ABSTRACT

The goal of this paper is to evaluate a typical putting green surface’s measurable speed within a 17-day diurnal cycle (from day to day with a morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) reading) in order to answer the question “Is a putting green faster in the morning or in the afternoon?” Golfers opinions in general are split on this question. A secondary test studied the green speed changes within a temporal cycle (throughout one day) in order to better understand the factors affecting green speed. This Pelz Golf Institute study was conducted with equipment designed to optimize the accuracy of green speed measurements. The diurnal study resulted in an average morning reading of 8.3ft, and an average afternoon reading of 8.2ft. The temporal study showed an increase in green speed throughout the late afternoon. Temporal environmental conditions indicate a temperature-to-speed correlation coefficient of 0.33, and the humidity-to-speed correlation coefficient was –0.56.