Green reading

How many times have you hit a putt and thought that is a dead certainty, only for the ball to completely miss the hole? There are of course other occasions when you roll the putt and the moment that contact is made you just know that you have over read the break, as the ball makes its way to the hole you just look and at the last moment it turns and falls gracefully into the cup.

There are many factors related to the way in which we read a green but it is wise to understand some of the basics.

	The effect that grain has on the ball.
	The speed of a putt has a direct effect on the break.
	The effect of gravity on the ball.

Grain

Grass, does not as many people think, grow straight up! Grass tends to grow in the direction of its main source of moisture and light, not only does it grow in this fashion but also its growth will be affected by the manner in which it is cut. Normally grass will grow towards the source of water, be that a pond, river, sea or even the sprinkler heads located near to the green. If the water source is consistent around the green then it is likely that the grass will grow in the direction of the afternoon sunlight, or if this is not a factor then it will lean with the prevailing wind. In any case it is wise to understand the effect of grain and how to notice in which way the grass is leaning. When playing to a hole that has been in the same position for a few hours, it is possible to look closely at the edge of the hole: and note which the side of the hole appears to be the most dry. This will be the direction in which the grass grows. On freshly cut holes it is difficult to see, but then you may be able to still see the direction of cut with darker grass growing towards you and lighter shades growing with you.

Speed

Once the speed of a specific putt can be assessed then the line that the ball should take will become apparent. I believe that the ball should be travelling at a speed that allows for it to finish at a point past the hole, from where you can feel confident enough to be able to hole the next putt. The faster the ball rolls then the less “break” the ball will take between its starting position and the hole, the slower the ball is travelling then the more “break” the ball will take in the same distance. Remember this when watching the ball after it has gone past the hole, at this stage the ball should be travelling quiet slowly and so will appear to break more, the when you play the return putt it is normal that the ball will be hit more firmly making the ball travel faster so resulting in less “break”.

Understanding the Rules of GRAVITY

The ball will be affected by the true down slope of the green, first it is important to be able to read the true down slope and then understand how this translates to the line that we select. There are no hard and fast rules to green reading, except for acquiring as much information as possible from outside sources; watch other players putts roll, take notice of changes in elevation in the locality of the hole and in the absence of local changes, then note the landscape surrounding the green. There is a lot to be said for experience when it comes to reading greens, however if you adopt the following practice then your green reading should improve.

Squat down on the extension to the ball target line. First look at the ball and then draw an imaginary line to the centre of the hole. At this stage it is unlikely that we can visualise the ball going straight to the centre of the hole. If we “see” the ball moving lets say 30cm left, then pick out a point right of the hole and draw a new imaginary line to that point. With a little adjustment it will then be possible to establish a starting point for the ball.