How to Measure Golf Green Speed

Ever step onto the first green, give a practice putt a confident rap, and watch it blaze a comical six feet past the cup? Or the opposite, where your putt gives up halfway there, looking like it ran out of steam? Understanding and adapting to the speed of the greens is the very first step to good putting, and in this guide, we'll cover exactly how to measure it. We’ll show you how the pros do it and give you a simple, practical way to figure it out for yourself before every round.

What "Green Speed" Actually Means

First, let’s clear something up. When you hear a tournament announcer say, "the greens are rolling組織 an 11 today," they aren't talking about miles per hour. Green speed is a measure of distance - specifically, how far a golf ball will roll on a flat surface after being released from a standardized ramp. The tool used for this is called a Stimpmeter, an ingenious device that gives us a single number to quantify something that feels very subjective.

Developed in the 1930s by a golfer named Edward Stimpson, the "Stimp" was created to provide a consistent standard for putting surfaces across an entire golf course. That number - the Stimp reading - tells a story:

• 7-8: Pretty slow. You might find this on a municipal course with higher grass, especially if it’s wet.
• 9-10: This is a fairly average speed for most daily-fee or private clubs. It's a comfortable pace most golfers are used to.
• 11-12: Now we're getting fast. This is typical for a Member-Guest tournament or a slick, well-maintained private course.
• 13+: Welcome to the pros. Major championship greens, like those at The Masters or the U.S. Open, are famously lightning-fast and can Stimp at 13, 14, or even higher. An average golfer would struggle to keep the ball on the green at these speeds.

Why You Should Care About the Stimp Reading

Because putting is all about distance control. Sure, a good read on the line is important, but nearly all 3-putts are caused by a poor first putt on distance. When you misjudge the speed, you leave yourself a second putt that's far too long and often nervy. Knowing if the greens are fast or slow affects everything about your stroke: how much backswing you take, how much you accelerate, and where you aim on breaking putts (faster greens break more). Gauging the speed correctly before you tee off is the foundation for a confident day on the greens.

The Official Tool: How a Stimpmeter Measures Green Speed

Unless you're a superintendent or a USGA official, you probably won't be using a Stimpmeter. But understanding how it works reveals the fundamental concept of measuring green speed. It’s a beautifully simple process.

The Stimpmeter itself is a 36-inch extruded aluminum bar with a V-shaped groove down the middle to keep the ball rolling straight. About 30 inches up from the bottom end, there is a small notch where the ball is placed.

Here’s a step-by-step of the official process:

1. Find a Flat Surface: The superintendent finds a relatively flat area of a putting green that's at least 10 or 12 feet long.
2. The First Roll: They place one end of the Stimpmeter on the ground and place a golf ball in the notch. They then slowly lift the other end. When the Stimpmeter reaches a specific angle (about 20 degrees from horizontal), gravity takes over, the ball releases from the notch, and rolls down the groove onto the green. It’s the same release speed, every single time.
3. Measure and Repeat: They mark where that ball comes to rest with a tee. Then, they roll two more balls from the exact same starting spot. The three balls should stop within a few inches of each other, confirming a consistent roll. The average stopping point of these three balls is measured (e.g., 10 feet, 4 inches).
4. Roll in Reverse: Next, they go to that average stopping point. They turn around and do the exact same process again, rolling three balls back toward their original starting position. The uphill/downhill factor is minimized by taking an average of rolls in opposite directions. The average distance of this second roll is measured (e.g., 9 feet, 8 inches).
5. The Calculation: Finally, they take the two distance measurements (10’ 4” and 9’ 8”), add them together (20 feet), and divide by 2. This gives a final Stimp reading of 10 feet. So, on this day, the greens are “Stimping at a 10.”

Your Personal "Stimp": Measuring Green Speed Without a Stimpmeter

Okay, back to reality. You’re not going to be performing this ritual on the practice green before your Saturday morning tee time. But you can - and should - create your own personal method for gauging green speed. The goal is the same: to calibrate your stroke to the conditions of the day before you even get to the first hole.

The Pace-It-Off Method

This is my favorite method for players of all levels. It’s simple, repeatable, and gives you real Fbiofeedback you can take to the course. All you need is a few balls and the practice green.

1. Find Your Spot: Locate a straight putt on the practice green. A slight but steady uphill putt is even better, as it encourages you to make a more committed, positive stroke rather than trying to gently "die" the ball toward the hole. An anxious, tentative stroke is not repeatable, a confident one is.
2. Define Your Benchmark Stroke: Your goal is to create a putting stroke that is the exact same length and tempo every time. This is your personal Stimpmeter. For many golfers, a good benchmark is a stroke where your trailing shoulder rocks back in line with your back foot, and your front shoulder finishes in line with your front foot. Maybe it’s just “hip to hip.” Whatever you choose, commit to it. It has to feel natural and, most importantly, repeatable without thinking too hard.
3. Hit and Pace: From your chosen spot, take your benchmark stroke and hit three putts. Walk over to where the balls collected and stand next to them. Now, pace off the distance back to where you started. A normal walking step is roughly 3 feet. If you take 6 paces to get back to your starting point, your benchmark stroke is rolling about 18 feet today.
4. Calibrate Your Feel: Now you have a number. The next time you play, do the same thing. On faster greens, you might find that same benchmark stroke sends the ball 22 feet. On slow, shaggy greens, it might only go 14 feet. This is everything! You don’t need to see Edward Stimpson to know the greens just went from "fast" to "slow." Your body now understands precisely how slow.

The point isn't to get bogged down with the numbers on the course. You won't be thinking, "This is an 18-foot putt, so I need one full benchmark stroke." Instead, this drill calibrates your internal computer. It fine-tunes your feel for the exact speed of the greens on that particular day, allowing your subconscious to take over when you’re standing over a real putt.

What Makes Greens Fast or Slow?

Green speed isn't some mystical force. It's the result of specific maintenance practices and environmental factors. Understanding these can help you anticipate how greens might change, even during your round.

• Mowing Height: This is the biggest factor. The lower the grass is cut, the less friction there is, and the faster and truer the ball will roll. Championship-level greens are mowed to fractions of an inch.
• Rolling: Courses will use large, heavy rollers to smooth out the putting surface. This compacts the soil and grass blades, creating a billiard-table-like effect that dramatically increases speed.
• Water: Moisture is a braking system for golf balls. Greens are always slower in the early morning when they are covered in dew. As the sun and wind dry them out, they can speed up significantly by the afternoon.
• Grain: As grass grows, it tends to lean in a particular direction - usually towards a water source or the setting sun. Putting "with the grain" (in the direction it's leaning) can make a putt noticeably faster. Putting "against the grain" will slow it down. You can often spot grain by the color: a shiny, lighter green means you’re putting with the grain, while a darker, duller look means you're putting against it.
• Sand Topdressing: Every so often, superintendents will spread a fine layer of sand over the greens to smooth the surface and improve soil health. If you see signs of sand, expect the greens to be slower and a bit bumpier for a day or two.

Final Thoughts

So much of great putting comes down to controlling your distance, and that all starts with accurately judging the speed of the greens before you tee off. Whether you just understand the Stimp scale tocontextualize what the pros face or, even better, develop your own personal “pace-it-off” method, you're taking the guesswork out of the most important part of the game.

Building that kind of reliable routine and on-course awareness is a great starting place. For those moments when you want to take it a step further, our app, Caddie AI, is designed to help you build smarter strategies right on the course. We give you on-demand guidance that considers green conditions, helping you with everything from reading a tricky breaking putt to choosing the right landing spot for your approach shot. The goal is to give you another layer of confidence so you can stop second-guessing and start holing more putts.