In today’s edition of Play Smart, we hear from setting coach Ralph Bauer as he explains the best angle to read the shot.
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Welcome to Play Smarta regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you play smarter and better golf.
Want to make more birds? You better be able to take a few shots. Sure, solid approach play is part of the equation, but if you can’t roll the putt, it’s all for nothing.
If you want to become a strong player, it is important to focus on a few key components. You need to be able to read the greens correctly, start the ball on your target line and have the right speed. If any of these elements are off, it becomes extremely difficult to open goals.
For the purposes of this column, we’ll focus on the first element— reading shots. And for more on this, we turn to deployment guru Ralph Bauer.
How to read the greens correctly
Green reading is an art that takes a lot of practice to master and it won’t happen overnight. You have to work if you want to become a great green reader.
Everyone has their own method for green reading. Some people like to rely on their feet, while others like to rely on their eyes. And for those who rely on their eyes, everyone has different angles they like to read the greens from (behind the ball, behind the hole, etc.).
According to Bauer, there is one point that is better than the rest to read correctly.
“Think of a triangle; I’m looking up halfway between the ball and the hole,” says Bauer. “If I went the other way, it would look 25 percent flatter on average.”
Bauer explains that he conducted this experiment with 100 golfers and for 90 of them reading the putt from the side angle halfway between the ball and the hole was the best method.
“Do you want to go and do a full 360 and see different perceptions of the tilt and mess around?” says Bauer. “If I’m looking up, that will be the best perspective I have to judge the slope.”
