putting on slow greens

[cody west]

i shot a 42 today and the greens were so slow and they didnt break at all are there any tip you guys have for putting on rediculusly slow greens.
iv been putting on fast greens all year

[iWALK18]

hit it harder....

No honestly I feel your pain. I find that it helps me get the ball to the hole if I really concentrate on releasing the putter head.

[Where's the Cart Girl?]

As far as what to do, I think you nailed it in your question. There's hardly any break, so don't play as much. Don't try to see as break thats not there. Consider what break you would play, then cut it in half.

As an aside; I like putting on slow greens as a change because I'm not as hesitant to have a real run at the cup. Knowing that a hard miss is gonna leave me 2 ft. instead of 6 makes me putt more professionally I think. i.e. high side misses and leaving fewer short. That is of course after you leave the 12 footer 5 feet short on the first green and realize what the deal is.

[CG031]

Slow greens tend to break more, (for 6 feet and in)---->>>>but to make it more like a fast green style, I play a similar speed as if I were playing a fast green and hit it right at the back of the hole. takes a lot of the break out and that way i dont have to worry about leaving a 5 footer short!

[is2linda]

Slow greens tend to break more, (for 6 feet and in)---->>>>but to make it more like a fast green style, I play a similar speed as if I were playing a fast green and hit it right at the back of the hole. takes a lot of the break out and that way i dont have to worry about leaving a 5 footer short!

Hm... i dont quite agree with you there. Slow greens to me dont break at all, regardless of 6 feet in or not, unless its a vertical drop. As for sinking in at the back of the hole as if playing fast green, i dont know which courses you play or how accurate your putting is, but when i hit the way you describe on my course, if my ball misses it will zoom back all the all the way to the edge of the fringe. That a huge risk to take on a fast green for me, i rather play with breaks.

Anyways just play with a lot less breaks, pretend you are playing on your carpet like a miniature golf. Its quite frustrating to get back forth with green conditions, but thats just part of the game of golf.

[Yukari]

I too find that slow greens do NOT break as much. I hate putting on the slow greens because I tend to miss everything on the high side.

I think that is why Tiger has a lot of problems on the slow greens. He is so use to putting on marble tops that he can't adjust to slow greens.

[Zeph]

I play a lot on slow greens, to adjust I read less break and usually just try to get the ball close to the cup for a tap in. They are unpredictable and finding the right pace is hard. On fast greens I can feel the pace better and try to get them in the cup. On a slow green with hard to read break, I just don't want a 3-putt.

[lumpuckeroo]

I played on really slow greens last weekend, when I encounter this I play very little break and try to hit the back of the hole with the putt. I have also found you really need to concetrate on hitting the ball in the putter sweet spot, as you will get the best roll possible. On slick greens you can get away with hitting a ball on the toe or heel and it will still roll good, but that does not seem the case with slow greens.

[is2linda]

I played on really slow greens last weekend, when I encounter this I play very little break and try to hit the back of the hole with the putt. I have also found you really need to concetrate on hitting the ball in the putter sweet spot, as you will get the best roll possible. On slick greens you can get away with hitting a ball on the toe or heel and it will still roll good, but that does not seem the case with slow greens.

A good way to counter against that is getting a heavier head putter.

[Dub]

I also prefer faster greens. Smooth bentgrass surfaces are a true delicacy down here.....really nice, but rare. Heat stress leaves us mostly with bermuda and hybrids.

I'd classify the speed of my home course greens as medium. Certain times of the year they will get them really fast and I truly appreciate those conditions.

Sometimes they will be slower, though, when it rains heavily. They just can't get them mowed and rolled in between wet periods. These rounds find me simply gripping up just a bit (make the putter longer) and trying to play my normal stroke.

[hamletsdead]

That's a real tough one, isn't it? Especially if you're used to fast greens. There is a course near me that has been letting the greens get a bit fairway-like recently, and after leaving my downhill birdie putts three feet short on the first couple holes last week I just started playing it (in my mind) as if the hole were 3 feet further away. Still missed some putts, but went from 3-footers to tap ins on the comebacks. I guess you adjust eventually, and then it screws up your distance control for a bit when you go back to fast greens.

Best solution: get a caddie to tell you where to hit it and how hard.

[normdamarine]

Use a hybrid...

No seriously, people assume greens that are slow tend to break more because they assume they have more grain then normal. That is not always true so it depends on what kind of grass the greens are made with...

[RC]

An old saying I have is "life is too short to play slow greens..." but, invariably, you will run into slow greens (or aerated, sanded, etc.) I tend to move the ball a little forward because it reminds me I need to hit through the putt harder, and it makes the stroke different from my normal putting stroke, so -- when I'm back on normal greens I'm not messed up on those, too. If I stay with the normal stroke, it just does not work and I start hitting really bad putts, pulling them, slapping at them, etc.

[uttexas]

I play slow muni greens all the time. Short backswing, then accelerate through with more of a pop. Think pop, not sweep/brush on slow greens.

[right handed phil mickelson]

just putt normally?

for me that's the case lol because i live on a course with pretty slow greens.