– The Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Korea, host of the Genesis Championship, is not exactly proving to be an easy opponent this week. It’s not an overly long course for the professionals, but there are many tight shots from the tee to narrow fairways, and above all, the greens combine a series of peculiarities that make them a very demanding test, both from a purely technical and mental standpoint. It is the greens, without a doubt, that are primarily responsible for the fact that the total score of the two leaders after 54 holes, Mikael Lindberg (-8) and Nacho Elvira (-8), has not yet reached double digits under par. It’s no coincidence that so many short putts are being missed this week, and the conversion rate from medium distances has dropped considerably, not to mention from long distances.
And what are those peculiarities that make life so difficult for the players? According to some pros present at the event who have analysed it for Tengolf, it truly is an explosive cocktail. First of all, let it be said, these greens are very young, as they have been rebuilt and renovated this very year, so the grass has not yet taken root well, it has not settled one hundred percent, which certainly does not help the smoothness of the surface, quite the opposite. Moreover, their design is truly intricate; the greens are very undulating, there are very few flat areas, so the player usually encounters various slopes around the holes, which, combined with the speed of the surface, which has increased during the week, can drive even the most experienced crazy, as it is very difficult to make the decision to hit them firmly.
– The matter does not end here. Many short putts are also being missed because the greens have more sand than usual, so the footprints on the green create micro slopes that are very difficult to perceive. Indeed, to the point that players have seen balls break differently from practically the same spot.
– The inability to hit putts firmly, due to their speed, combined with the ball’s deviation due to those previously described micro slopes, caused by the sand and footprints, can end up unsettling even the calmest of putters. This leads to the mental battle that each player is fighting as best they can, which, in the long run, can decide the winner. The issue is that an ‘over-reading’ of the greens, looking for things that aren’t there, as well as a lack of confidence when standing over the ball, can prove fatal.
– Finally, one last consideration must be added. Mainly due to the immaturity of these greens, players are also encountering serious problems with judging distances, as the ball’s bounce is irregular, depending on the greens and their areas, making it more difficult than usual to leave the ball close. It’s a vicious circle: if you’re hitting putts slightly longer than usual, you’re going to leave yourself more tricky return putts, and, for all the reasons described above, your error rate on these short putts will be higher than usual.
