, Synthetic Lawns, and Athletic Fields, call 858-483-8079 or visit Oneputtgreens.biz

The following was a response to Conrad as he researched his subject matter:

Dear Conrad:

Bobby Locke once said something like, "You can't really become the best putter you are capable of without near-perfect greens." I take this to mean the golfer cannot really know what causes the poor roll or result unless he can eliminate the surface from the equation. So the golfer, in seeking to associate in a cause-and-effect way what motions he makes with what sort of putt he generates can be blocked by the excessive noise of a surface that is not true. Ed Mitchell of Mitchell Golf sells a putting platform that is stable on a metal frame, that is level in gravity, and that is covered with a fabric that rolls true, so that a golfer who attempts the 12-foot putt but makes a 0.7 degree error in the line will see this same 0.7 degree error 12 feet further away, and not a 0.8 degree or 0.6 degree error. The ball in this case will enter the cup 1.75 inches off the center-cut line, where 2.125 inches is the far left edge of the cup. On a poor surface that does not roll true, this putt might miss entirely or look like it is center-cut when it is not. A line error of 0.845 degrees at 12 feet will be just outside the left edge and will miss.

The problems of artificial putting surfaces are:

1. Does the fabric's weave pattern have a "grain" that influences the line and distance of the putt differently when used from different locations?

2. Does the fabric lay flat on whatever surface is beneath it?

3. Does the fabric "remember" a channel or groove from repetitive putts down the same line?

4. Does the fabric wear evenly by weathering, use, or other aging factors?

5. Does the "speed" of the fabric compare well with the golfer's usual challenges on real greens?

6. Does the fabric offer "covert" cues to direction of aim, stroke, and/or roll?

7. Can the fabric be replaced once it loses its charm fairly easily and inexpensively?

These are the main concerns. The golfer either wants to "unveil" his errors in the stroke so he can learn from them, or he wishes to practice on a not-so-perfect surface that closely simulates a real (imperfect) green. If the artificial turf is designed to serve the former purpose, the turf needs to come to terms with the above issues.

Golf retail stores often find themselves having installed an artificial putting surface that is slow when putting back deeper from the cash register and faster when putting the opposite direction. These stores usually rip this surface out and spend again.

Golf retail stores also "try" to get the construction personnel to lay the concrete floor surface so it is truly level in gravity, without subtle contour or undulations. They seldom succeed, and once the concrete is poured and has dried, they're pretty much stuck.

Many putting "mats" (the usual 9 footers with a gravity return) "remember" a channel from repeated straight putts, so they become questionable after a while.

Outdoor putting surfaces and smaller indoor putting surfaces get worn "slick" by foot traffic over time and also by weathering of water, sunshine, and temperature changes. Some surfaces weather more uniformly than others -- more due to weathering in a uniform way than to set patterns of foot traffic. Crests of hills wear more than mid-areas on a slight slant not right next to a hole. Entry areas wear more than other areas. At some point, the surface is either too fast for normal use or too untrue from variable wear.

Some surfaces don't really adhere to the undersurface, but have bubbles or wrinkles. Some develop these features over time as the adhesive breaks down.

Outdoor greens are usually manufactured to "receive pitch shots like a real green." this purpose is antithetical to a putting use, as the surface is made receptive with stand-up strands separated by particles (like coal slag or recycled tire bits). The amount of fill and the uniformity of fill and the brushing in of the fill is all designed to make the surface have a comparable rebound to a pitch shot, but it doesn't make the surface true for putting and in fact makes it variable and subject to maintenance requirements and variability. An outdoor surface without fill of any sort strikes me as preferable, like that at Golfsmiths (I-35 in Austin).

Most greens cannot help but provide the golfer alignment, aim, and stroke assistance by virtue of the rectilineraity of the mat or the smallnessof the surface. A visually small surface is visually very connected to the room or the local landscape, so the golfer is being given undesirable and "covert" assistance for aim, line and distance. Also, some surfaces have detail features whose size is larger than the minute detail typical of a fine green, and this "coarse" figure-ground pattern makes some surfaces sort of like putting across a checker board. It is better if the golfer can look down to the ball and across the surface to the target without visual assistance and without too much connectedness to the walls of the room or the landscape features nearby. If this is not possible, then a rectilinear mat is just as good as a small oddly shaped surface.

When it comes to contouring, my experience is that the makers and installer of artificial outdoor surfaces are not very good at creating contours. Frequently, the green resembles a "push-up" green from days of long ago, with the middle area being the highest. this is the cheap way to get the surface to drain well. The next best effort usually has too severe a tilt from highest to lowest, probably for good drainage also. The next worse feature I see is a "tier" dividing the green in half and the tier is too steep and too sharply inclined. It makes putting down from the top to the bottom tier pretty worthless, as most of the bottom area is not usable given the steepness and height of the tier.

Another annoyance is "too many holes" or "holes not in great places." Many artificial surface manufacturers don't carefully lay out the pattern of holes to avoid "holes between holes". What usually happens is that the holes in an area crowd outward to the margin, as holes in the middle area tend to block cross-surface putt paths and reduce the usable area of the green. Manufacturers could use some good advice from a putting instructor in designing contour and hole locations.

If the issue is the "plain-jane 9-foot putting mat," these leave a lot to be desired compared to what they could offer cheaply and effectively as training aids, as opposed to time-wasting recreational items.

For my money, as a putting coach, all the golfer can hope for is a true surface that is not slow. For practicing, a faster surface than usual is better as these surfaces are truer and more stable over time, and adjusting to a slower real green is simple and easy.

I'm more than happy to try to educate a manufacturer of artificial greens if they want that sort of knowledge to improve their product over others in the market. But they have to ask.

Cheers!

Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone.com
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Geoff,

I found it interesting about your comments about the Gravity return putting matts and how they develop a "memory channel", and I've sorta been wondered about that with mine as I find that my putting is so much more accurate and my line "truer" than what I get in "real life" practice on a practice putting green or a "real" green. Now I know why.

I'll have to do a search, but I remember awhile back you had a post or reply with regards to purchasing outdoor type fabric at the local home improvement place and building a DIY putting surface. I wonder how that would compare to with what I have been using now. Guess I'll have to look into doing just that to compare and see what results I obtain.

I wonder if the wife would let me turn my garage into an indoor practice putting area. hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Thanks

TonyWho