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SA Golf Trader - Tuition & Instruction with Sean Botha
Reading the putt 101
Putting, has a big impact on your score at the end of your round, therefore you should spend a bit more time around the greens to ensure you have the correct speed and line. You could easily knock off a few shots, per round, by reading a putt correctly, not only, finding the correct line but also judging the speed correctly. With this information, you will be more comfortable over the ball with the putter and end up seeing better putting stats.
Local rules of a golf club generally display stimp-meter readings, indicating speed of the greens on the golf course. The speed is calculated by a standardized device and method indicating how many feet the ball would roll out, on a relatively flat surface. Fast greens, average between 9 and 11, whereas slower greens, around 6 - 8. The speed of the greens will have an influence on how much a putt would break, generally slow greens will have less break and faster greens break easier.
Warming up your putting, before you tee-off, will have a positive impact on your feel for the speed of the greens on the course, allowing you to judge your line and speed effectively.
Every green has a high point and a low point, as they are designed to drain water, especially during rainy seasons. This would give you a good indication where majority of the green would slope towards. Greens will also slope mostly to nearby water hazards, to ensure that a heavy rain pour will not get caught up on the green.
A COMMON READING ROUTINE OF ADVANCED GOLFERS
• Read the putt from a few feet behind the ball, this should assist you to justly see the slope, left to right or right to left.
• Walk up towards the opposite side of the hole, read the putt from the side view as you go, avoiding playing partners lines, to identify if it will be an uphill or, downhill putt.
• Read the putt from a few feet beyond the hole, looking back at the ball.
• Judge your amount of break, based on the ascend or descend to the hole, Keeping in mind our speed discussion, earlier on.
Once you have rolled your putt: By making a positive stroke, the ball rolls past the hole, pay attention to the break, this should give you an idea of the break of the return putt, giving you a better chance at making a great choice.
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