Reading Greens for Speed and Break will lead you to Lower Scores!
Reading greens is an essential part of the game, particularly if you’re interested in lowering your scores or making a buck or two off your friends.
Remember the old saying “Drive for Show…Putt for Dough”! $$$
How To Read Golf Greens For Speed And Break
Pace is King
Getting your pace right is very important and also can prove to be a bit difficult. Watching the pros on the PGA Tour. It’s amazing when you think that from week to week they’re playing on entirely different golf courses. The speeds of the greens can and will be very subtly different from course to course. The PGA Tour Stars seem to adjust to this with relative ease.
LPGA Stars…These Ladies are Good!
I had the privilege many years ago to caddy for one of the Professionals on the LPGA Tour at the LPGA Canadian Open in Edmonton, Alberta. We were playing her first practice round, keeping in mind she had never been to Edmonton or ever played a golf course anywhere near this part of the world.
It was her first trip to Canada for an LPGA event. She hit her tee ball straight down the middle, no surprise there. Her approach shot landed in the middle of the green then rolled out towards the back of the green.
Say what?
As a professional courtesy of course she fixed her pitch mark on the green then walked off to her ball and commented to me “Boy are these greens ever slow.” I made comment…“You haven’t even hit the putt yet?”
Why didn’t I think of that?
She commented back quickly. “Yes I know, but I can tell from where the pitch mark was…and where my ball finished. I paced off from the pitch mark to the golf ball and the paces tell me that these greens are very slow. It should’ve rolled out further.”
The putting pace trick
Since then, I developed for my own game the 10 pace putt system. You can develop this at your home course of favorite golf practice center. Establish a standard putt for yourself that rolls out 10 normal walking paces.
For myself, when I’m set up over a putt on the practice green I look at the front edge of my putter face. I swing the putter back as naturally as I can so the front face edge of my putter lines up to the very outside of my back foot.
For this drill I am watching the putter head swing. The front edge of the putter face at the end of the take away is in alignment visually with the very outside my back foot. I then stroke the putter as normally through the ball as possible.
Practice putting sure helps!
You do this with five or six balls at a time until such time the strokes feel consistent and the balls start to tightly group at your 10 pace mark. Do not aim at a hole. Go to area on the green that is flat, not uphill or downhill.
Ready to read the pace of Greens anywhere
Now you have a good putting tool to use at other golf courses. When you go to play a game at a new golf course go to a flat part of the practice green. You now have a consistent putting swing length that will roll the ball out 10 paces. When you’re on the practice green you’re not trying to hit the ball 10 paces you’re just executing your 10 pace swing.
Count it…the paces that is!
Make several putts with 5-6 balls then count out how far the ball actually rolls out at this given golf course. If it rolls out nine paces or eight paces the greens are slow to very slow. Should it roll out 11 or 12 paces the greens are quick. If it rolls out 10 paces the greens are very similar to your home golf course.
Long putts
It’s a good idea to establish a 20 pace or even a 30 pace putting stroke. With a great deal of practice you can monitor the length of your backswing so the balls will roll out consistently to 20 paces.
Same practice for 30 paces, monitoring the length of your backswing with a normal hit through the ball. You want the balls to start grouping at your 30 pace mark. It’s a great strategy for having those long putts end up close to the hole.
Have a multi distance plan
I like to implement a 10 pace, 20 pace & 30 pace putting system. When I go to a new golf course and test the putting green prior to playing. I’ll execute my 10 pace practice putts.
If the putts only roll out eight paces, I know the greens are slow on that given day. My 10, 20 & 30 pace strategy will change to 8 ,16 & 24 paces respectively on that day. Conversely if the greens are quick when I do my 10 pace drill & the ball rolls out to 12 paces.
On that given day I’ll replace 10, 20 & 30 with 12, 24 and 36 pace scale. If my 10 pace putt will roll out to 12, my normal 20 pace putt will roll out to 24 ect.
Without being obvious about it & being respectful of the fellow players I’m with on a given day. I walk off the paces in my own standard walking steps from the golf ball to the hole. Ensure your walking path doesn’t cross a fellow players line or slow up play. I’m now aware of the distance to cover on each putt.
Reading the break?
Reading the break of a green becomes much easier with practice. You can often see the contour of the green as you’re approaching it from a distance of 100 yards and in.
You can notice fairly easily if the back is higher than the front, which is often the case. You’ll notice as you approach the green if the left side appears higher than the right. Look for slopes within the green in close proximity to where your putting line will be and how they may affect the break.
There are clues to read the break
A couple of other clues can help you determine the break in a green. Watch for where the course designer has made allowance for water drainage. In heavy rains they want the water to run off the greens, watch for these hills or subtle runoffs as a clue to help you read your putt.
The color of the green can also be telling, if the green looks silvery then you’re likely down grain which is a quicker putt. If it looks darker green you’re likely into the grain, which is a slower putt. If you walk around your putt in a half moon shape from hole to ball notice the slopes under your feet.
Much has been made lately about noticing the feeling of ground slope under your feet. It’s subtle but pay attention to all these fine details on your way to better putting.
Happy Golfing Friends!
