Having turned professional, Carr Vernon won't be rolling in putts on the greens at Westwood Hills Country Club this weekend at the 71st annual Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational.
At least not during the two-day tournament, which begins Saturday.
The two-time Ozark champion is preparing for his next qualifying event, trying to climb the professional ranks. He said Wednesday the greens at Westwood Hills are "rolling really smooth."
"Our greens were pretty healthy all winter and we were able to keep them up to speed," Vernon said. "The weather has been really, really good so they've been growing like crazy."
Vernon practically grew up on the 6,315-yard course, battling the bent-grass almost daily before finally getting a chance to play The Ozark.
He became the youngest winner in tournament history in 2010 at age 16, his second appearance, and joined a group of 12 players to win it more than once in 2015 with a playoff victory.
In eight years, Vernon recorded 10 of 14 rounds under par and had five top-5 finishes.
His best competitive round at Westwood Hills not during late April was a 7-under 64 and he once shot a 58 --13 birdies and five pars.
Vernon, 23, has seen his share of putting surfaces, playing in college at Cal State-Monterey Bay, at two U.S. Amateurs, the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst, N.C. and the Palmer Cup.
"I've traveled a lot of courses and I can't find greens that roll as smooth or as true, or as good, as ours," Vernon said. "We really do have some of the best greens in the country I think."
That's not just hometown pride talking.
John Kelly, the last player to win consecutive Ozark titles, won in 2007 after playing at The Masters weeks earlier said at the time, "These are some of the best greens in the world I have ever putted on."
When it opened in 1936, Westwood Hills featured sand greens. Grass was introduced in the 1950s but the Bermuda was destroyed in 2001 when a 6-inch rain was followed by 100-degree heat. A nine-month rebuilding project followed, forcing the 2002 Ozark to be played at Ozark Ridge Golf Course. Roger Null designed the new layout and Bill Lowery of Alton, Ill. built it.
Travis Whiteley, the course superintendent, and his crew have the greens reading 11 on the stimpmeter and it could reach 12 or 12.5. The USGA considers a reading of 6.5 as average with anything above 8.5 considered fast.
The speed of the greens is not the only thing that makes putting difficult at Westwood Hills. Each green has its own little nuances.
Here's a look at a few key holes:
No. 1
The opening shot of the tournament features water on the right and out-of-bounds on the left but the approach shot on the 351-yard, par-4 hole is key. The green is 26 yards wide featuring a slope that bends hard right to left and front to back with sand on either side.
"You don't want to be long or right on No. 1 or you're going to be hoping to make par," Vernon said.
Last year it ranked as the toughest hole in the final round, giving up just two birdies --one to Vernon --after only eight the first day.
No. 4
"One tricky pin that's not talked about too much is No. 4," Vernon said.
The 393-yard, par-4 hole may not look intimidating with no sand protecting the green, yet it ranked fifth-toughest during the final round a year ago. The front of the green slopes from back to front and a little right to left, Vernon said, but the back part can be misleading.
"If the pin is in the back you really have to be precise where you hit your approach shot," Vernon said.
No. 8
The longest par-3 at 212 yards, it ranked as the third-toughest hole last year and was the first bogey on champion Joshua Rhodes' card. Parts of the green slope in three different directions.
"It's a tricky green for not being much around it," Vernon said. "The green is tricky, that's its defense."
No. 11
With its iconic oak tree in the middle of the fairway, the 415-yard, par-4 hole is one of the toughest-ranked holes but it also has subtle breaks on the green that a lot of times Vernon said he cannot pick up.
"It's kind of like a turtle's back," Vernon said. "The front slopes to the front and the back slopes to the back. It's really small (23 yards deep)."
No. 15
Along the highway, the 390-yard, par-4 ends with a postage-stamp target that is even smaller than the 16-yard depth appears.
"Another green that has a very subtle break in the opposite direction than you think," Vernon said.
He suggests a full, high approach shot from the right side to open up the green more and keep the ball from skipping to the back fringe.
Rhodes carded a birdie here to take sole possession of the lead. Only eight others got a birdie in the final round here even though it ranked 12th.
No. 17
Vernon's approach shot on the 350-yard, par-4 hole nearly cost him the 2015 title when it sailed over the green leading to a double-bogey.
"It's very crucial to be in the fairway," said Vernon who hit that approach from the right rough but set up a birdie in the playoff with a shot from the left rough.
"I would favor the left side of the fairway because when I was in the right rough it makes the hole narrower because you have to carry over the bunker and it slopes away from you."
The green is split in three tiers, breaking from back to front and Vernon said getting an approach shot on the same tier is important. With the hole in the back tier in 2015, Vernon's approach from the rough skipped off the green and rolled down a steep hill, leaving a tough up-and-down.
In the playoff with Rhodes, Vernon rolled in a birdie putt from the left side while Rhodes was faced with a long uphill putt from the lower tier.
"It's a pretty short, easy looking hole but the pins can make it tough," Vernon said. "You have to hit a solid wedge shot otherwise you could make double."