Putting precision is not just about making a perfect putting stroke (although it certainly helps); it’s about having an understanding of how the golf ball is going to move on the greens. If you can’t read a green effectively, even a perfect stroke likely won’t get the ball in the hole. These strategies for reading golf greens will make you more aware, precise, prepared, and a better overall player.

Understand How Greens Are Built

Golf greens are not flat surfaces designed to catch your approach shots. In fact, when greens are built, they are made with slope to help make the game of golf more interesting and difficult.

Greens have slopes and undulations that influence the path of your golf ball.

When you add in factors like speed and grain to a green that already has uneven surfaces, expect the game of golf to become considerably more complicated.

Knowing that these factors impact both the speed and direction of the ball can help set you on the right path for proper green reading.

Analyze and Understand Grain

Grain is simply the way the grass is growing on a putting green. If you are hitting into these growing grass blades or against the grain, putts are slower. If you are hitting with the grain in the direction the blades are growing, your putts will travel faster.

When going through your green reading process in your putting pre-shot routine, look for the following:

  • A darker shade of grass shows that the grain is coming toward you, so your putts could be slower
  • A lighter shade of grass indicates that you are putting down grain

If you can’t see this coloration in the area around your golf ball, take a look at the golf hole; sometimes, it’s easier to see which way the grain is headed.

Have Access to the Correct Data

Green reading is all about having the proper data and knowledge. Why do you think the caddy who has been at a local club for 20 years is the most wanted man on the day of the club championship?

He has all the data!

With solutions like GolfLogix, you can have all the data you ever wanted about every green on your golf course. The GolfLogix heat maps allow you to choose a place to land your approach with very little contour.

When you get to the green, the GolfLogix features will give you detailed information about how your putt will break and where you should be lining up your shots to ensure this happens.

The more data you have, the easier it is to pick your path and start green reading like the professionals.

Get a Feel For The Entire Green

When you watch a professional play a round of golf, pay close attention to their movements on and around the greens.

Professionals don’t walk up to a golf ball, stand there, and putt. They walk around the entire green and analyze their putt from several angles.

Of course, they are looking for slope and grain, but they are also trying to help their brains get a better idea as to how far they are from the hole. When you never walk to the hole, it’s hard to read or feel how much of a backswing you will need for your stroke.

Consider The Severity of the Slope

One of the most important features of the GolfLogix app is the detailed information about the severity of the slope on the putting greens.

Most golfers can see that a green is moving left to right or right to left; the key is to determine how severe the slope is. When you have a better indication as to the severity, it becomes easier to pick a starting point.

Obtain and then utilize the data that GolfLogix gives you and incorporate it into your putting routine. More severe slopes will require a starting line further away from the hole, whereas more subtle slopes may have you starting the ball nearly in line with the hole.

Start To Think Like a Professional

Amateur golfers tend to get to a golf ball on a putting green, make a solid two-putt, and walk off. Pros don’t want the two-putt; they want a one-putt.

Thinking like a professional and adding a little more precision to your green reading can make all the difference. Reading golf greens takes time to master, and if you have the right tools like GolfLogix on your side, it is incredibly effective.

You don’t have to add time to your green reading process; you have to add focus and understanding so that your mindset switches from a safe two-putt to a perfectly struck one-putt.

Final Thoughts

Stop trying to read golf greens like the professionals without the data that professionals use. Utilize GolfLogix to give you the most detailed and effective green reading information in the game of golf.