The “ greens “ until about 10 years ago were, believe it or not , compacted sand which was soaked in oil . You drug a piece of those bristle door mats on a rope behind you to remove footprints. One thing was that you could see a fine line left from the ball travel so you could see exactly how a put broke after the fact.
Now the greens are artificial grass with real grass surrounding them out maybe 50 feet. The tee boxes are also artificial grass. In between it’s mainly sand with the odd section of grass . Players carry a piece of artificial turf about a foot square which you are allowed to put your ball on for your next shot. It’s no Agusta National but it’s the best we have.
There is also no penalty for a ball carried off by a Raven ! I had it happen one time. Ravens build very large nests and as many as 50 golf balls have been found in them . Crazy , very intelligent birds.
