I’ve heard reading greens referred to as a combination of art and science. I disagree.

I think green reading is mostly art. Sure, it involves scientific principles from geometry and physics. But without instruments handy to take accurate measurements, we’re back to the art of guessing.

How many degrees does the green slope? How much friction is present between the ball and the grass on fast greens? How many degrees right or left are you going to start the putt? How much force does your putter impart on the ball given a certain backswing?

If we could answer these questions and ones like it on the putting green, then putting would be 100% science.

The experiments Dave Pelz performs in testing various theories about putting are science. The guesses we make on the course about the effects of all the variables that go into putting are really art.

I will concede one place where science is key. That’s in developing your putting stroke. If you use a pure, in line, square pendulum stroke and practice it until it becomes very consistent, you can better absorb the feedback you get from each putt to refine the artistic side of putting.

With a solid stroke out of the way, what are the variables you should be considering as you size up each putt?

Look at the Overall Layout of the Green

When you approach the green and move toward your ball, get the general lay of the land. See what the overall contours are like. Does the entire green slope one way or another? Is it a bowl shape or a turtle back?

This will give you a general feel of what your ball is likely to do.

Look at the Break of Your Specific Putt

Many players, if not most, like to read the green from multiple angles. Typically, they’ll look at the line behind the ball, usually bending or squatting down. Then, some players like to read the break from the opposite side of the hole. And some like to walk parallel to the line and look at the surface of the green all along the line.

I personally almost always read the putt only from behind the ball, looking at the hole. For whatever reason, I find looking over the putt from the opposite side of the hole makes me indecisive.

When I get up to my ball, I look at the situation and almost immediately have a line picked out. I might adjust based on the other variables, but generally I “see” the general line after very little consideration.

I’ve read a few “rules of thumb” about judging break. To me, it’s one of those things that you have to feel. This is where practice and a consistent putting stroke come in. If you miss a putt because you misread the break, I bet you’ll get closer if you try again. That’s you incorporating feedback into your green reading. If you practice enough, those corrections you learn how to make after missed putts will eventually turn into more correct first assessments.

Consider the Speed

This is something you want to do when warming up on the practice green. That green normally matches the conditions found on the course. You should be hitting some practice putts to get a feel for the speed of the greens at that time.

When you get out on the course, you should already have that speed calibrated in your stroke for the day. You probably shouldn’t be consciously thinking about speed after you get on the course, unless you need to make some early adjustments in your pace.

Are You Putting Uphill or Downhill?

Generally, uphill putts break less than downhill putts. One reason for this is that the harder you hit a putt, the less break it will take. You’ve heard of “powering through the break”. Well, when you putt downhill, you’re hitting the putt lighter than an uphill putt of the same magnitude, so it takes more break.

Check the Grain of the Grass

For players that play on bentgrass or poa annua greens, grain is not as much of an issue, unless the grass is unusually high. But for players that play on Bermuda grass greens, the grain must be considered.

Grain is simply a term that describes the direction in which the grass is laying. One way to check is to look at the sun’s reflection on the grass. If it’s shiny, then the grain is growing away from you. If it’s darker, then the grain is growing toward you. Another way to check is by looking at the cup. If the cup is cut cleanly but the grass on one side looks somewhat ragged and brown, this is an indication that the grain is growing toward the direction of the ragged side of the cup.

In general, grain will affect both speed and break. When putting directly into the grain, the ball will roll less distance and break will be magnified slightly. When putting with the grain, the putt will roll further and the break will be a little less than when putting against the grain.

Look at the Local Geography

I’ve always read and heard that greens tend to break toward the closest body of water and away from the closest mountain.

I’ve haven’t played near many mountains, so I can’t say whether I’ve observed this first hand. The general idea is that the land around the mountain tends to slope away from it, into lower areas and that if course designers use the natural lay of the land, then the greens should follow that general trend.

Greens breaking toward water I understand a little better. This has to do primarily with drainage. Golf courses are normally constructed with drainage in mind. Especially greens, because improper drainage can ruin a green.

The ponds and lakes on and around a golf course serve the purpose well. Greens are usually constructed to shed excess water into nearby ponds, lakes, and ditches.

This also relates to grain, because grass will tend to grow where the water flows. So you might not only see a subtle slope in the direction of a pond or lake, but the grain might move that way as well.

These geographic guidelines are obviously not hard and fast rules because designers are free to throw any tricks at you that they see fit. For instance, a green could slope gently away from a greenside pond, and water can be collected in a drain and shuttled to the pond through a pipe.

I typically consider these factors only when I’m having trouble getting a read from the other available information.

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It might seem like a lot, but there’s not that much to it. At least in the sense that there isn’t a huge checklist of things to remember.

I firmly believe that the key to developing skill at reading greens is to start with a solid putting stroke so you can process feedback without the interference from subconscious compensations. The other primary factor is practice. Practice will allow you to observe how all the variables that go into putting affect your putts. You’ll be able to effectively hone your artistic green-reading ability and start making more putts.

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