Blog

Read the green.

Guides to reading greens, green speed and putting, backed by what our green scans measure.

Free toolPutt break calculatorLength, slope and green speed in; where to aim, in inches, out. Research · Technical noteThe physics of a breaking puttThe equations, simulated putts and charts behind every number on this blog.

Rules

• Rules · 6 minAre green reading apps legal? Rule 4.3 in plain EnglishNo, not during a competition round. Here's what Rule 4.3 says about green reading apps, AimPoint, green books and levels, and where you can use them.

Putting

• Putting · 7 minHow to know how hard to hit a puttHow to judge how hard to hit a putt: how far past to aim by distance, turn uphill and downhill into a plays-like distance, adjust for green speed, build feel.
• Putting · 6 minHow to stop 3 puttingHow to stop 3 putting: most three-putts start with first-putt speed, not the second putt. The numbers by handicap, and a 15-minute practice plan.
• Putting · 7 minIs 17 inches past the hole the right putting speed? We simulated itIs 17 inches past the hole the right putting speed? 100,000+ simulated putts say yes from 12–20 feet, but short putts want more pace and long lags less.

Green speed

• Green speed · 7 minHow to measure green speed without a StimpmeterThree ways to get a real Stimp reading without the USGA ramp: a stopwatch formula, a homemade ramp, and one rolled ball. With the maths and a worked example.

Green reading

• Green reading · 7 minHow to plumb bob a putt (and when it lies to you)How to plumb bob a putt step by step: find your dominant eye, hang the shaft, read the break. Plus the geometry of why it works, and the putts it gets wrong.
• Green reading · 6 minHow to read grain on greens (and measure it with two rolls)How to read grain on greens: the four signs that show which way it grows, why grain acts like an invisible slope, and a two-roll test that measures it.
• Green reading · 7 minHow to read greens for beginners (the easiest way)Can't read greens? The easiest way to read greens for beginners: a four-step routine for which way it breaks, how much, and how hard to hit it.
• Green reading · 7 minHow to tell which way a putt breaksCan't tell if a putt breaks left or right? Six checks, in the order to use them, plus how to tell uphill from downhill and why downhill putts break more.
• Green reading · 7 minWhy you keep missing putts on the low side (and how to fix it)Missing putts on the low side is the most common miss in golf. Research shows golfers play a quarter of the real break. Here's why, and how to fix it.