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By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

ATLANTA -- The greens on the PGA TOUR are not perfect every week. They are generally better than your average muni, but perfect? Not by a long shot. There is the general misconception that the players on TOUR play the best golf courses in the best conditions. OK, well, maybe, it is not a misconception -- players are spoiled rotten and it's really cool to get to play those places, but conditions aren't always ideal.

A general view of the putting surface at East Lake that has been damaged due to hot weather. (Lecka/WireImage)

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The greens at Pebble Beach in February are slow and bumpy. The Bermuda greens in Florida are grainy in March. The bentgrass greens in the south are slow in the summer. By contrast, bentgrass in more moderate spring and fall temperatures can be ideal. In the drier months, the poa annua greens of California and New York can be perfect as well.

Rarely do you hear the players complain about the greens. I would love to tell you that players are all big fans of greens superintendents and don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but .... Truth be told, there are a couple of other reasons.

First, negativity in the press room tends to bleed over to the golf course. If a player is complaining, he is putting himself at a psychological disadvantage. Every player knows that if they put the holes in the gravel cart paths someone would still make everything and shoot low.

The other reason that players rarely complain about greens is a little more complicated. By the time any player reaches the PGA TOUR, regardless of nationality, he has cut his teeth somewhere in the world under less than ideal conditions. Whether he played collegiate golf or battled overseas every player has competed in events where the conditions left something to be desired.

Those situations taught each player a lesson far greater than patience. What PGA TOUR players are able to do better than even the best amateurs and lesser pros is adapt. This ability is more important to a career than any other element. When you hear a player talk about a lack of consistency in his play, what he often means is that his game didn't translate from one geographic location to another. All of the players in the field at THE TOUR Championship have shown not only consistency, but the ability to get it done in any town on any surface.

Last week the players at the BMW Championship were made aware of the fact that the greens at East Lake had suffered some summer damage and may not be up to "TOUR standards." While most of the media speculated and the East Lake community worried, the players knew it was business as usual. Their only concern was a break in routine.

Like any golfer, TOUR players prefer greens that are smooth and true but when they are not they don't hang their head and complain. They adapt -- and they only complain to their caddy. A well-struck 8-footer that doesn't go in isn't their fault. That is one of the first things you learn after q-school.

So when you hear the standard sound bite from the players this week saying, "You just have to adjust," they mean it. Call the answers safe, or perhaps. clichéd. Sure, it would be fun to have one of the best players in the world go off on a rant. But you don't get to be one of the best players in the world by worrying about things that you can't control.

Before Thursday's opening round, the players had made the necessary adjustments to the slower-than-normal speeds at East Lake. The ones who had been here before also adjusted to the fact that the tournament is two months earlier than in the three previous years it has been played here.

And when it stops raining, they will adjust again to softer conditions and slower green speeds. It won't be perfect, but if the last three weeks of competition are any indication it should be pretty darn good -- greens and all.