Golf is known to be a technical sport full of technical terms that you may not know the meaning of. One of those golf terms commonly mentioned on golf courses and TV broadcasts is the term “Putting Green”.
If you are reading this article, you may wonder: What exactly is a “Putting Green” in golf?
In this article, we will explain to you exactly what a “Putting Green” is in golf.
What Is A Putting Green In Golf?
In golf, a Putting Green is the relatively-small area of finely-mowed turf at the end of a golf hole. A Putting Green also holds the physical golf hole itself, as well as the flagstick to know where the hole is. Golfers typically use a putter on the putting green, hence its name.
In the great game of golf, the term “Putting Green” is a term that is always mentioned on golf courses and TV broadcasts alike.
A synonym of “Putting Green” is simply “Green”, a contraction often used, as it is shorter to write and enunciate.
In golf, a “Putting Green” is the relatively-small area at the end of any given golf hole. A Putting Green contains the physical golf hole in which to hole the golf ball, as well as the flagstick to locate the hole from far away.
The height of a putting green’s turf is the shortest on a golf course. Putting greens have a shorter turf height than the rough, fairways, and fringes.
Putting greens are typically surrounded by the fringe or some rough turf.
The reason why putting greens have such finely-mowed turf is because of how crucial it is for the golf ball to roll predictably and easily while putting. Almost any golfer can attest to how frustrating it can be when there is a divot or other imperfection on the green.
On larger surface areas such as fairways, where more power is required than finesse, longer turf is less relevant. However, on putting greens, where pinpoint precision and finesse are required, you need to have the best turf possible.
If the turf were longer on putting greens, the ball would have a much higher resistance to rolling, and golfers would have to hit harder. This would lead to harder to control putts, higher scores, and much frustration.
Golf greens come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are circular or oval, while some are a bit more stretched out. Some putting greens are larger, and some are smaller, while some are average sized. Down below is a real-world example of a putting green.
As you can see on the image above, players are gathered around the flagstick, which indicates the hole location, to putt their balls into the hole. Also, notice how finely mowed the putting green appears to be.
You can also see that the putting green is surrounded on its backside by rough. This means that if your approach stroke to reach the green is hit too strong, you will end up in taller turf of the rough. This will significantly penalize your golf score, and impeded your progress to the hole.
The clubs to use on putting greens are generally putters only, as they are usually the best suited for holing the ball in this situation. However, there are some instances in which using a wedge may be better than a putter.
On the other hand, some golf courses only allow putters on putting greens, in order to protect the health of the turf.
Origin Of The Term “Putting Green”
Although the exact origin of the terms “Putting Green” and “Green” are unknown, we do have some hypotheses.
The main hypothesis is that the “Green” is very green, as in the color green, due to all the care and water it receives.
The term “putting green” simply annexed the verb “putting” to the term “green”, as putters are usually the clubs used on the putting green.
To get better at golf and improve your short game on Putting Greens, you need to get better by reading our guide: How To Improve Your Golf Score? – 9 Pro Tips.
Conclusion
There you go! After reading this article, you have learned exactly what the term “Putting Green” means in golf.
Do you have any other words you wish to know more about? How many strokes do you typically require to hole the ball on a “Putting Green”? Let us know in the comments down below!
