Green reading has recently become a talking point among the golfing world. Some people see it as a lost art while others see it as a science where it can be broken down into percentages and millimetres. In my opinion it needs to be a combination of the two while also having repeatable mechanics incorporated into the mix. When it comes to holing a putt there are 3 things that decide whether the ball goes in or not:

– Can you start the ball on the correct Line (Mechanics)
– Can you hit it at the right speed for a given line (Feel)
– Can you pick the correct line to start the ball on (Judgement)

The most interesting thing that I see when I play with amateur golfers when it comes to green reading is that on the course they will often play “the blame game” when it comes to missing putts. To me that is not an issue, as long as its informed, which most of the time it is not. We have all done it, you miss that 4 foot putt just to the right on the golf course and you say “ugh I pushed it”, the question I have is did you really push it, or could it have been you set up aiming to the right? Could you have hit it too hard and it hasn’t taken the break you have accounted for? Or did you simply not read it correctly? This to me is where amateurs really fall down when it comes to reading greens.

STEP 1: WHERE IS THE SLOPE?

This may sound obvious to most, but like it or not this has to be the first step to reading a putt regardless of the length. I would always recommend having a look at the orientation of the overall green and then look towards the specifics of your putt. Once we know the orientation of the slope we can then look at how steep the slope actually is. This will begin to help us decide what line we want to start the putt on.

STEP 2: HOW HARD DO I NEED TO HIT IT?

 This step tends to be the ignored element of a putt. The average golfer often has no idea how important the pace of the putt is relevant to the line. Without having some idea of the pace you want to hit a putt at it will be almost impossible to decide the starting line of a putt. If you are someone who likes to hit a putt quite firm you need to play less break, if you are someone who likes to hit the ball at “dead weight” or quite gentle into the hole you want to play slightly more break. You may play one putt different to another but simply having a certain pace in your mind will give you a much better chance of making the putt.

STEP 3: WHAT LINE DO I WANT TO START THE PUTT ON

 Only after looking at the slope and deciding the speed will you be ready to choose your starting line. This to me will come down to practice, experience and lots of trial and error. When it comes to learning to read greens having feedback on each of the three elements is vital. There is one drill in particular that I like to recommend for identifying which aspects you need to work on when it comes to green reading.