Reading Greens

[kid2]

Is this something that has to be learned or is it a skill......
The reason i ask nis that i played today and shot an 83 off 18 with 1 scratched hole....Was happy enough but i know i left at least another 8 points behind me.....I was reading breaks that didnt seem to be there........
What i thought was a line just on the left or right edge of the cup ended up being a straight putt which in turn had me lipping holes all over the place.....Im presuming my setup was sound as where i was aiming the ball at it was actually going....Just not in the hole ......

Is it just more practice thats needed or am i overanylising what in theory should be a straight putt.

 

[clubchamp07]

Sorry wish I could help, I need brail on the greens to read them.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Break depends on many things including conditions, time of day, type of grass and your putting style. I think the general concept can be taught but ultimately it is an individual art as no two players will read or hit the putt the same.

I tend to play less break on putts from 3-6 feet and hit them a little firmer. I prefer on anything from 15 feet and above though to play almost dead weight as I had an issue with charging putts and this technique works better. To do this though I have to accept that I need to allow more borrow.

I'd make sure you aren't looking up, moving the lower half, or taking it back across the line. If you are happy your technique is sound find a style that works (firmer or deadweight) and stick to it. Your first read on any putt is usually going to be the correct one so don't over analyse. Pick your line, pick a spot (if you use one) and trust

 

[brendy]

I could do with the tiger woods 2010 style break indicators sometimes. I just cannot do subtle breaks without having a good look from 8 oclock back round to 4 oclock behind the ball, if that makes sense.

 

[mattyb0y]

I tend to play less break on putts from 3-6 feet and hit them a little firmer.

Perfectly said - From my exp. break depends alot on the pace of a putt, i dont worry on long putts untill the last 5/4 feet in if fairly straight! 4-6 footers confidance and firmly putt them ul find you can putt through the break of the putt!

In addition you maybe reading the putts right but not sending the ball on the sought out path you read to the hole... theres no substitute for practise develop and sound reliable putting stroke and ul sink more than you think!

 

[Ken_A]

One thing I can do is putt - I was once told to look at the ball then imagine you are throw a cup of water along the green - this is teh putting line.

Now I imagine it of I need to decide on the subtle breaks etc.

 

[GFC]

Hi I would like to recommend two thing first if green reading in a problem them you need to learn green reading as it is a subject on its on own. I am a putting and short game specialist
and I teach green reading. So here it is get your eyes checked to see if you are actually are seeing the spot that you are aiming at. Secondly there are tools out there the can help with green reading like Power lines which I you to teach with and I can tell you the difference in what you thought to what is real is just mind blowing.I also get my students to get a pair of Polarized sun glasses to remove the glare from the greens. The last thing is to go to someone with a Science and motion Putt lab Unit to see if you are aiming as sound as you think.I have found tour players that tell me that their aiming is sound but when I measure it on the sams putt lab they are 2 to 4 deg out.

Please feel free to ask me if you need more help.

thanks
Sinjin

 

[JustOne]

Don't give away the hole unless necessary. The hole is just over 4 inches wide which means (for example) a putt hit along the right edge can break left 4 inches and still go in, that's quite a bit of break to play with if you are unsure of the line.

 

[Imurg]

Our greens are tricky to read. Many a time I've stood over a putt thinking its going to break a bit it doesn't. There's an element of getting to know your greens as well.

 

[bobmac]

4 tips on green reading.
1. Stand behind your marker with a ball in your hand and imagine you've just rolled the ball out of your hand down the green. Try and visualise what the ball does with the slopes.
2. Pay particular attention to the last 3-4 feet of the putt as it slows down. This is where it will be affected most by any slopes
3. Have a look at the cup itself. Is one side of the cup higher than the other
4. If your not sure of the line, have a quick look from behind the hole and maybe even the sides.

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL IT'S YOUR TURN TO PUTT.
While your playing partners are sussing out their putts, you do the same.
If it's you to putt first, get there before them and don't take all day about it.
Often, your first guess is the right one

 

[Imurg]

I've often found that the first quick read is bette than a protracted look. Unless its a tricky double break I generally look for a about 5 seconds, set up and hit. I'm not normally off for line - pace, though, is a different matter!

 

[HughJars]

Is it just more practice thats needed or am i overanylising what in theory should be a straight putt.

Sound smostly like this to me, especially as you say you hit it where you meant to, but they stayed straight.

Have often been guilty of this in the past, simply not believing a putt is straight, and trying to hard to find a borrow that just isn't there.

 

[Robobum]

The thing I see with guys who are not confident on the surface is that they putt in a way that means it's hard to learn from any mistakes.

By that I mean, they get down and read a putt and say they see it as a cup outside the right. They line themselves up on that line then subconciously second guess themselves whilst over the ball and push the putt an extra ball outside their line.

They then don't know whether the original read was right or wrong because the putt never started on line!!

Second guessing themselves all the time leads to lack of confidence, indecisive stroke, dribbly putts and no way out of a vicious circle.

 

[Hendy]

i seem to read lines that no one else see's.. it would be a good thing if they dropped every time.. but it is nice to get the odd one lol.

I would go to the putting green hit a putt if moving left to right, get down have a look at it again play another putt see if you can read it better second time.. Keep doing this until you start to see the way the greens are rolling..

Half the battle sometimes putting i think is having the correct weight, so for example if you dont read the line 100% at least with the correct weight you will leave yourself with a easy 2nd putt.

Another option is to try the likes of a 2 ball putter i found this helped me a fair bit when starting out.

 

[Oddsocks]

kid, just sounds like one of them days, if i remember right, the other day you was saying with teh amount ogf time you spend practice putting with your nipper your putting is strong. Bad day, move on and dont let it wrech ya technique that your happy with.

However, if in 3 games its the same then address it