Reading greens
How to use educated guesses to anticipate breaks
Break potential: Putts can consist of obvious breaks, subtle breaks, or a combination of the two. —Photo courtesy of iStockphotos
Struggling to understand what your ball will do on the putting surface is a common problem; however a little education can go a long way toward putting you at ease. Golf greens are riddled with bumps, humps and various undulations which at times will create winding putts that are tough to make sense of. The curvature on a putt is called break—learning to read and understand the breaks on a green is an art form that confuses many. h3. Educated guesswork Reading greens is always a bit of a guessing game, but that doesn’t mean it should be an uneducated guess. Putts can consist of obvious breaks, subtle breaks, or a combination of the two. If you look at a putt and find that the direction of the slope is immediately identifiable, that is an obvious break; however if you are unsure of the direction it will break (or if it breaks at all) that would imply that there may be some subtle breaks in play. When you have a putt that consists of an obvious break, your job is not to determine which way it will break, but rather how much. Learning how much break to play comes with time and experience. h3. Factors to consider It is important to remember that the speed your ball is moving as it crosses the slope will have a dramatic impact on the amount of break that you need to accommodate. On a slope of identical severity, a ball that is moving slowly will curve more than one that is moving quickly. Based on this fact, you will find that the majority of a ball’s curvature will happen in the last third of a putt’s length, as the ball’s speed begins to bleed off. When dealing with subtle breaks you must become aware of your surroundings. Golf greens are never entirely flat because they are designed to shed water and avoid pooling in severe rain conditions. h3. Where the water flows There are always exceptions to the norm. When in doubt, consider the fact that golf courses prefer to utilize existing creeks, ponds and lakes for drainage purposes; therefore water will usually be moved toward any natural greenside water sources. In an effort to avoid pooling, greens are also generally designed to keep water flowing away from low lying areas like ditches or sand traps. Noting that the ball will break in the same direction as water would flow, will enable you to use your surroundings to form an educated guess on a putting surface that initially looks flat. Remember that it takes time to get comfortable with green reading. When hitting your next putt, be sure to make an educated guess, pick your line, commit to your choice and simply hit the putt. You will learn more from your committed attempts; indecisiveness will hinder your learning experience.