Learning as You Go

An important part of reading greens is observing your putts and the putts of those you are playng with. There is a lot you can learn AFTER you putt, so pay attention to what is going on.

Some grasses allow more break than others, so there will be times that you will play where the break is more or less than you are used to. I have played courses where the ball just will not slide. I would see a putt that I expect movement and it just goes straight as can be. You may also be stroking it differently from day to day, and sometimes the ball rolls better than the next. Strokes that roll the ball very true will break less because the ball is hugging the grass and staying very steady. Putts that jump and bump will be more affected by the break because they tend to hop around and are not consistent. So pay attention to the day’s round and learn from it. It’s the putts on the last few holes that seem to rise in level of importance, so feel like your are improving throughout the day.