You have hit two magnificent shots to get on to the green but, unfortunately the green is a sloping green and the ball has run past the flag to a distance of approximately 45 feet away from the hole. You walk up to the ball to view, not only a long putt, put one that is going to be travelling across a large slope where the ball will move a significant distance from right to left. How will you handle this big breaking putt? Identify the apex of the putt.

What is the apex of a putt?

The apex of a putt is the highest point that the ball will reach before rolling down a hill towards the hole.

Why is the apex of a putt so important?

It is vitally important to identify this point on a putt with a big break as it helps to break the putt up and gives you a specific target to aim at instead of the hole.

How do I use the apex of a big breaking putt?

Firstly, have a good walk around your putt, take in all the information possible by feeling the green underneath your feet and getting down close to the green when reading the putt from both behind the hole and behind the ball.

Now look approximately halfway down the putt and decide what direction the ball will roll from to approach the hole. Look back from this direction and try to imagine the highest point that the ball will roll into the hole from – this is the apex of the putt. Once the highest point is identified, this is our new target and you should highlight this in your mind by picking a blade of grass or a spot on the green that is easily identifiable.

Once this is done, go back to your golf ball and line the ball up with your spot on the green, making sure that your body is also on the same line. Finally, hit the putt directly at the apex of the putt trying to get the ball to roll over it, down the hill and into the hole.

Using the apex of a putt breaks up the difficult big breaking putt into more manageable chunks and provides focus to pick the correct line and execute the putt on that line. Use this information to hole those difficult, long breaking putts.