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Posted

Sorry to hear that.  Here is an article from the web ( http://www.shark.com/sharkwatch/instruction/tip58.php ) with some great info on green reading.  Hope this makes up for your previous disappointment!

Tip #58 - Reading The Green

Stroking the ball is only one part of putting -- the mechanical part. Equally important is the artful side -- reading the green.

Conditions
Play More Break Play Less Break
1. Hard Green 1. Soft Green
2. Dry Green 2. Wet Green
3. Grain With Slope 3. Grain Against Slope
4. Downhill 4. Uphill
5. Bermuda Grass, Kikuyu 5. Bent Grass, Rye
6. Afternoon 6. Morning
7. Crosswind With Slope 7. Crosswind Against Slope
8. Light Tailwind 8. Headwind, Heavy Tailwind

Good green reading comes with experience. After hitting enough putts over enough different types of terrain and grass, you develop a sixth sense of how the ball will roll. As you walk onto a green, whether you realize it or not, you take in all sorts of subtle information.

If the green appears light, you know you're putting against the grain; if it's dark you're downgrain. If the green is set on a high area of the course and you feel a breeze as you step onto it, you sense that the putt will be fast. Even if you don't look closely at the surrounding terrain, you are aware of any major slope in the land.

Without having to tell yourself, you know which is the low side of the green and which is the high. If the putting surface is hard and crusty under foot, you receive one message, if it's soft and spongy you get another. Experience with many, many putts allows you to run this data through your computer before you even mark your ball.

The most elusive aspect of green reading has to do with the grain. Grain refers to the direction in which the blades of grass grow. The light/dark appearance is one way to read it. Another method you can use is to take your putter blade and scrape it across a patch of fringe. If the blades of grass brush up, you're scraping against the grain. If they mat down, you're scraping with it. (Incidentally, be sure to do this scraping on the fringe. On the greens, it's against Rule 35-1f.)

Reading The Green
Never hit the ball until you have a good vision of the path on which it will roll.

A third method is to take a look at the cup. Often, the blades of grass will grow over the edge of the cup in the direction in which the grain moves. Incidentally, grain usually grows toward water, especially toward the ocean, and in the East it's apt to lean toward the mountains. If you're not near any such topography, figure on the grain growing in the direction of the setting sun.

Grain is strongest on Bermuda grass, where short, crewcut-like blades tend to push the ball strongly. Although each putt on each green is different, as a general rule you can figure on stroking the ball about 20 percent harder than usual on a putt that's dead into the grain, and about 20 percent less on a downgrain putt.

When the ball breaks with the grain, read-in extra "borrow" on the putt. When the slope is against the grain, play for less break. These effects are less marked on the long-stemmed bent and other strains of grass, but they are present nonetheless.

The break of your putt will also be affected by the firmness of a green, the wetness/dryness, the amount of wind you're facing, and even the time of day. In general, any time you have to hit the ball hard, you play for less break.

Another way of reading the break on a green is to watch the way other players' putts behave. I'm all for this "going to school," but with one caveat: Allow for any difference between your own playing style and those of your fellow players. If, for instance, your friend is a lagger and you're a charger, don't playas much break as he does.

Finally, if I have one hard and fast rule in putting, it's this: Never hit the ball until you have a good vision of the path on which it will roll. Sometimes the vision will come to you immediately. You'll see the perfect putt the minute you step up to it, and more often than not, you'll sink it just as you saw it. Other times, it will take much longer to get a picture of the putt, and even then you won't be comfortable. But don't make your stroke until you have the best read you can get. You have to believe in your line if you want to have a good chance of sinking any putt.


Posted

it's all feel........................not rocket science.

What's in Paul's Bag:
- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha Driver
- Big Bertha Alpha 815 3-wood
- Callaway Razr Fit 5-wood
- Callaway Big Bertha 4-5 Rescue Clubs
-- Mizuno Mx-25 six iron-gap wedge
- Mizuno Mp-T4 56degree SW
- Mizuno Mp-T11 60degree SW
- Putter- Ping Cadence Ketsch


Posted

Putting is the weakest part of my game.  I need all the practice and hints I can get!  There is a lot of good information out there and I've been reading up, now I just have to use it properly!


  • Administrator
Posted
  BuckeyeNut said:
Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

it's all feel........................not rocket science.

I could argue that it's feel via physics. Or vice versa.

Originally Posted by Lady Golf Pro

Putting is the weakest part of my game.  I need all the practice and hints I can get!  There is a lot of good information out there and I've been reading up, now I just have to use it properly!

Get thee to an AimPoint clinic.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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Posted
Originally Posted by Lady Golf Pro

If the green appears light, you know you're putting against the grain; if it's dark you're downgrain.

Hmmm, didn't they kind of get this one exactly backwards?    Shiny and light, the grass is growing away from you.    Dull and dark, it's growing at you.


Posted
  Clambake said:
Originally Posted by Clambake

Hmmm, didn't they kind of get this one exactly backwards?    Shiny and light, the grass is growing away from you.    Dull and dark, it's growing at you.


Isn't is the mower (or mowing) that determines the grain?  This is definitely something that I don't understand at all.

Clambake, the light hitting your eyes has to bounce off the grass first. I think this means that it is growing or bent away from you and toward the light source, more of it gets absorbed in the blades of grass and the ground, therefore looking darker.  Growing or bent away from the light source results in more of the light bouncing up to your eyes and a shiny, lighter appearance.

Is this right?

Why do they call golf "golf"?  Because all the other four letter words were taken.

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Posted
  0ldblu3 said:
Originally Posted by 0ldblu3

Isn't is the mower (or mowing) that determines the grain?  This is definitely something that I don't understand at all.

Clambake, the light hitting your eyes has to bounce off the grass first. I think this means that it is growing or bent away from you and toward the light source, more of it gets absorbed in the blades of grass and the ground, therefore looking darker.  Growing or bent away from the light source results in more of the light bouncing up to your eyes and a shiny, lighter appearance.

Is this right?

In Florida the grain in the bermuda always seemed to grow towards the setting sun.  Maybe this is just a wives tale, but that's how we played it and it always seemed correct.

Driver:  Callaway Diablo Octane 9.5*
3W:  Callaway GBB II 12.5*, 5W:  Callaway Diablo 18* Neutral
3H:  Callaway Razr X, 4H:  Callaway Razr X
5-PW:  Callaway X Tour
GW:  Callaway X Tour 54*, SW:  Callaway X Tour 58*
Putter:  Callaway ITrax, Scotty Cameron Studio Design 2, Ping Anser 4


  • Moderator
Posted

I second the AimPoint Clinic.  It was very useful and has helped me a lot.  The midpoint read technique is very fast and accurate.  It also helps avoid the optical illusions that are sometimes put into the green to fool you.

Scott

Titleist, Edel, Scotty Cameron Putter, Snell - AimPoint - Evolvr - MirrorVision

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boogielicious - Adjective describing the perfect surf wave

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  • Administrator
Posted

Grain almost always grows downhill.

It has an effect on the speed of the putt but very little influence on break (speed can affect break, but it's not the grain itself).

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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Posted
Originally Posted by ColoradoGolfer

The best putting ideas that I've incorporated into my game so far have come from Dave Stockton, and I would highly recommend reading his book on putting.

Has your mom found out about this account yet?

Driver:  Callaway Diablo Octane 9.5*
3W:  Callaway GBB II 12.5*, 5W:  Callaway Diablo 18* Neutral
3H:  Callaway Razr X, 4H:  Callaway Razr X
5-PW:  Callaway X Tour
GW:  Callaway X Tour 54*, SW:  Callaway X Tour 58*
Putter:  Callaway ITrax, Scotty Cameron Studio Design 2, Ping Anser 4


Note: This thread is 4804 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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