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By Editor in {CATEGORY} on 13 Nov 2009

Woods had a gentle swipe at the softness of the Kingston Heath greens yesterday. The club captain, provocatively grabbing a microphone at the media conference and quite possibly less than chuffed, asked the world's No. 1 player: ''Would you like them harder?''

Woods will get his wish, of course, but not right now. In any case, he needed no encouragement to plunder the damp and defenceless course with an opening 66 yesterday that put him straight to the top of the leaderboard in the $1.5 million Australian Masters.

Kingston Heath, a brute in high winds and when the greens are firm, was at its most benign yesterday, especially in the morning when Woods set out in breathless conditions and a festive atmosphere that comes when a god of the game returns after 11 years.

The heatwave in the week of the Masters has hamstrung the course superintendent, Martin Greenwood, who has had his staff syringing hot spots and watering the greens to ensure they do not die before the tournament ends. Greenwood was called to the fourth green on Wednesday night after that green began crusting up.

While the course looks magnificent and the putting surfaces are still quick, it was the malleability of the greens that surprised Woods, who claimed playing partners Craig Parry and Rod Pampling also were amazed at how far their balls backed up. ''We're talking about this all day; we can't believe how soft the greens were today. I know they're trying to protect it, with the heat and the wind expected, but we were pretty surprised.''

Club captain Neil Cathels could not resist his intervention after that comment, but Woods said he understood the reasons. ''That [hard greens] is what we were expecting. We were surprised that they were that soft out there.''

The man responsible for the presentation of the course, PGA tour tournaments director Andrew Langford-Jones, said the weather had demanded heavier-than-usual watering. ''The club will be disappointed with that [Woods'] comment, I guess,'' he said. ''But the point is, we didn't expect record temperatures. It's a difficult time for the club and for everyone. Kingston Heath Golf Club has been generous in allowing us to use the facility. We don't want to leave here on Monday with 18 burnt greens that the members can't use for another month, which has happened in the past.''


With more hot weather on the way, the greens will get quicker and harder, doubtless, and Woods' comments will guarantee that.

Source & More: www.theage.com.au

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