[Relsenlilky]

I am notorious for incorrectly reading the break of green when I am faced with one. My biggest problem was not reading enough break, and missing putts below the hole. So what I did was to teach myself that what ever the break was that I thought I saw, I would jut add more to it. The steeper the break, the more I would add. So, if I saw what I thought was a 6" break from 10', I would add an additional 2", and then putt towards the 8" break spot. After doing this, I found I was making more putts because I was giving the ball more the cup to run into. When I miss a breaker now, I usually miss it on the high side.

Something else I read some where was that after taking, and deciding on the line (spot) you want to roll the ball on, don't change from that spot after taking your stance. What happens is, you look at the putt at hand from behind the ball, and your eyes/mind see what they see. Then, when you take your stance over the putt from the side of the ball, your mind/eyes see something totally different.

As for reading the grain of the of the grass, I don't worry too much about it anymore. It is what it is at the time I am playing. A few practice putts to get adjusted to the green(s) I am playing on (imho) takes care of the grain thing. If I do look at grain, I will look and see what side of the cup that grass is growing into.

Triple breakers are fun to play with if you can find them on a practice green. All I do with those is break the putt down onto 3 separate putts. If a putt has a right, left and then another right break to it, all you have to do is just figure out the start, and finish points of each break, and then try to roll the ball so that it will roll over each of those points. Of course the hard part is seeing multiple breaks in the first place..

After reading greens, the next, but equally important thing is putting speed. Putting speed, and how to get it work with one's chosen putting line is a personal thing. You have to teach yourself to do this. No one can teach you how fast or slow to roll a ball, and have it fall into the cup. One thing I do know is that speed is most critical the closer the ball gets to the hole since it is slowing down. The slower the ball is rolling the more effect the green's surface will have on it. Because of this factor it is wise to study the area around the cup, more so than where the putt is starting from. Also you can't be hesitant about rolling the ball past the hole.

Plumb bobbing works for some, and not for others. I don't use it because I was told at a Billy Casper clinic that since I am right handed, but left eye dominant it would be a waste of time for me depend on it. I don't know if there is any truth to that, or not, but at the time it sounded good.

My apologies for being so long winded.............