It’s a common West Coast Swing talking point: as the day gets later, the greens get tougher. That’s thanks to Poa annua grass, which has a reputation for becoming bumpier and more unpredictable later in the day on account of the grass’s rapid afternoon growth and seedhead production. With Poa greens in play at Torrey Pines this week — plus two more upcoming Tour stops, in Pebble Beach and Riviera — we dove into the data to determine if putting on the PGA Tour actually becomes more difficult as the day progresses. The math behind bumpy greens We looked at more than 9,000 official rounds tracked by the Tour’s ShotLink technology on those three courses over the last 10 seasons. Across the...
