History of Greens
By Dan Kilbank - OttawaGolf










Prior to the 1900's, putting surfaces, for the most part, had very modest design objectives: to be playable surfaces and be maintainable within the technology of the period.

Early greens mowers were very crude, to say the least, when compared to today's sophisticated precision mowing equipment, which can be set to cut the greens to within millimeters of the ground. Consequently, the actual putting surfaces of old had longer blades of grass and were not nearly as smooth and consistent. They were extremely slow by today's standards.

How much slower were the first greens? Is difficult to say exactly, because the Stimpmeter (a simple device that accurately measures a green's speed) was not introduced until 1976. Trust me, Augusta National would have given Old Tom Morris fits. Oh, he may have learned to putt on them, but it is not at all what he was accustomed to.

Turf grass too, has been greatly refined. Contemporary grasses have been developed to provide courses with many varieties that can thrive in a wide range of climatic conditions and tolerate being cut very short.

Early greens were designed with much steeper pitches than today's greens. The steepness of the slope was created to achieve a putting experience that was challenging, given the still relatively slow surface condition of the grass. Slopes of about five to eight percent were pretty normal. (greens today have pitches averaging between one to four percent) These slopes were widely utilized by designers of the day to aid the golfers in stopping the forward movement of the approach shot, slowing the ball down and holding it on the green.

Our modern smoother surfaces allow the ball to roll farther and faster. Consequently, the ball is more affected by slopes and swales. The modern low cut, along with improved turf varieties have produced very smooth, uniform conditions.