Reading Greens

[virtuocity]

My putting recently has been exceptional. I feel like I can't miss from 15 feet and in.

I was wondering if I do what most other people do when on the green.

1. Stand behind the ball and read bumps / ups and downs
2. Draw an imaginary line from where I'm aiming to my ball, paying close attention to the start of the 'line' i.e. the first foot of the ball's journey
3. Line up the putter in the direction of the 'line'. Few practice swings for gauging speed
4. Address ball and knock it in the hole

The imaginary line makes me sound like a freak, but am I more normal than I think?

 

[Birchy]

You must be a freak because i do the imaginary line thing too

I start reading on the way to the green by looking at which way it slopes etc.
I crouch behind the ball to read the break on the putt and decide on my line/pace for the putt.
I draw an imaginery line from ball to hole and aim to set the ball off on that line.
One practice swing for the pace i want, then aim to set the ball off on my imaginary line and let it go.
Remember not to take the putter back too far as thats the biggest mistake most people make imo.

 

[virtuocity]

Good stuff.

 

[CMAC]

what you do is pretty text book stuff- the difference is believing the line and committing to making a positive stroke- you are obviously doing that as well- well done

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I'll crouch behind to get my line and can imagine a dark line on the green where I think the ball is going to track. If I'm comfortable with that I'll go with it. If it's fairly long putt and there are variable borrows between line and hole I'll discount some of the earlier borrow as pace will talke some out. Also I imagine the last three feet to the hole and how ball will act as it slows. Sounds complicated - but is only akin to a bit of finite element analysis on the fly, with fixed end points and initial and final velocity vectors

 

[virtuocity]

I'll crouch behind to get my line and can imagine a dark line........

Ah, my line is white.

 

[duncan mackie]

no line - I have an imaginary hole instead

I try and imagine where my ball will end up if I hit it at the hole, say the answer is 3" right of the hole and a little long - I now imagine a hole 3" left, and a little short, of the actual hole; with luck there will be a blemish on the green in the right place!

Now just 'aim' (we all seem to do it differently, I just let my subconcious handle that by simply focusing on the target) and fire.

I accept that where the contours are more complex this simplistic approach isn't enough ie you then need to consider if the terrain the ball will be travelling over is going to have the same effect as your first look, but I think it has advantages when it comes to distance control because it keeps the line and distance related.

The important thing is to do what works for you.

 

[6inchcup]

i tried to teach my golf buddy how to read a green and only realised I could see the line but he couldn't,i have always thought that putting is a game within a game and i find it the most enjoyable part of golf and would spend hours just practicing on the practice greens,and nice long drive down the fairway is nice but a 30 ft double breaking down hill putt is a far better feeling when it drops.

 

[SocketRocket]

Sounds complicated - but is only akin to a bit of finite element analysis on the fly, with fixed end points and initial and final velocity vectors

Nothing like Bi-Cubic entities to get the right line

 

[virtuocity]

but a 30 ft double breaking down hill putt is a far better feeling when it drops.

Agreed.

I generally play on my own and feel a complete idiot after a long putt shouting at the ball "drop! Drrrrop! DROP! DRRRRRROP! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS" *fist pump*.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I went on an Aimpoint clinic last year. Changed my green reading. The website is here and this is the guy to contact

http://jamiedonaldson.co.uk or via twitter at @golfdonaldson

If you are around the Berkshire area there is one planned for March or April at the Downshire. It is about £90 for the 3 hours but once you've paid it you can go to any basic level course for a refresher for nothing. Very quick to do on the course and doesn't slow the game at all.

 

[garyinderry]

i over read every putt last weekend.

 

[Foxholer]

I normally end up with with a point to aim at, rather than a line. On longer putts or with significant breaks, I divide general line into 3rds (normally), go through a 'fine tuning' process and end up with a point to aim at.

I've seen Aimpoint users have good and bad days, mainly due to variable pace - the more consistent the greens, the better. It certainly gives users confidence, which is a major part of good putting.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Nothing like Bi-Cubic entities to get the right line

Bicubic interpolation - perfect for defining the wavey surface of a green.

Now if only I'd done that PhD in non-linear partial differential equations - might have improved my putting. Then again sometimes I might as well just assume the putt is dead straight as to try and work out the borrows. Likely to end up just as close to - or as far away from - the hole.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I have a bizarre way of reading breaking putts; at least I think it's bizarre.

I walk up hill from the line of the putt until I am on a line that breaks only very slightly, maybe an inch, and pick a point about 12-18 inches from the hole on that line. I then walk back to my ball and line it up with the end of that îmaginary line. The hole doesn't come into the equation when I'm lining up my ball.

I don't know how I started doing this, I don't know how much break I'm looking for on my imaginary line and I don't even know if my imaginary line is actually 12 to 18 inches long. All I know is I started doing it, I see a point that feels right, aim at it and I make a lot of putts.

I also use a line on my ball as an alignment aid but I don't point it down my aim line but across it. I find it's easier to square the putter that way.

Weird eh?

 

[Region3]

I have a bizarre way of reading breaking putts; at least I think it's bizarre.

I walk up hill from the line of the putt until I am on a line that breaks only very slightly, maybe an inch, and pick a point about 12-18 inches from the hole on that line. I then walk back to my ball and line it up with the end of that îmaginary line. The hole doesn't come into the equation when I'm lining up my ball.

I don't know how I started doing this, I don't know how much break I'm looking for on my imaginary line and I don't even know if my imaginary line is actually 12 to 18 inches long. All I know is I started doing it, I see a point that feels right, aim at it and I make a lot of putts.
Weird eh?

Apparently, if you find that line straight uphill from the hole, and read one putt from the side so you pick a point on that uphill line to aim at, that is the point you aim at no matter where you are on the green. Allegedly.

 

[Hobbit]

My line is yellow and the width of the putter face... works for me

 

[Val]

I also use a line on my ball as an alignment aid but I don't point it down my aim line but across it. I find it's easier to square the putter that way.

Weird eh?

That's what Gmac does.

 

[bobmac]

Reading the green perfectly will only help if you can start the ball off on the line and length you have chosen.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

I used to spend ages reading lines, but I got too wrapped up in things. Now I pick a line when I'm walking up to the ball, have a couple of practice swings while looking at the hole, then I go. I'm putting much better, but that's got a lot to do with v-easy practice coupled with trying to have no thoughts while I'm on the course.