Reading a Green

[Diane]

Ok - this may be a weird one. I am trying to improve my putting so my father has been sending me videos on how to read a green and telling me a lot about the grain of the grass and making note of the time of day. I mentioned this to my brother and said I really can't see a difference in the grass color no matter how hard I look for it. He suggested getting tinted hunting glasses and wearing them while I practiced saying they would allow me to see both the grain and the contour of the green with a clarity I wouldn't have with the naked eye. My brother is color blind so I'm not sure how much stock to put in his suggestion. I know many of you are both hunters and golfers - what do you think of this suggestion?

[Bigvivec]

Cheat for a little while...touch the green and feel which way the grass grows on each then note how it looks from all angles...you will be able to start to see trends in down and against the grain lines of sight, then you won't have to touch anymore...I play on bermuda greens and grain is a real factor...my caddy taught me and my putting improved...it is a valid skill that will improve your game if you "get" it...

[JungleJ]

The sunglasses idea is a real one. I have found that I putt better wearing good sunglasses and part of that is seeing the line more clearly.

Also, generally greens tend to slope towards water, or so I'm told

[Johneli]

How To Read The Green (Sports & Fitness: Golf)

[CristieKerr]

Originally Posted by JungleJ

Also, generally greens tend to slope towards water, or so I'm told

And away from Mountains!

I can't remember if he talks about the grain or time of day specifically, but read Tiger's "How I Play Golf" putting section (if you haven't). It helped me incredibly with the flat stick.

[Putton]

Originally Posted by JungleJ

The sunglasses idea is a real one. I have found that I putt better wearing good sunglasses and part of that is seeing the line more clearly.

Also, generally greens tend to slope towards water, or so I'm told

Be careful with the sunglasses. Last year I was missing a lot of putts to the left. It took me a while to realise that the sunglasses were faulty and for distances more than 10 feet you could see a slope from left to right which wasn't there.

[Fourputt]

In my experience, except for courses with Bermuda greens, grain isn't that much of a factor. I can't think of a course in my area where I would even take into consideration when reading a green. I honestly don 't even know what kind of grass the greens are on my home course.... but grain is not a factor in putting. On the courses I've played with bentgrass greens, there is no grain to speak of.

Unless I'm playing in a typically warm climate, I won't usually worry about it. I always hit the practice green before a round, especially on a strange course, so that I can get some sense of what the greens will be like. Except when I played in Florida and in Palm Springs, I've never known grain to be a factor.

[Texas Wedge]

Around here, most courses have bermuda greens and I've never really had a big problem being able to tell the difference between with the grain and against the grain. I don't know that it makes a huge difference on some greens. I think it has more to do with how fast the greens are as to whether the grain is going to have much of a noticeable effect. I'll notice now on long putts whether I'm putting into or with the grain, but otherwise I still don't pay too much attention to it.

The easiest way I can think to tell the difference is this. Find a bermuda green that has a pretty obvious slope. Standing at the bottom of the green looking toward the top, you will probably notice the green looks a little dark. Now go stand at the top of the green and look down to the bottom where you were and you should notice the grass looks a little lighter (or shiny like it has a sheen to it). That would mean you are putting WITH the grain. The darker grass is when you are going against the grain.

I'm not saying that's a foolproof way to see the difference, but in many cases that will hold true. It will probably be a little easier to see the difference if the sun is shining, too.

[Diane]

Originally Posted by Texas Wedge

Standing at the bottom of the green looking toward the top, you will probably notice the green looks a little dark. Now go stand at the top of the green and look down to the bottom where you were and you should notice the grass looks a little lighter (or shiny like it has a sheen to it). That would mean you are putting WITH the grain. The darker grass is when you are going against the grain.

I'm not saying that's a foolproof way to see the difference, but in many cases that will hold true. It will probably be a little easier to see the difference if the sun is shining, too.

That's what I can't see - the shades of green or even the sheen. Logically, I understand it, but it eludes me.

[PA PLAYA]

I admire those who can focus on so many aspects of the game and still somehow be able to use that to their advantage.

Personally, I've never had much success doing that. The greens on most courses I play differ from one hole to the next... one green might be a tad quicker, the other a tad slower, etc. Then you factor in the differences from one course to the next! Honestly, that's part of the reason that I've seldom developed an interest in working very hard on my greenside bunker play, because of so many varieties of sand, the different coarses of sand, etc. You could spend a full year perfecting your bunker shot at the local practice facility, and see entirely different results when you go play a course somewhere where the sand has a completely different texture.

Distance control, and slope or break of a putt is more than enough to consider for me. I'm sure that the grain of the grass does have an impact, but for most of us I don't think it's as important as reading the obvious break and hitting the putt with the right pace.

The pros, I'm sure, would beg to differ. But that's why they're on tv and why I'm posting on a message board.

[Ty_Webb]

Originally Posted by Diane

That's what I can't see - the shades of green or even the sheen. Logically, I understand it, but it eludes me.

Can you see the stripes in the greens when they have been recently mowed?

[GolfSavage]

Originally Posted by PA PLAYA

...Distance control, and slope or break of a putt is more than enough to consider for me. I'm sure that the grain of the grass does have an impact, but for most of us I don't think it's as important as reading the obvious break and hitting the putt with the right pace.

The pros, I'm sure, would beg to differ. But that's why they're on tv and why I'm posting on a message board.

I feel the same way. Maybe once the stimpmeter readings get well into the teens the grain may play a bigger part, but I play very few courses that can or will manage such green speeds.

If you're having trouble figuring out how certain slopes, speeds, etc. can affect a putt, try this:

1. Go to a putting green with some slope and undulations.
2. Take about 5 or 6 golf balls with you, but leave your putter in your bag.
3. Find a part of the green with a definite feature, like a left-to-right slope or sidehill influence.
4. Bend down and roll several balls along a similar line and watch how it reacts to the slope or sidehill or whatever.
5. Once you get an idea how the ball's track is influenced by different variables, try to roll a few into a hole from about 20-30 feet.

This can also give you some experience reading and adjusting to green speeds. You'll be surprised how your brain can extrapolate what you learn from rolling the ball into the way you stroke it.

[CG8]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

In my experience, except for courses with Bermuda greens, grain isn't that much of a factor. I can't think of a course in my area where I would even take into consideration when reading a green.

I agree with this comment . For the most part I feel very comfortable reading the lines of putts .
It's very easy to tell which way a putt is going to break . That being said when I play I think it is just as important to get the speed of the greens down . Speed is also a factor on which way a putt will break . But when I am on a practice green before a round I don't really worry about making the putts because it just practice putting so instead or worrying about making putts on a practice green I try and get the speed down and take that out to the course and hopefully it works

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Diane

That's what I can't see - the shades of green or even the sheen. Logically, I understand it, but it eludes me.

The last time I played in Florida, I was amazed at how obvious the grain was on the greens. And what a huge difference it made. I spent at least a half hour before my round just working on understanding it. Reading the grain was easy... it was in accepting how much difference the grain made in a putt that was hard to get a handle on. Putting across a slope that should break downhill, but doesn't because the grain is lying uphill, or a dead level putt that breaks 5 or 6 inches because of the way the grain kicks the ball. For the most part I did ok, because I understood the theory. But I didn't make any very long putts during those 2 rounds.

[Diane]

Originally Posted by Ty_Webb

Can you see the stripes in the greens when they have been recently mowed?

That take you a while. Yes, I can see the stripes.

[stlcard_25]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

In my experience, except for courses with Bermuda greens, grain isn't that much of a factor. I can't think of a course in my area where I would even take into consideration when reading a green. I honestly don 't even know what kind of grass the greens are on my home course.... but grain is not a factor in putting. On the courses I've played with bentgrass greens, there is no grain to speak of.

Same here...ours are Poa annua, and I'm more worried about late-day bumpiness than late day grain.

[C-Tech]

Originally Posted by stlcard_25

Same here...ours are Poa annua, and I'm more worried about late-day bumpiness than late day grain.

Poa is considered a "tramp grass" on our bent greens but it can sure reek havoc on putting in the afternoons because it grows fast and in clumps. Feels like putting on a washboard. Last Sunday the course we played was full of Poa and it made for some interesting bounces on the greens.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

The last time I played in Florida, I was amazed at how obvious the grain was on the greens. And what a huge difference it made. I spent at least a half hour before my round just working on understanding it. Reading the grain was easy... it was in accepting how much difference the grain made in a putt that was hard to get a handle on. Putting across a slope that should break downhill, but doesn't because the grain is lying uphill, or a dead level putt that breaks 5 or 6 inches because of the way the grain kicks the ball. For the most part I did ok, because I understood the theory. But I didn't make any very long putts during those 2 rounds.

That's it right there...around here if you don't read the grain you might as well putt with your driver cause it ain't going where you would think it might...

[JPsuff]

.


Truth be told, I'd much rather putt bermuda greens than bentgrass greens.

Bermuda greens are logical. There's a definite grain, the putt goes fast downgrain and slow into the grain and when figuring out a break, it's just Grain + Slope = Speed and Direction.
Bentgrass, because it really doesn't have a definable grain can have some funny tendencies. Sometimes what grain there is doesn't always grow in the same direction or sometimes the grass is stiff then relaxed then stiff all in the same putting line. Shady areas will play differently than sunny areas and if the grass is moist (like right after a thunderstorm) it will "lay down" in some areas but on a higher portion of the green it will remain upright.

Bermuda basically "is what it is" wet or dry shady or sunny.

When I last played in Florida, I took my so-so putting game with me and those bermuda greens had me putting like Tiger. If it wasn't so hot and humid down there, I'd move there just for those greens.



-JP

[RoyalWulff]

I play with polarized sunglasses and I know they help me see the grain but I cant say for sure how much they help me see how much it effects the ball. One thing I do is look at the line I think will work and think of how water would roll on the green if I poured it along that line. That really helped me see the slope and start to notice subtle differences.

[C-Tech]

Having learned to play in an area where we had bent greens to our north and bermuda to our south, I had to putt on both. The grain was the main difference, but adding or subtracting a little speed or adjusting the line when playing on bermuda became more second-nature than something I really had to think about. I am sure if I had to start on bermuda again now, I would take some time to get comfortable.