As long as they sand them properly there's usually no real difference. The problems start when they cheap out on the sand (or the labor to apply it). Then it's like trying to put across a Chinese checkerboard. Although I have to say that it's not quite as bad as Verticutting. I've played greens that were recently Verticut and sometimes the ball will lock into one of the grooves those things leave behind and break or no break that ball doesn't move from that slot. At least with the checkerboard, I can sort of guess where the ball may end up. In casual rounds on poorly aerated greens, we usually employ the "One Foot Rule" which is that if your ball comes to rest within a one foot diameter circle around the hole (six inches all around), we just call it "In" and move on. If it was a money round it'd be different, but who in their right mind would play a money round on poorly aerated greens in the first place? -JP