Read Greens With the Eyes of a Pro, Golf (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles
Read Greens With the Eyes of a Pro, Golf (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles

You maybe working really hard to ingrain the best possible putting stroke you can imagine on the putting green or in the house where you got the mirror in front of you and you have got this fantastic putting stroke, but you might not be making anymore putts out on the golf course now that could be because you are not reading the greens correctly. Reading greens is like a whole different skill and game in itself. And to be a good putter you need to have a good putting stroke, but also great green reading skills.

Now when I am walking up to a green, I start reading the green from as much as 40 or 50 yards away. I am looking at the overall lie of the land, looking at the severity of the slopes around the greens, maybe even looking for where the water would run off to, because green keeper are quite smart, they are not going to build a green that tilts away from the water. So when you water the green all the water puddles up on that side of the green and it cant out run around to the drain and all the lake over on this side. So look how the water would flow across the green surface because that’s the way the ball with flow in exactly the same fashion. So I have a good look to the green from the long way out. Then as you get closer up to the green, start looking for maybe the leap of the bunker that might affect a slope or if it is a big Tee. If you can try and walk a 180 degrees around the putt, to the back edge and another 180 degrees around to the frontage, you get a full 360 view of the putt. Consider how it would break if I was hitting it this way, maybe how we would break if I was hitting it from the hole back, it might look different from another end.

Also consider that if the green is quick, you need to allow for more curve and break. And if the green is slow you can hit the putt to a little bit straight and a little bit firmer. So try and read the greens with the eyes of a pro, have a good look all the way around, take into consideration the overlying look of the land, uphill putts, you can hit them a little bit firmer a little bit straighter down hill putts, quicker putts, little bit wider or little bit more break. And if you can be a really good experience, green reader as quickly as possible then tie that into a good putting stroke, hopefully you will hold more putts the one less for 3 and 4 putts on each green.

 2012-07-12

You maybe working really hard to ingrain the best possible putting stroke you can imagine on the putting green or in the house where you got the mirror in front of you and you have got this fantastic putting stroke, but you might not be making anymore putts out on the golf course now that could be because you are not reading the greens correctly. Reading greens is like a whole different skill and game in itself. And to be a good putter you need to have a good putting stroke, but also great green reading skills.

Now when I am walking up to a green, I start reading the green from as much as 40 or 50 yards away. I am looking at the overall lie of the land, looking at the severity of the slopes around the greens, maybe even looking for where the water would run off to, because green keeper are quite smart, they are not going to build a green that tilts away from the water. So when you water the green all the water puddles up on that side of the green and it cant out run around to the drain and all the lake over on this side. So look how the water would flow across the green surface because that’s the way the ball with flow in exactly the same fashion. So I have a good look to the green from the long way out. Then as you get closer up to the green, start looking for maybe the leap of the bunker that might affect a slope or if it is a big Tee. If you can try and walk a 180 degrees around the putt, to the back edge and another 180 degrees around to the frontage, you get a full 360 view of the putt. Consider how it would break if I was hitting it this way, maybe how we would break if I was hitting it from the hole back, it might look different from another end.

Also consider that if the green is quick, you need to allow for more curve and break. And if the green is slow you can hit the putt to a little bit straight and a little bit firmer. So try and read the greens with the eyes of a pro, have a good look all the way around, take into consideration the overlying look of the land, uphill putts, you can hit them a little bit firmer a little bit straighter down hill putts, quicker putts, little bit wider or little bit more break. And if you can be a really good experience, green reader as quickly as possible then tie that into a good putting stroke, hopefully you will hold more putts the one less for 3 and 4 putts on each green.