We've launched the new forums! Read more here

How much do you take from seeing other putts?

How much does seeing another putt determine yours?

  • I'll take a read where I can get it.

    Votes: 68 74.7%

  • I try not to pay attention.

    Votes: 2 2.2%

  • That's me, squatting directly behind you.

    Votes: 5 5.5%

  • It's a small percentage of the information I use.

    Votes: 14 15.4%

  • Mine never rolls the same as the last guys anyway.

    Votes: 2 2.2%
  • Total voters
    91
During "normal" golf I'll take as much information as possible.

But oddly enough in a scramble I don't really like watching 2 or 3 putts before I hit mine. Then again I rarely play scrambles anyway, so no big deal. :D
 
I will take a quick glance if someone is putting with the same line as me. Unfortunately with us amateurs speed, line & pace can vary drastically from one person to the next.
 
Nice thread. I will stand near the person if it's a similar putt that I have then after he putts go and try to read the putt.

But for the guy standing or squatting directly behind my ball in my peripheral is annoying but I just deal with it. Same with the people who stand behind me on the tee box. Easy fellas.
 
That "WTF" line was something I may have done...…..I will gladly try to get any helpful info on the greens!
 
Never ever will I stand behind someone when they are putting. UNLESS it is during a fun captain's choice tourney.
I take a little info as the putt rolls and I walk around behind my ball, but regardless of the putt I just watched, my putt will still be a different line and different speed. I just read the putt as I normally would and drain it ;).
 
If I can watch the putt I can at least see if the green breaks more or less than I read, at least on that putt it would be helpful. Dew lines are tricky because of all of the information you don't have that you would get had you watched the putt. So, yeah, I'll watch the putt if its similar to mine, especially around the hole where it's slowing down. Outside of that, for better or worse, I've got to trust my own eyes.
 
Snickerdog said:
If he is a somewhat questionable putter then no point really. But a good putter and the ball is rolling smooth, then ya I'm watching.
Click to expand...

Yes, how much I try to learn from a read will be affected by who is putting the ball.
 
If I am out early enough to see dew lines, I will use them to give me an idea of the break if it isn't immediately obvious, but you have no idea how hard the putt was hit to create that line so I don't take anything more than that - although around the hole I might take a bit more notice as you would often expect the ball to be travelling much slower and be affected more by any break

Playing with other players, I will try to get as much information from their putt looking at the speed at which they hit the ball and how the break affected the line, and if they are putting from the opposite side of the hole I will watch the ball around the hole to see if there are any subtle breaks that I might want to take note of

I will watch my ball when it goes past the hole on a putt to get as much information again for the return putt
 
mmaynard11 said:
I will take a quick glance if someone is putting with the same line as me. Unfortunately with us amateurs speed, line & pace can vary drastically from one person to the next.
Click to expand...
I'm still taking it in if someone putts it with a different speed/line. I'm mostly taking in information on the effect of slope/gravity around the hole. I've learned to figure out how much the break will change if the speed past the hole is different. Of course, if someone comes up 4 feet short or way right or left of the hole you probably aren't learning much.

It's the players who put sidespin on their putts that drives me crazy. If you've got a downhill slider and the other player on your line hits his/her putt with a glancing blow you probably aren't going to learn much. At least I can't.
 
I will always watch other people putts just to get a general idea of the green slope, unless they are putting right up my line giving me an excellent teach!

Still, you have to read YOUR putt! Last time we played, I had the line down pat, but not the speed. I had any number of uphill putts come up short, breaking right across the face of the cup. And I ran a few downhillers well past the hole. Those are the ones you really need to pay attention to. If you watch them closely, they will give you a true line back to the cup.
 
I just gauge it by speed. It's like when you play in a Captains choice tournament and everyone putts from the same spot. You may have the right line but the wrong speed. I don't watch another players technique but I will always look at how the ball reacts.
 
Just gotta understand the firmness that the other hit it... A few players refuse to hit with pace and will take a giant big bender with slow speed... Droves me nuts because I don't respect break enough putting that way.
 
I watch speed on the first few holes to see how the greens are running that day. The only time I ever went to school on a putt is one I had on the same line as another guy did who was a few feet further away. His putt (~8 feet) missed to the right. I looked at the green when it was my turn and what I saw I would have sworn that it would break to the left. He must have thought that, too, because he played for left break and got right break. So I played for right break and sank it.
 
I don't like getting behind someone while they are putting to get a read on the break. However I will try to see how hard they hit their putt and where it ends up in proximity to the hole. I can do this from anywhere on the green.
 
Depends on the putter.

More from some players than others.
 
I'm refreshing this because both of the last two days I have actually used lines in the moisture to figure out a putt. Well, yesterday I used the lines crossing where my ball was to know what line NOT to take. One might have been from a chip or coming in from the other direction, but one was definitely a putt that ran right through my spot. Made that putt. Today there was a guy practicing ahead of us and one of the spots I was in basically had a spray chart of attempted lines. Like, 10 of them, and I 100% used the one that looked like it went in, and made the putt.
 
Everybody watches the line another golfer, and would be foolish not to. Even the pros watch their opponents line from off to the side.
 
I don’t go out of way to watch, but I will try and see how the speed the ball is going impacts the break. I will always take my read as the starting point and may make slight adjustments based on what I see, especially if it is on greens that I don’t know well or if they are Bermuda grass.
 
OldandStiff said:
I'm refreshing this because both of the last two days I have actually used lines in the moisture to figure out a putt. Well, yesterday I used the lines crossing where my ball was to know what line NOT to take. One might have been from a chip or coming in from the other direction, but one was definitely a putt that ran right through my spot. Made that putt. Today there was a guy practicing ahead of us and one of the spots I was in basically had a spray chart of attempted lines. Like, 10 of them, and I 100% used the one that looked like it went in, and made the putt.
Click to expand...
That happened to me today too. I could see the lines on a few greens from previous players. I made one from about 15 feet because I could see his went on the low side.
 
Not going to say no to more information for my putt. I'll get a good look at it. But only if it's on the same line or near me. Otherwise I notice but more for confirming slopes and grain that I see.

I will pay attention to how the ball reacts around the hole.
 
Danimal said:
That happened to me today too. I could see the lines on a few greens from previous players. I made one from about 15 feet because I could see his went on the low side.
Click to expand...
Exactly. One ran from behind me right through my ball and it missed low. I think i probably would have too.
 
I won't go out of my way on a break but will definitely take it. More reading speed after a few holes if I figure out they are a good putter.
 
It helps me gauge approximate line and speed. If they go long I know to back off, if they come up short I i know I need to hit it harder.
 
I take what I can get. But I’m not a dick about it. I’m not creeping in behind or anything. If I’m on or near the line, I’m well out of their LOS if I can help it. Or I might even be on the opposite side. I’m more concerned about what happens within the last few feet, since I’m a “die at the hole” type like Crenshaw.
Saying that, the 2 regular buds I play with are probably the worst putters to use to get any real information. Blasting it by or leaving it well short.
Worst thing to listen to is “wow, they’re slow...” after he obviously wouldn’t have made it to the hole no matter what.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top