Today I showed up for my Tuesday league, paid my green fees, tournament fees and skins money….

When I got to the 1st green I then discovered the greens were punched and sanded. Though I have played greens that putted OK when they were punched and sanded before, this was not the case. These holes were about the size of a quarter and deep. The sand wasn’t up to the level of the surface of the green.

I pride myself on my putting and it’s definitely the strength of my game. Conditions like this negate my advantage on the greens and bring my putting stroke to it’s knees.

On the 3rd green I had a 10 foot putt for birdie. The punch holes on this green were pretty bad. About 4 feet off my putter face the ball squarely hit the back of a punch hole, popped about a foot straight up in the air and ended up 5 feet short. I’ve never left a 10 foot putt 5 feet short in my life. I’d had it. I withdrew.

This subject has been talked about for years and blogged about many times. Golf courses should be required to warn you if the greens are punched or the course conditions bad. They should not only warn you about these conditions, they should offer a discount. I don’t think it’s right to pay full price for a course that is in bad condition.

Not only should they warn you when you are there to check in for a round of golf, they should warn you on the phone when you call in to set up your tee time.