Greens reading 101
The Olde School method of playing a lot of rounds, keeping your eyes open, ( watching all of your shots as well as other players’ shots carefully around the green ),is still the best way to gain valuable insight to reading greens. Learning to putt well on your own is a large part of the beauty and satisfaction of the game! Although slow and tedious, the process is still the best way to become a great chipper and putter and earn confidence and skill around the greens.
Some keys to developing this skill are :
1. know that in general, due to basic golf course design principles, most greens will slope from back to front (down hill) .Meaning… Anything on the back of the green would tend to be downhill and faster, vice versa for a ball on the front of the green, and a putt from the right side breaks right to left, and a ball on the left side breaks left to right. There are exceptions!
2. Make it a habit to take a quick look from the front or low side of each green to get a feel for the prevailing slope of the green. Develop the routine of looking at your putts without undue delay from below the hole.
3. Practice as many severely breaking putts as possible.
Find an area on the practice green that has a lot of slope, stick a tee in the green or place a favorite coin down and putt at it from all angles and distances, making them or ending close to the mark. This will build familiarity and confidence. Trial, error and experience are your best teachers when it comes to developing a sold game around the greens.
Putt well, play well !! Coach Bob K PGA