Be Ready to Putt

By Sherry Smith

If you have trouble putting, take heart. The Broadmoor’s famously deceptive greens can embarrass even the world’s best players—as we’ll see during the U.S. Women’s Open. But no matter where you’re playing, to hit a good putt, you need to control two things: direction and distance. Sounds simple doesn’t it? To achieve this control, you need to be ready when it comes time to make that stroke. It’s a three-step process.

1.    Read the Greens, distance and direction.
2.    Pre-shot routine to aim and set up.
3.    Commit to what you have seen. Learn from your mistakes.

1. Reading The Greens

• Gauge speed first, since how hard you hit the putt determines how much break (the curve your ball will take) you will play. If you are more of a lag (get it to the hole) putter, you may need to play more break. The opposite is true for a back-of-the-cup putter. To read speed, find the low spot or spots on the green. Sometimes this is easier as you approach the green. Where would the water drain off? That is the low point. Also, ask the professionals in the golf shop if there is a predominant place that affects the slope—away from a mountain or towards a valley.

• To control distance, look at your putt. Are there any mounds or hills between the ball and hole that will affect your distance control? Instead of reading the putt only from behind the ball and hole, also look at it from the side to determine whether it is uphill or downhill.

• Moving on to direction, use what you already have learned to see the slope from side to side. (same photo) Bunkers can create “crowns” in the green that may change the direction of the putt.
Look specifically at a 3-foot radius around the hole. Since the ball will be slowing down as it approaches the hole, that area is where the break will most affect the putt.

 

 

2. Setup

Once you have read your putt, you need to make sure you are set up properly. Most of us have trouble aiming correctly. Use a line on your ball or pick a spot on the green to help line up the putter. Make sure you line up the putter—not your body or your feet—to your intended line. Find a pre-putt routine to help you do this, so you do not have to think and it becomes automatic.

3. Commit

Commit to your aim and distance. If you change your mind over the putt, confusion sets in and it’s hard to know where you were looking to hit the putt. Find a post-putt routine to help you analyze and learn. Remember each time you play, you are learning. Try not to be discouraged if it doesn’t work right away.
The more you practice what you need to do to get ready to putt, the easier and faster it becomes. No one wants to watch you read the putt from four different directions, and watch you walk around your ball several times. This does not need to be complicated. It may also confuse you if you spend too much time on it. Trust your instincts, often times we can feel the slope by walking or simply by feeling where our weight goes when we are standing on the green. Try to make putting creative and fun!

Sherry Smith teaches at Valley Country Club in Aurora. Reach her at [email protected]; 720-339-4865