When it comes to green reading, we need to have a very simple understanding of how side slope and tilt affects our ball.
We have a very simple setup here, from around 10 feet, we’re going to focus very close to the hole to start with so you can understand these elementary concepts.
We’re just looking at an area of approximately 10 feet around this golf hole. What we’re looking for first is the high and low points. If I were to throw a bucket of water, where’s all that water gonna run?
Our low point on a clock face, which is represented by these two sticks, the stick running down the line, 6 o’clock, and 12 o’clock with 6 o’clock as the lowest point, the 12 o’clock is the highest point. Then the cross line – 9 and 3 – is how we determine whether it’s going to break right-to-left or left-to-right.
As you move around here towards 9 o’clock to begin with, he’s going to notice where the lowest point is. So if he’s standing there, he’s going to feel that the lowest side is in his right foot. Everything on the left side of 6 o’clock is going to be a left-to-right breaker; it’s always breaking back towards 6 o’clock.
When he comes around to the other side on the 3 o’clock side. From there, everything is going to break back again to the low point, which is 6 o’clock. So as Mark stands there, he’ll feel the low side and his left foot, and that tells him that everything’s breaking back towards 6 o’clock.
That’s a very simple starting point to teach you to read greens and understand how the slope of the green is going to affect the golf ball.
Always know and determine where that low point is. Once you have that information, you’re well ahead of the curve, and you’ll know which way your golf ball is going to roll as it approaches the golf ball.
If I want to find the straight part, all I’m trying to look for is when I get to here, that I don’t feel any tilt and I have an equal amount of weight in my left and my right foot. I know that putt’s gonna be pretty straight and I found the low point that’s correct.
There’s a really simple way for you to understand side tilt and get a good basic concept of green reading.
