Reading the Greens when Putting

[Golf_Gal]

Any suggestions on how to do this accurately/better/more efficiently? Sometimes its easy for me to see breaks, but a lot of times I miss them and only see them after I've putt. I bend down towards the green to see the slope, but that's all that I know how to do, LOL!! And most of the time, its just pure luck that it goes in the cup. I'm not bad on my putting, its just hard to tell where the break will be, stuff like that.

TIA

[flopdarock]

putting is an art...
my best advice is while walking to your ball on the green... take a look at the whole green between your ball and the hole... you get a diff perspective of the putt than when you are actually over your ball... you can see a lot more subtle breaks and its less deceiving to me anyways

[Golf_Gal]

I just have a hard time seeing breaks because the grass is so short, the green just looks the same haa haa! Breaks are where the green breaks?

[flopdarock]

theres also the imagining water thingy...
get behind your ball and imagine water flowing from the hole...

[microcrayfish]

If the break isn't really obvious I'll usually get a look from the other side of the hole which can clear things up sometimes. I don't do it on every putt though cause it slows things down but on the really subtle breaks it can help.

There are also I few other things to consider that are mostly course design issues such as greens will usually break towards water and away from bunkers.

[Golf_Gal]

And greens tend to break away from the mountains as well?

[wedge player]

plumb bobbing thats how i do it hard for some to learn correctly though

[iacas]

plumb bobbing thats how i do it

Because it makes no sense at all. Plumb bobbing doesn't do anything but confirm what your mind wants it to confirm.

[Golf_Gal]

General question: sometimes I practice my distance while putting, is it ok to put tees in the green (just a little bit, and not all the way?) so that I can have markers for myself on the actual green to practice controlling distances?

[wedge player]

Because it makes no sense at all. Plumb bobbing doesn't do anything but confirm what your mind wants it to confirm.

except for the three times in my last round where it looked like it broke the other way but plumb bobbing said otherwise trusted it and went in.

[iacas]

except for the three times in my last round where it looked like it broke the other way but plumb bobbing said otherwise trusted it and went in.

You're fooling yourself. Plumb bobbing does nothing. Nada. Zip. It relies on you being able to "play a trick" on yourself basically.

[jamo]

General question: sometimes I practice my distance while putting, is it ok to put tees in the green (just a little bit, and not all the way?) so that I can have markers for myself on the actual green to practice controlling distances?

As far as i know thats fine. I play in a lot of tournys where the practice green is so crowded people do that a lot. So i guess its more of a last resort sort of deal. It doesnt really do any damage, just pat it down lightly with your hand after you pull it out or, better yet, use a divot tool. (just make sure you do it correctly, and thats not an insult, there seems to be a distinct right way to do it that not a lot of people know)

[Chubbs]

I love it when putts break uphill. No lie, happened to me 3 times last round. Anyone know if Nike One Tours have helium inside of them?

[GaijinGolfer]

I always try to imagine that the green has water on it and imagine where the water would flow.
Try to crouch down and get as low as you can, that will make it easier to see the break.

[MiniMoe]

Because it makes no sense at all. Plumb bobbing doesn't do anything but confirm what your mind wants it to confirm.

Plumb bobbing takes feel and imagination to work correctly, so it does work to some extent. If you are very detail oriented and analytical you can't trust anything unless you can prove it. In golf and life, somethings work without knowing why. I don't use it all the time, but I have on occasion with success. It does not tell how much break, just which way the ball will tend to go.. if done correctly. The key is to do it the same every time. If you change the position of the putter in relation to the ball and hole, it will not be accurate.

[Phil McGleno]

Plum bob? Plum crazy.

That act makes absolutely no sense, I agree. None. Zilch. Nada.

Take a basic geometry class and you'll figure out why. What the guy said above: you're relying on your subconscious to make what it knows to be true visible.

It's 100% horse excrement.

[iacas]

Plum bob? Plum crazy.

Yep.

If you want to continue discussing plum bobbing (and how worthless it is), dig up the existing thread.

[RC]

I've said it earlier, as have others, but your feet will tell you a lot when your eyes are fooled.