In Praise Of Long Grass: Stimp Readings In '77

Jerry Tarde devotes his October Golf Digest column to praising the benefits of long grass on fairways and in the form of slower greens in golf.

Interestingly he notes that Merion's fairway heights were planned at .26 inches until a few weeks before the U.S. Open when Mike Davis raised them to .45 inches.

Even better is this revelation of Stimpmeter speeds in 1977 at elite courses. Multiply some of these by 2!

The Stimpmeter was invented by Edward Stimpson in the 1930s as a device for measuring green speeds, but it was not adopted by the USGA until 1977, whereupon the USGA field staff was commissioned to measure 581 courses nationwide to benchmark the speed of American greens. Here is a sampling of what was found:


Cypress Point: 7 feet, 8 inches
Pebble Beach: 7-2

San Francisco Golf Club: 6-5

Augusta National: 7-11

Medinah: 7-8

Congressional: 6-4
Oakland Hills: 8-5
Pinehurst No. 2: 6-10

Pine Valley: 7-4

Winged Foot: 7-5
Shinnecock Hills: 7-2

Merion: 6-4

Harbour Town: 5-1

Oakmont: 9-8