spiked greens

[slater170]

hi all
im off to spain on saturday for a weeks golf and was looking at the courses websites they are stating that the greens will be spiked.
what effect does that have on your putting?

[LowPost42]

Re: spiked greens

Depending on how long you're playing after the spiking/aerating, it will depend. If you're playing up to a week after spiking, it's more like plinko then putting. After a week, most greens have healed and putting is normal.

What I do when I've gotta putt on relatively freshly spiked greens is this:

I hit every putt harder than I normally would. It's going to hump and bump its way to the hole, so I try to give it a chance.

For longer putts, I play more break, and expect no makes.

For shorter putts, I try to 'ram it home' and play less break. That plinko effect will really cause you to scream at some shorties!

[Mox]

Re: spiked greens

It also depends on what spikes they will be using.

I was out yesterday on spiked greens that had fingertip-wide holes an inch apart all over the green, and you could just forget all about reading anything.

It was about 'hitting in the general direction, and hoping to get the distance right at least'.