What this simple, interesting test reveals about aerated greens

Listen, before anyone yells at me, aeration is an important necessity for greens. Aeration helps air and water get deeper into the dirt. It also prevents the soil from getting too compact, all of which is good for the grass' root system. It's really, really important.

But every golfer knows there's an element of temporary frustration that comes with aerated greens: The bumpiness. Sometimes a ball will be rolling towards the hole, hit a bump and deflect offline. Other times it may be traveling offline, then ricochet back towards.

Ultimately, aerated greens are unpredictable, and professional golfer James Nicholas showed this with an simple test on his Instagram account. He rolled five golf balls at the same speed, on the same line, using The Perfect Putter training aid. Three went in the hole, and two missed.

This isn’t to pick on aerated greens (remember when I said how important they are?) but merely to highlight an essential truth about them: That you can hit good putts that don’t go in, and bad ones that do. Try not to fret them too much. Accept the good and bad luck when it comes, because it will And maybe read up on some of the rules about aerated greens in the meantime.

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