There is an interesting statistic last year that almost every winner on the PGA Tour finished in the top ten in putting for the week. In short, the whole “putt for dough” seems to be true. A big part of success in putting is the ability to read the greens. So do you ever practice your green reading? It’s a pretty good idea to spend some time in this area.
I start reading the green as I am walking up to it. I notice the overall terrain to get a general idea of how the putt will break. Most greens are designed to receive a golf shot so the back of the green is higher than the front. This already gives you a head start because you know that if you are on the front of the green, you have an uphill putt and if you are in the back, you have a downhill putt. Also, you know that if you are right of the pin you have a right to left putt and if you are left of the pin you have a left to right putt.
Now the fun really begins. The first thing I do when I get to my ball is imagine that I poured a big bucket of water on the green and think about where the water would flow. I validate what I see by taking a walk to the hole and feeling the terrain beneath my feet. My balance as I walk will tell me how the green will break. I then get down in a baseball catcher’s crouch to get a better view. If you have Camilo Villegas flexibility and can get even lower, go for it. Along the way, I look for grain. This can be tricky but the grass will appear darker into the grain and pale and shiny down-grain. Grain will always affect the putts and it gets more severe on Bermuda greens where the grain can actually counter what the slope should do to your ball. There is no substitute for experience when it comes to reading grainy greens.
The most important piece of information about reading greens is to play enough break where you can’t imagine the ball would end up below the hole. When you play more break, your ball is always getting closer to the hole as it slows down. If you play too little break, the ball gets away from you below the hole and you will have a longer comeback putt. This is why we call the high side the “pro” side. Most amateurs under- read the break and end up below the hole or on the “amateur” side.
Lastly, you have to gather up all of this information in just a few seconds. That is why you need to practice it and make it second nature. In short, green reading should become a habit and to form a good habit, you need to practice it. The result will be lower scores. To watch my green reading procedure on video as well as many other instructional videos, join www.mysmartgolf.com, the best stat-tracking program on the web. -jz
