What is a Stimpmeter?
First off, a stimpmeter is roughly a 36" long x 2" wide aluminum device that has a notch in it to rest a golf ball. When the device is raised to a 20 degree angle, the ball rolls out of the notch and down the device onto the green. The further the ball rolls in feet, the faster the greens are. If the ball rolls 12 feet from the end of the stimpmeter, the greens are rolling, 12. If it rolls 8 feet, they are rolling, 8. Pretty simple. Incidentally, green speed is not a speed in the sense you are travelling a certain distance/a set time, like you drive a care 60 miles/hour or a bullet travels 500 feet/second, for example. Green speed is simply a function of friction on the putting green. If there is less friction acting on the golf ball, the farther it rolls. You can imagine, superintendents can manipulate this by altering factors like height of cut of the grass or rolling. Both have the ability to impact how much friction is affecting a golf ball.
Posting stimpmeter readings certainly isn't a bad idea and something that can be interesting to members. However, consider the following:
1. Stimpmeter readings change throughout the day. Greens typically become slower through the day as the grass grows.
2. The reading changes based on things outside our control like the weather, humidity and temperature.
3. The reading changes based on maintenance practices. For example, a light sand topdressing often increases green speed by lowering the height of cut from the ground up.
4. When we get into rainy, cloudy conditions on a routine basis, we will back off aggressive maintenance because we know the turf won't tolerate as much as when the sun is shining and the turf is photosynthetically active. This will make the greens slower.
5. Green speed needs to factor in slope of the putting greens. As green speed increases, pinnable area on the green decreases. This of greens at HCC like #2 or #12.
6. While the thought of greens rolling 13 or 14 feet might sound appealing to a few, this would create unplayable conditions for most. As green speeds increase, often times slow play results. We have to set up the golf course to the benefit of the whole membership.
At Highlands CC, our daily goal is to have the greens rolling in the 11 feet range. There are times when they can be faster due to maintenance or if we get into a rainy period, they may be slower. It would be impossible to demand a specific green speed on a daily basis. We strive for consistency but it's obviously not always possible.
