Colonial’s Classic Bentgrass Still Rewards Golf’s Purest Putters
Compiled weekly by multiple-award-winning PGA Professional Brendon R. Elliott, PrimePutt’s Director of Instruction and Lead Writer.
One week after the season’s second major tested every part of a player’s game, the PGA TOUR heads to one of the most historic and nuanced putting venues in professional golf: Colonial Country Club.
At the Charles Schwab Challenge, players return to classic bentgrass greens that continue to reward precision, patience and elite pace control over pure power.
There are very few venues left on the PGA TOUR schedule where traditional shotmaking and strategic putting matter quite like Colonial.
The Perry Maxwell and John Bredemus design has long rewarded players who can think their way around the golf course, and the bentgrass greens remain central to that identity. Colonial’s putting surfaces are traditionally smaller than TOUR average, subtly contoured and heavily dependent on approach angle and placement.
Unlike the dramatic green complexes seen at many modern championship venues, Colonial’s surfaces challenge players with nuance. The breaks are often smaller than they initially appear, which can lure players into over-reading putts.
That is especially true following the club’s restoration work, which brought many of Maxwell’s original visual concepts and green-edge characteristics back into focus.
What Players Will Face This Week
-
Smooth bentgrass surfaces that reward committed stroke mechanics
-
Subtle interior contours rather than dramatic slopes
-
Approach-shot positioning becoming critical to realistic birdie chances
-
Texas winds influencing speed perception and green firmness
-
Tight surrounds that place added pressure on short-game recovery shots
From a coaching standpoint, Colonial often becomes a “pace control first” week. Players who consistently roll putts the proper speed tend to separate themselves quickly because the greens reward patience and precision far more than aggression.
This is also one of the best lag-putting tests players will see all season. Colonial rarely allows players to overpower the golf course. Instead, competitors slowly work their way around the property by avoiding three-putts and capitalizing on limited scoring opportunities.
Why Colonial’s Greens Matter
What makes Colonial so compelling from a putting perspective is how complete the challenge becomes.
Players must:
-
Control spin into smaller targets
-
Leave approach shots below the hole whenever possible
-
Read subtle movement correctly
-
Manage pace in changing wind conditions
-
Stay disciplined emotionally when birdies are difficult to find
That combination is why Colonial continues to stand the test of time in modern professional golf.
While many venues now lean heavily on distance as the primary defense, Colonial still asks players to think, adapt and execute with precision on and around the greens.
And from a putting perspective, that remains one of the purest tests in the game.
Quick Takeaways for Everyday Golfers
If You Want to Putt Better on Fast Bentgrass Greens:
-
Prioritize speed control over trying to “make everything”
-
Practice more 25-40 foot putts during warmups
-
Trust subtle reads instead of over-reading break
-
Focus on leaving uphill second putts whenever possible
-
Pay attention to wind and moisture changes throughout the round
The best putters in the world are rarely the most aggressive.
More often than not, they are simply the most disciplined.
‘The Greens This Week’ drops every Wednesday and looks at the putting surfaces the best in the world from the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour and DP World Tour will face in the coming week. Got a putting question or drill request? Drop us a line.
