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Reading Greens

Carnage

Carnage

obsessed
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Middletown, Delaware
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Can anyone recomment a good book or strategy for reading greens? I am notorioisly horrible at reading them, it seems like every single put i read as left to right or right to left is ass backward. Its getting embarassing and frustrating.Tell me you get better with time. I feel like I have my speed down pretty good but always misread them.
 
What types of green are you putting on?
 
I don't know of any books, but I could offer simple advice to recheck it after it does not do what you expected. Get right down on the ground eye level and figure out what happened and then stand up and see if you can spot it better.
 
I find the plumb bob method helps on hard to read putts.
 
I play in the Delaware Philadelphia area. not sure what type of grass they are.

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grathan said:
I don't know of any books, but I could offer simple advice to recheck it after it does not do what you expected. Get right down on the ground eye level and figure out what happened and then stand up and see if you can spot it better.
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I usually stand there wondering how I read it completely wrong..I run into the most trouble when there are undulations on one side and a bunker on the left. Is plumbobbing an option.
 
Carnage said:
I play in the Delaware Philadelphia area. not sure what type of grass they are.

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Northeast will be bent grass green for the most part. So you only have to worry about the terrain and not the grain. The basic way to read bent grass greens is to look for the high point of the putt and hit that.

A good mental drill is to stand behind the hole and imagine pouring a bucket of water and watching how it rolls back to the ball.
 
Don't be afraid to get down on the ground to eye level. I've done this maybe 3 times total, but it's helped a lot. Lay right out flat if you have to.

Another thing is, when your looking down at your putter and ball from stance. Close one eye, then try the other. The ball shouldn't move. If it does, then you have to figure out which one is telling your brain the truth.

The other thing is your putter. It may just suck for you. In refrence, you use a "38 putter. I use a 33" putter and I am 5' 10".
 
grathan said:
Don't be afraid to get down on the ground to eye level. I've done this maybe 3 times total, but it's helped a lot. Lay right out flat if you have to.

Another thing is, when your looking down at your putter and ball from stance. Close one eye, then try the other. The ball shouldn't move. If it does, then you have to figure out which one is telling your brain the truth.

The other thing is your putter. It may just suck for you. In refrence, you use a "38 putter. I use a 33" putter and I am 5' 10".
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You can't lay on a green to read a putt. The second two things you listed. What do they have to do with reading a green?
 
Tadashi70 said:
Northeast will be bent grass green for the most part. So you only have to worry about the terrain and not the grain. The basic way to read bent grass greens is to look for the high point of the putt and hit that.

A good mental drill is to stand behind the hole and imagine pouring a bucket of water and watching how it rolls back to the ball.
Click to expand...

Good advice, I would add to this:

The most important thing for me is to look for the line of a straight putt through the hole (fall line.) Whether your ball is above the hole or below the hole, your putt will turn toward the fall line, e.g. if your ball is left of the fall line, it will turn left to right, if your ball is right of the fall line it will turn right to left. If your ball is on the fall line, the putt is straight.

The amount of turn is determined by two factors: speed of the green AND pace of your putt. So experience plays a huge part.
 
Tadashi70 said:
You can't lay on a green to read a putt. The second two things you listed. What do they have to do with reading a green?
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Why not? Might not be good to put your knees on the green, but I am not aware of any rule that says you can't lay on the green. As long as you aren't testing the condition of the green in doing so, I don't think anyone could ever call foul on lying on the green. It would look funny as hell though.
 
Lefty78 said:
Good advice, I would add to this:

The most important thing for me is to look for the line of a straight putt through the hole (fall line.) Whether your ball is above the hole or below the hole, your putt will turn toward the fall line, e.g. if your ball is left of the fall line, it will turn left to right, if your ball is right of the fall line it will turn right to left. If your ball is on the fall line, the putt is straight.

The amount of turn is determined by two factors: speed of the green AND pace of your putt. So experience plays a huge part.
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This Is the base to the Aimpoint putting system.
 
Smallville said:
Why not? Might not be good to put your knees on the green, but I am not aware of any rule that says you can't lay on the green. As long as you aren't testing the condition of the green in doing so, I don't think anyone could ever call foul on lying on the green. It would look funny as hell though.
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If the knees can't touch the green what makes you think laying on the green is any different. Camilo specifically does his Spider-Man move as to not break the rules.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Northeast will be bent grass green for the most part. So you only have to worry about the terrain and not the grain. The basic way to read bent grass greens is to look for the high point of the putt and hit that.

A good mental drill is to stand behind the hole and imagine pouring a bucket of water and watching how it rolls back to the ball.
Click to expand...

I use the water image myself. Love it.

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Tadashi70 said:
If the knees can't touch the green what makes you think laying on the green is any different. Camilo specifically does his Spider-Man move as to not break the rules.
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Where does it say your knees can't touch the green to read a putt? Totally serious question. I think it would look silly to do it, but I don't think it says anyplace in the rules that you cannot do it. At least I can't find it.
 
Smallville said:
Where does it say your knees can't touch the green to read a putt? Totally serious question. I think it would look silly to do it, but I don't think it says anyplace in the rules that you cannot do it.
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Serious answer, I don't know. I learned at an early age that the knees can not touch the surface if the green. Hands and feet only. I have yet to see anyone's knee touch the green in my 31 years of playing. Now I could be way off base but this what I learned from my first pro as young lad.
 
I believe it to be an etiquette thing versus a official rule. Kneeing on the green could leave a pretty good size indention that could ruin someones line.
 
You can't walk on your line, but you can walk beside and around it. Your feet are better judge of the inclination than your eyes. It is easy to find the low point by feeling it with my feet. But don't step on your or somebody else's line!
 
I like the tips that are here. The water one in particular. Another thing I try to do is trust my first read. It's usually the best. When I second-guess myself, I tend to always miss a putt that I would have made had I went with my original read.
 
-I think this is where walking helps a golfer. As you approach the green, you can take the time to like at the contours and general slope of the green.
-The water idea is also a good indicator. Most greens will have 2-3 "corners" that are usually a shade browner than the rest of the green. This is where the water runoff happens and the browning is due to the water's pooling effect.
-On breaks that may be more difficult to detect, go 1/2way between ball and hole and stand near your line and try to get a feel of any slope.
-When your playing partners go first, watch how their putt reacts around the hole.
-Watch everyone's ball when they hit their chips, for the same above reason.
 
this is probably going to sound weird but I see a line in my head. like an actual faded white line in my head that shows the line. I don't know if its because I have screws loose in my head or if my brain has the ability to imagine something so hard that I visually see it . either way its not supernatural because that line isn't always right . I guess basically theres probably just something wrong with me
 
Tadashi70 said:
Northeast will be bent grass green for the most part. So you only have to worry about the terrain and not the grain. The basic way to read bent grass greens is to look for the high point of the putt and hit that.

A good mental drill is to stand behind the hole and imagine pouring a bucket of water and watching how it rolls back to the ball.
Click to expand...

I do this every time I read a putt...
 
I just take a guess with my first putt and then if I've read it wrong, I take a mulligan.
 
bogeybrain said:
this is probably going to sound weird but I see a line in my head. like an actual faded white line in my head that shows the line. I don't know if its because I have screws loose in my head or if my brain has the ability to imagine something so hard that I visually see it . either way its not supernatural because that line isn't always right . I guess basically theres probably just something wrong with me
Click to expand...

Sometimes I see it and when I do I usually make it or leave it on the esge.

Tadashi, going to try the water thing next time out...can't believe I didn't think of that.

Thanks everyone for the tips!
 
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