Tips and Ticks to Help You Read Greens

If you can't read greens, good luck ever breaking 90, 80 or even par. While then many players focus on the long game, the short game is what moves the needle. Light-green reading is half the battle of becoming a great putter.

Some golfers are very visual and tin walk on the light-green and instantly meet the read. Tiger is ane of those players that has said he tin can come across the path the ball needs to get on to end upwards in the hole. He's too developed that skill from a immature age using meditation and mindfulness practices to make it the zone.

While other golfers aren't as visual and go off of feel and learning dark-green reading techniques. Even if you're non a natural, yous can learn how to read greens like the best of them and hole more than putts.

In this postal service, I'll share with you the top 10 tips to assistance you learn how to read greens and give yourself a chance to consistently shoot lower scores.

How to Read Greens: 10 Tips to Make More than Putts

Before I get into the best green reading tips, make sure you cheque out our other articles on how to become a better putter. Retrieve, being a great doodle is the combination of many different skills including reading greens:

The Putting Stroke
Aiming your Doodle
Speed Control
Lag Putting
Putting TopSpin on your Putts

i. Read On the Fashion Up

The first tip to help your light-green reading abilities is to commencement reading the green on the way up to the hole. If you're walking, this is really easy. You tin can commencement noticing the undulations and slopes from most 20 yards out. Await at the bit or putt upcoming and start to think about the break and the gradient of the shot.

If you're riding, y'all tin can also do this also but not quite equally effectively every bit you tend to pull the cart upward behind the green. To get started, first evaluate the slope of the green. Notice any hills, tiers, and visible slopes. In general, nigh greens slope back to front.

This means that for the most part, an approach shot left short of the pin will give you lot an uphill putt. The more uphill putts you tin have, the more aggressive you can striking them and easier it is to make birdies and non 3-jack.

Call back, information technology's e'er better to have a longer putt uphill than a shorter putt downhill where you have to play defense instead of hitting it aggressively.

2. Always Start Behind the Putt

One time y'all become to the greenish and marker your ball, information technology'southward important to starting time reading the putt from behind the hole. This should always exist your outset move, don't go all the way around the hole and look from the other side first.

I similar to squat down and go as low every bit possible. While I'yard not Camilo Villegas depression, the lower you are to the footing, the more you can run across the read.

Await for full general slopes and endeavor to imagine the line the ball will need to travel on to end up at the bottom of the cup. Keep information technology simple and sympathize if it's uphill or downhill and if it breaks right to left or left to right.

If you lot can't figure something out, then get backside the pigsty if you aren't certain. Otherwise, looking at the cup from both side could cause confusion and dubiety. Plus, you might tiresome downward your round and be a hurting to your playing partners.

3. Utilise Your Anxiety

Some other great style to help y'all read the dark-green is with your feet. Yes, your feet tin tell you a lot about the putt and help you in the green reading process.

One of the formal means to use your feet for reading greens is using the Aimpoint system. You lot might run across a few players on the PGA Tour using this green-reading method including Adam Scott.

Here's how Aimpoint generally works:

Use your feet to guess the amount of slope in your putt
Apply your arm and fingers to make up one's mind where to aim

I encourage y'all to check out Aimpoint and make your own determination. But in my opinion (for what it is worth), the system as a whole seems to brand it complicated to read greens every bit the entire process is very mechanical.

That being said, ane thing I got from it was noticing how much your feet can help you lot read greens. Now I attempt to utilize my feet more to determine if it'south uphill or downhill. You can straddle your golf ball and likewise feel if the line is going right or left.

4. Choose a Pace Before Putting

If you read every putt with the correct line but don't take the right speed for that line, y'all will miss near every time. Ask yourself, what type of putter are you? Are you someone that dies into the hole on the last revolution? Or are you someone who takes out some break and hammers it abode?

While one mode isn't better than the other, it's of import to know your style. Because the harder you hit the putt, the less suspension you demand to play. If you are someone who tends to hit with a flake more than speed, it's important to note that y'all're making the pigsty smaller. You're going to have more burnt edges and more power lip-outs.

But players like Tiger Wood is known as someone who hits it hard, and so I'm not saying don't choose it. With the new 2019 golf game rules, you lot tin can keep the flagstick in and so that helps slow down a putt with some extra speed on it.

Personally, I recollect you should cater speed to each putt. Some require finesse while others require a lilliputian extra sauce.

Besides, a putt left shot has 0% chance of going in. If you lot're uphill, brand sure you give it a chance. If yous're downhill, play for the dying approach so you don't race it past.

Lastly, don't forget the comeback putt if you lot miss.

five. Remember Local Rules

It'due south non uncommon for your speed to change as yous go to different courses and play in dissimilar conditions (run into our article on the stimpmeter). Different conditions, grass types, and green designs can make things very different when you play different courses. Not to mention that near chiefly some courses have faster greens while others take slower greens.

That being said, make sure to not forget about local rules. For example, if y'all're playing an ocean course, yous might hear things like "breaks toward the sea." Or if you're playing a desert course in Phoenix to a higher place the metropolis, you might hear "everything breaks toward the valley."

Inquire the starter when yous're teeing off if there are any local rules when it comes to reading greens. If you tin't decide on a specific line, you can always use the local rule for some extra assistance.

vi. Larn to Read Grain

Depending on where you play, grain is a large part of greenish reading. Start by looking for whatsoever changes in the color of the grass.

(If you're having trouble seeing the colour changes, sometimes information technology'south a little easier if you lot accept sunglasses made for golfers.)

If your putt is down grain, the grass is laying in the same management at which your putt is going. The putting surface will accept a more sheen look to information technology and exist lighter in color. This means it's going to be even faster than normal.

If your putt is into the grain, the grass is laying towards your line. The putting surface volition be darker and the putt will be slower.

This can make information technology difficult if you're downhill and into the grain or vice versa. As a dominion of thumb, gravity always beats the grain when influencing the roll of the ball.

Lastly, make sure you hit putts super solid in grainy greens. A miss hit putt can cease upwards way brusque or way long depending on the grain.

7. Stick to a Routine

When it comes to reading greens, a not bad putting routine volition help yous more than annihilation. You should work as hard on your putting routine as your total-shot routine. Similar sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella said, "Your routine is your wingman."

Brand your routine simple and easy. Read from behind the hole, pick the apex, accept a few practice putts, and execute.

Please trust your initial read too as the first instinct typically the right one. There isn't much worse than having indecision over a putt. Commit to your line before your putt and give it your best shot.

8. The Plumb Bobbing Debate

One of the older dark-green reading techniques is "plumb bobbing." While a few PGA Bout players have used it, including Ben Crenshaw, I can make a case for and against.

The whole premise of the plumb bob is to figure out the slope of the green but on most putts, this is pretty obvious. Non only does the plumb bob look like an amateur move, it might also confuse things fifty-fifty more as greens can have multiple slopes. With all that being said, there are plenty of players who swear by this method. Some who even play golf for a living!

Become here to read our full article on plumb bobbing.

9. Larn From Partners

I still remember watching the Masters in 2004 rooting for Phil to finally become the monkey off his dorsum and win his first major title. On the 72nd pigsty, Phil had a glace putt to win at Augusta. His playing partner, Chris Dimarco gave him the perfect line. Equally shortly as Chris hit information technology his putt, Phil rushed backside him to get the read.

His method worked and he concluded upwardly making the clutch putt (barely) to win his first green jacket. The lesson? E'er learn from your playing partners when reading the green. If they have even a remotely like putt, brand certain you lot learn from them.

10. Break Long Putts Up

The last green reading tip is to brand sure you break upwards long putts into multiple reads. Not every putt will break the same direction, especially if y'all're going over slopes and different tiers. Don't be agape to suspension putts into multiple segments.

Bonus: Light-green Reading Books

A recent trend is green reading books that basically give y'all the line. They use topography to learn the greens verbal break and tin really help your game. For PGA pros, it nearly seems unfair to requite the players that much information.

But for amateurs, it tin be helpful if you know how to use them to your advantage. Otherwise, they might confuse you fifty-fifty more and ho-hum down play. Plus, they're like $30-$twoscore per class and so brand sure it'southward something you lot can use more than than once.

Last Thoughts on Green Reading

Hopefully, these 10 tips volition assist you find your lines and make more than putts. It'southward natural for you to come across the reads on some courses more others. The entire procedure starts as you lot walk up to the green and always first reading from behind the hole.

Lastly, don't get in overly complicated. Have a simple putting routine and then you tin can stand up over each putt with confidence. You develop that confidence over time by practicing with the correct putting drills. And if all else fails, only hire a golf game caddy to read the putts for you.

Remember, commit to each putt as the incorrect read with the right stroke is better than the right read with an unconfident stroke.

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Source: https://theleftrough.com/reading-greens/