Every golfer must learn how to putt and read a green, irrespective of whether they just play the occasional round at weekends or if they are a golf tour professional. When putting, there is nothing you can do to curve the ball. Unlike a drive, where you can spin the ball clockwise or counter-clockwise to fade or draw the shot either to avoid an obstruction or for a better position for the next shot, there is nothing you can do with the golf ball when putting except hit it straight.
The purpose of reading a green, therefore, is know in what direction and how hard to hit the ball so that the curves and slopes of the putting surface leads it to the hole. In effect, when reading a green, you are looking for the slopes and contours that will take the golf ball off the straight line that it starts on.
The green can slope in a number of ways: it can slope downhill towards the hole, or uphill. It can slope (break) to the right or to the left, and most frequently the actual break on the green can be combination of any or even all of these with the one putt. Although different golfers have their own way of reading a green, there are certain general rules that can be followed to make the putt once you have decided how the green is sloping.
If you have decided that the green is sloping uphill towards the hole, then you are able to hit the ball fairly hard, depending upon the distance of the putt. Uphill putts are easier than downhill ones because a golf ball only takes any significant break when it slows down. Because you can hit an uphill putt harder, the ball will be running faster for the first part of the putt. Only experience tells you how hard you should strike the golf ball for any specific degree of uphill slope and distance from the hole.
Downhill putts are more difficult because there is less momentum on the ball when it starts its journey. The steeper the downhill slope the slower you have to hit the ball, because gravity will quickly come into play and if you putt too hard, you will run a long way past the hole. The problem is, that if there is also a side break on the putt, the side slope will come into effect fairly quickly since the ball is travelling relatively slowly, and as it runs down the slope towards the hole, it will also run off to the right or left according to the slope on the green.
This is complicated even further if you have a pure side slope shot. Such a put will start uphill first, and then curve round into a downhill putt for the second part of its journey. The golf ball will therefore curve less on the uphill part when it travelling faster and more on the downhill section as it slows down. Keep in mind that the slower the ball is moving the more effect the slope will have on the putt.
Once you have assessed whether the putt is uphill or downhill, and in what direction any side slope will take the ball, you will have a general idea of how the ball will move for the greater part of the putt. However, if you are to be successful in sinking it you will also have to pay special attention to the area around the hole. This is where even a slight slope can affect the ball during its last few rolls when it is moving very slowly, and is generally where most putts are missed.
For this reason it is important that you have a good sense of distance of your putt. A good putt should be hit hard enough to send the ball between 15 to 18 inches past the hole. This means that if the hole gets in the way, the ball will be moving slowly enough to drop, but also fast enough not to be severely affected by any slight slopes around the hole. You therefore have a better chance of making the putt.
You get this ability by practicing your standard putt, or the distance that you can putt without putting any force into the putter other than the momentum of letting it swing into the ball from your backstroke. For an average player this can be anything from around 8 feet to 12 feet, but is particular to you. Putting in the same natural way, without actually forcing the shot, you should make the same distance with every putt on any particular green. You can tell by how much extra you have to putt to make any distance over your personal natural distance, and you also know that you will be able to make the distance at or within this standard without actually forcing the ball.
During practice you can then find out what this standard distance is for you on each hole. Eventually it will become second nature on your home course, and distance will then not be a problem. You will be able to putt more accurately because you will be able to putt fast enough to drop the ball, but negate some of the slope of the green. That is how you putt and read a green in such a way as to improve your putting averages, but first you have to establish your natural putting distance that you can make with only the weight of the club swinging freely into the ball.
How to Putt and Read a Green was originally published at http://www.golfplayernow.com
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