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Watching the U.S. Open the announcers kept referring to the ocean's effect on the ball's path when putting. They did not explain this, however, and I'm interested in learning more about the subject. Can anyone help?

balls just love to go towards water...

While Grant's sense of humor is certainly appreciated, it is more of a land sculpting issue by mother nature than anything else. In general, land slopes toward the ocean, and, consequently, so do the greens that are built on oceanside courses. Water doesn't have any special magnetic or gravitational pull on a golf ball -- not that I (or apparently Grant) can convince myself of that when you have a forced carry...

There are some optical illusions at play, too, in that the slope of the green can be disguised because your body will naturally position itself so that the horizon (the ocean) appears level. Your head will automatically level even if your body is on a tilt, so you may miss the slope toward the ocean. Obviously, this it is much easier to miss if the slope is gentle.

Good one Bignose..

I played an ocean course last Monday. The 18th hole, a par 5 runs along the ocean bluffs. There's a large ravine the crosses about a hundred yards after the tee box. Well, sure enough, the ball hooked left, and flew right down into the ravine and landed on the beach. Second tee shot I aimed right, and the ball again hooked left, but this time it stayed.. barely.. on the left side of the fairway and into the iceplants that divide the fairway from the cliff that decends to the beach.

Maybe Grant has something there!

Seriously though... I play another golf course a few miles from here that is built high on a large foothill... more like a mini mountain. There's a reservoir a few hundred feet below towards the west. The fairways meander north to south along the slopes. Every tee box, fairway and green tilts toward the reservoir. It's a difficult course to play, but it also makes for some very interesting shots. With the ball above the feet (reservoir behind me) I have to aim toward the upslope because the ball will roll to the left. Same thing going the other way, but vice versa. Come to think of it, I don't think there's a flat spot on any part of that golf course.

We have a lot of ravines around here, too...we call 'em draws...and, yeah, the ball wants to roll towards the low spot. What gets me is that we have a lot of elevated greens out here in W. Tx and often the ball will appear to break uphill or break when it reads flat...that's where local knowledge of the greens really pays off.

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