Master the Art and Science of Putting 7 – Reading Greens

While reading greens is an art in and of itself you can learn to analyze greens for distance and directional cues scientifically. There are many great sources for learning to read greens. You will find several important clues for helping you unravel the mystery of green reading below.

?????????????????????????????????????????? The Big Picture?

What do you see when you look at a green? Do you see how the golf course architect designed the green to allow water to drain freely from its surface? Accumulated water plagues greens with diseases and insect infestations. To ensure the health of the greens, they are designed with several run-off areas. These can be seen as low areas that surround the green. Water sources, like streams, ponds, and lakes are usually located on the lowest side of a green so water runs directly into the water source. This is your first clue. Look for low lying areas just off the green.

Second, are you aware of other features surrounding greens that might affect how the ball rolls? Did you ever see a ball roll up an incline? Many times, golfers get befuddled when, for example, they think the ball breaks left but watch it break right, which means the ball would have had to roll uphill. Even though a green appears to slope left, the ball breaks right if the area surrounding the green slopes to the right more than the green slopes to the left. This is the same optical illusion that is used in fun houses.

The fun house guide usually tells you the house is haunted, demonstrating that fact by placing a ball or some cylindrical object at the bottom of a ramp. The object rolls up the ramp maintaining the integrity of the guide’s information about the haunting of the house. What you don’t see is the fact that the house is constructed on a hill that slopes more in the opposite direction than the slope of the ramp inside the house. The walls of the house hide this. So, although the object gives the illusion of rolling uphill, it really rolls downhill.

It’s no difference with greens. Your second clue is to look at the slope of the sur- rounding area. Are there high and low areas a short distance from the green that may affect how the ball rolls? Do they slope in the same direction as the green or in the opposite direction?

The best position from which to check for Big Picture clues is from off the green as you approach it. Begin looking when you are about 30 to 40 yards from front of the green. Look for low areas that allow water to drain from the high and low sides of the green, and the terrain surrounding the green.

The Little Picture

Once you’ve gotten an idea of the Big Picture you need to see if there are any inconsistencies between the Big Picture and the Little Picture. The Little Picture is the area of the green between the ball and the hole. There may be several undulations that cause the ball to curve more or curve in a direction opposite to what you determined by looking at the Big Picture. There are other factors to look at that might affect the speed of the ball as it rolls to the hole that must also be gleaned from looking at the Little Picture.?

View the path the ball must travel from its position on the green to the hole from three perspectives. Look from behind the ball and from behind the hole. Can you detect any undulations from either perspective? If you think the putt will break one way or the other, look at the path from the low side of the hole in the middle of the putt. The low side of the hole is the side towards which the putt breaks. So, if the putt breaks from right to left, the left side of the path is the low side of the hole. The middle of the path is half way between the ball and the hole. Your last look should be made from behind the ball and as close to the surface of the green as possible.

Other Factors that Affect the Speed and Curve of the Putt?

There are many factors that affect how the ball rolls. These factors are discussed below. It’s important to remember these factors only affect your putt if they differ from the kind of greens and conditions you normally practice or play.

Length of Grass

The longer the grass the slower the ball rolls so the more force you need to apply to get the ball to roll to the hole. The ball also breaks less on greens with longer blades of grass.

Width of the Blades of Grass

Thick-bladed grasses, like Bermuda, tend to be slower than thin-bladed greens. More energy must be applied to get the ball to roll on thick-bladed greens and less energy on thin-bladed greens. Because you must apply more energy to get the ball to roll a given distance on thick-bladed greens the putt tends to break less.?

Uphill or Downhill Putts

More energy must be applied to get uphill putts started so roll faster than downhill putts at the start of the putt. Faster rolling putts are less affected by side-hill terrain and so break less on uphill putts. Conversely, downhill putts are more affected by side-hill terrain. Downhill putts tend to break more.?

Where is the break?

The ball rolls faster at the beginning of a putt than at the end so the first part of the putt is less affected by side-hill terrain than the end of the putt. For this reason, the area around the hole has a greater effect on the curve of the putt than the area around the ball. This means, putts break more near the hole if the side-hill is closer to the hole and less if the side-hill is nearer the ball.?

Wind

Strong wind affects both the speed and path the ball travels. This is especially true if greens are cut short and/or the grass is thin- bladed. Both factors reduce the amount of friction between the ball and green. If the wind blows from the hole to the ball, the wind slows the ball down as it nears the hole. If the wind blows from the ball to the hole, the ball rolls farther as it nears the hole. If the wind blows towards the break, the putt breaks more. If the blows against the break, the putt breaks less.?

Moisture

Moisture causes putts to roll slower given the same force being applied to the ball and is less affected by side-hill terrain so tends to break less.?

Grain

Grain is grass that lies in consistent patterns. Putts tend to break more when they roll in the direction of the grain and less when they roll against the grain. The speed of the putt is also affected by grain. The ball rolls faster when rolling with the grain and slower when rolling into the grain. Grain is seen as patches of areas of a green that appears lighter or darker than the rest of the green.

Grainy grass that appears lighter, almost silvery is running away from you. When grass appears darker than the grass around it, the grain is running towards you. Grain often grows in the same direction as the prevailing wind. It also tends to grow in the direction of the setting sun. Thick-bladed grasses tend to be grainier than thin-bladed grasses.?

Learning through Experience?

Learning to read greens takes experience. You gain that experience by playing different kinds of greens under different conditions and being observant. If you mis-read a putt, and the ball rolls faster, slower, or breaks in the opposite direction than what you thought, make a mental note and take a quick second look before proceeding to the next tee. Most golfers never learn from their mistakes because they blurt out some obscenity and just walk away with their head down. Your mis-read could have been caused by your inexperience or by some factor you failed to notice. Determining the cause of your mis-read helps you in the future. Even if you can’t determine the nature of your mis-read, make a mental note of what occurred.

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