Last time, we talked about how we don't really want to read the green, we want to read the putt.
We don't care what the green is going to do, we only care about what our putt is going to do.
Visualizing the speed, line, and break of the putt, working backwards from the hole to where the ball rests, can give us a powerful tool to determine how firm to strike the ball, and on what line.
Here are three more tips to help you better read your putt: Green Reading Tip One: The drop-zone will affect your ball as much or as more as the rest of the putt itself.
Recall that the drop-zone is the three feet closest to the hole.
It is here where your ball is slowing down, and every inch matters.
Sometimes, you may have correctly read the green, and this actually misleads you about the overall slope of your putt.
Here's a good way to see it.
Stand below the hole, and look for the highest point within a foot of the cup on the side that your ball will be approaching from.
This is where your ball is likely to enter the drop zone, which can act as a funnel, leading your ball to the hole.
Check to see if the line you have envisioned includes this point of the green.
If it does, you want to make sure that you are hitting this point, and letting the ball "feed" its way towards the hole.
If your line doesn't include this point, you want to make sure that it doesn't interfere with it.
Green Reading Tip Two: Setting up your putter face.
The ball will only roll straight right as you hit it, so it's vital that you set up your shot correctly.
You've already visualized the drop zone, and you know the line that your ball is going to take.
You've set the speed, so that you know where the ball is going to start breaking.
You can now draw a line from the drop zone to the break spot.
It is your job to get the ball to that break spot, with the proper amount of speed.
So, keeping the line of the putt in your head, you want to center the clubface on getting the ball to that break point.
Don't worry about the hole, or any other features, you've now cut the putt in half or so, because you aren't trying to get the ball to the hole any more, you are trying to get the ball to the break zone, so that it can reach the drop zone, and then fall in the hole.
Lots of things to see in your mind, but block the rest out, and you'll do fine.
Green Reading Tip Three: If you have a very complicated putt, perhaps one with multiple breaks, or with several tiers to work through, keep in mind that it's the drop zone that matters.
That is where all the action that's going to decide if you sink or miss this putt is going to happen.
You surely need to properly navigate these bumps and swales, but you need to make sure that this part is done properly.
If you get everything right, but enter the drop zone at the wrong spot, or with the wrong speed, then nothing you did is going to work properly.
Focus on your break point, and your entry into the drop zone, and nothing else.
If you can navigate these spots, the rest of it will fall in place.
With these "putt reading" tips, you should be able to better see the path that your ball is going to take, and worry more about the flight of your shot, and less about the green itself.