Putting up/downhill

[Big Padrigo]

I've been having a bit of trouble recently getting the ball close on the green when I'm on a different tier to where the pin is. I'm thinking I may just be a little confused in terms of what I'm expecting the ball to do as it travels between tiers, here's what I think should happen:

Putting uphill between two tiers ball moves to the left.
Putting downhill ball moves to the right.

Is this right?

The green where I play are pretty rapid, around 11 on the stimp-meter and they do break a lot, so if you miss the right spot on a long putt you can be way off.

[Franco!]

No?
It breaks the way it breaks.
Not all downhillers go one way and not all uphillers go one way.
You should read the putt and expect it to do what you read...

[Big Padrigo]

think of a scenario where there is no break, it's straight up over the hill between the two tiers. If you're playing to leave the ball beside the hole you wont hit it straight at the hole as it will lose speed going up the hill and I'm thinking on an uphill putt that losing speed will cause it to fall to the left....

[zeg]

Imagine the green were perfectly smooth. Set an imaginary golf ball on it and watch which way it rolls. That is "down." Now imagine the line your putt will take if the ground is totally flat. Your actual putt will be pushed in the "down" direction relative to that line.

Or, think of it this way. If you putt straight up the hill, it will not break either way, but will slow down more quickly than a level putt. If you putt to the right of uphill, it will break right, and if you putt left of uphill it will break left. It breaks away from uphill (or towards downhill).

There's no absolute left or right, it depends on the direction of the putt relative to the hill.