A few days ago a friend of mine, who took up golf late in life, asked me for some advice on reading greens. So I described how I go about it.
Later that day I wrote up the procedure and sent it to him in an e-mail message. Here it is.
1. Look at the putt from the side to notice any elevation changes along the line of the putt. You can also see if the ground along that line slopes toward you or away from you. Do this when you first walk on to the green.
2. Look at the entire green in the broad area of the putt to see the slope of the entire piece of ground.
3. Look at the local slope between the ball and the hole. Merge that read with what you got in #2.
4. Go with your first impression. It is usually correct. The longer you look the more you think you see.
5. With short putts, play the break, but do not give away the hole. Spend time on the practice green learning how to take out break by hitting a short putt harder.
6. Spot putt. Pick a mark on the green about two inches in front of the ball on your starting line. Roll the ball over that spot.
Just wondering what your thoughts are on the idea of standing on the line of the putt to determine slope?
Also, what are they doing when they hold up one finger and look down the line of the putt? Much like Keegan Bradley.
As fas as straddling the line to detect slope, I don’t see how you can feel subtle slopes through the sole of your shoes. See this post for three methods I use with success:
Three Ways to Read Subtle Breaks in the Green.
The finger thing is the AimPoint method, which borrows heavily from Vector Putting. I don’t see pros making more putts with it than without it. See this post:
Vector Putting