Master Your Golf Driver Swing

How To Read Greens Like a Pro

Ever hit a putt you thought was going in only to have it
drift wide right? If you have, chances are you misread the
green. My golf lessons teach that reading greens takes
skill, good judgment, and experience. Since there’s no
formula for determining the direction a ball must start
based on the slope of the green and the distance to the
hole, reading greens is key to sinking more putts. And
sinking more putts, as my golf tips emphasize, produces a
lower golf handicap.

Let’s talk about ball speed for a second. Ball speed is
critical in putting. The factors affecting speed are (1) the
type of grass you’re putting on, (2) the direction the grass
is growing, and (3) the moisture of the grass. Wet greens
tend to slow a ball down. Fast greens tend to drift the ball
away from the hole.

Reading a green correctly—accounting for how these factors
affect your putt— helps you determine not only the speed of
a putt but also the direction. To sharpen your skill at this
technique, we recommend developing a green-reading routine.

Let’s look at the putting sequence before getting into
specifics. First, your subconscious mind absorbs all the
factors affecting ball speed and direction. Next, you decide
how hard and where to hit the ball. Then, you putt. You
judge the accuracy of your read by watching the putt. If it
goes in, you’ve read the green correctly. If it goes by the
hole, you’ve may have misread the green.

My golf tips stress that experience contributes greatly to
reading a green correctly. But I also recommend that you
keep the following in mind as you approach a green:

Start thinking about the line of the putt as you walk to
the green
. The best view of the green’s slope (whether it
slopes to the right or left) is from 20 yards or so away.
Standing on the green can’t tell you this. If the terrain
surrounding the green slopes to the right, the green
probably slopes to the right. If a green slopes in the
opposite direction, it creates a basin that collects water.
No self-respecting landscape architect will do that.

Check from the side of the green if you have an uphill or
downhill putt
. You can make this judgment by standing behind
the putt. The side provides the best perspective for this
and for determining the speed of the ball. For downhill
putts, the low side of the green offers the best perspective
for judging the terrain’s slope.

Stand behind the hole to judge the area around the hole.
This area is crucial because a ball loses most of its speed
by the time it gets to the hole. Here, the terrain can
really influence the ball’s direction.

Read the green with your feet. Use your sense of balance
to determine the green’s slope. It will also give you clues
about the putt’s speeds

Stand behind the ball to make a final decision on the
putt’s direction and speed
. When you stand above the ball,
your perspective changes, as does your impression of the
line. Behind the ball is the best place to take a final
look. Once you’ve made the decision, don’t change it.

In addition, here’s a few putting tips I always highlight in
my golf instruction: watch the roll of another player’s
ball, don’t underestimate the break on a putt, and pay
attention to the influence of the wind and dampness.

Watching another player’s ball, especially if he or she has
a similar shot, provides hints on how the ball rolls.
Sometimes, it even provides you with a near perfect line.
Also, miss a break on the high side of the hole not the low.
That way the ball has at least a chance of rolling in. And
it doesn’t roll as far away from the hole on the high side
as it does on the low. In addition, a strong wind affects
the speed and direction of the ball as does dampness. So
factor these elements in. A ball rolls a lot slower on wet
grass than on dry grass.

Finally, watch the ball if it goes by the whole. Don’t turn
away in anger. There’s little feedback before and during a
putt, so you can’t check your reading accuracy until after
you hit the ball. Key questions you need to ask yourself
are: Did it have the right direction? Did it have the right
speed? Did it have the right on line? Answering these
questions is crucial to improving your ability to read
greens and sink more putts. And doing that, as my golf
lessons point out, will lower your golf handicap.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

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