Aug
07
2008

How Long do You Read Putts?

Posted by Double Eagle in Putting Tips

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I’ve been reading Golf Unplugged by Jim Apfelbaum (great book; review upcoming) and it contains a quote from Bobby Jones.  Faced with a pressure putt, he said:

I resolved that no matter how much time I consumed, I was going to tranquilze my breath before I made another putt.  So I began to take great pains to study the line.  I really did not study the line, for I have never been able to see more rolls and bumps in a minute than I could in five seconds, but I was giving my breath a chance to quiet down.

It got me thinking about how much time I spend reading putts compared with the pros.

I’ve been watching the PGA Tour for years.  Of course, I also watch the European Tour, the Champions Tour, the LPGA Tour, and even the Nationwide Tour at times.  It seems like just about every top-level pro in the world takes a long, long time reading putts.

They typically read from the ball to the hole, from the hole to the ball, along the line, and everything in between.  They plumb bob with their putters.  In a feat of flexibility and athleticism, Camillo Villegas even gets his eyes a few inches off the turf.

I have tried over the years to mimic these rituals, thinking that maybe I’m missing something.  But every time, I feel exactly what Bobby Jones said.  I rarely learn anything in a minute that I didn’t know in five seconds.

As I approach my ball, I pretty much already have the line by the time I get there.  When I take a few extra seconds, I’m usually just trying to work out the speed or maybe refine the read a little from, say, outside left to inside left, for instance.

The only time I ever read the putt from the far side of the hole is when I’m truly undecided about the break but don’t see a straight putt.  And a vast majority of the time, I’m still undecided and choose one side or the other and the putt turns out to be nearly straight.

I might take a little longer if the putt has really huge break, like ten feet or something.

I’ll also take my time if I feel that a good lag is impossible.  Have you ever had a putt that’s on the low side of a slope where you know that once the ball rolls over the crest, it’s not going to stop anywhere near the hole or even on the green?  When I get a situation like that, I might putt on an insane line and intentionally miss if I feel like I can stop the ball three or four feet to either side.  I can make that, but I’m probably not going to make the come-back putt from the collar.  These kinds of strategies take me a little longer and they’re very rare.

That said, I think my system for reading greens works well for me.  A vast majority of my misses are putts that were poorly struck or putts where I did not choose the correct speed.  I find that it’s rare for me to completely blow a read.  I can say fairly certainly that I don’t recall having had a read from a second angle overturn my initial read and turn out to be correct.

So the question is, are the pros on television really learning new information as they stalk circles around the greens?  Are they just trying to reinforce their first read with extra information because they literally have so much riding on putts?  Or, is it like Jones said and they’re just trying to calm down before they hit their putts?

How long do you take to read putts? Do you find that reads from second and third angles change your first impression?  Or, in the case of a pressure-filled putt, are you just trying to quiet your breathing?

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There are currently 8 responses to “How Long do You Read Putts?”

  1. 1

    Greg B. said:

    I start to read the green as I walk up. All of the time I’m on the green I’m trying to get a good feel for my putt. I consider my eyes to be a sensor while on and around the green. I just try to take in as much data as I can. Once it’s my turn, I step up and hit it.

    I’ve had a nice little putting streak going too where the last three rounds have been 27, 28, and 27 putts. I’ve never had a round with fewer than 27 putts, but having hit that mark twice in three rounds, I know 26 is lurking out there.

    Posted on August 8th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

  2. 2

    Double Eagle said:

    That’s a pretty good streak, Greg. That’s an average of 1.3 putts per hole (for 27). That would put you in the top ten on the PGA Tour. Yeah, I know, the greens are a little different at that level, but even by amateur standards, that’s some mighty fine putting.

    Posted on August 8th, 2008 at 9:31 pm

  3. 3

    Greg B. said:

    Yeah, too bad the accompanying scores were 83, 85, and 90. Lots of sweet bogey saves :-)

    Posted on August 9th, 2008 at 2:49 am

  4. 4

    Lane said:

    Just relax, don’t over think the putt.

    Posted on August 9th, 2008 at 10:59 am

  5. 5

    JoeC said:

    Hi, I’m a fellow golfer that got to your page via “@Greenfee” on Twitter. I’m “@JoeCascio” there.

    Since I belong to a club, I play the same course most of the time and I think that changes your approach to reading because your accumulated local knowledge of the greens informs you.

    There are still greens at my club that I have a hard time with because there a lot of very subtle undulations. But like you, I do find that the first impression is usually correct and that overanalyzing the putt usually just leads to a feeling of confusion when it’s actually time to stroke the ball. In fact, if I have to wait to putt, I usually don’t look at the putt until it’s my turn. Then I look at it from behind the ball, make up my mind and hit it. Also, I find that when I’m putting well, I get things done quickly, when I’m putting poorly, I take longer.

    I started taking note of one my friends who’s a fantastic putter. His routine is quick and very much the same every putt. He walks up to the putt, looks at it from a standing position, takes his stance, looks once, looks twice and then hits it. And he’s deadly. :)

    Posted on August 11th, 2008 at 5:35 am

  6. 6

    Double Eagle said:

    Hi Joe, thanks for coming by!

    I think you’re exactly right about playing familiar greens. It gets to a point where usually I already know what’s in store as soon as my approach hits the green. And I certainly know for sure as I walk on to the green. That definitely cuts down on the time involved in picking a line.

    Posted on August 11th, 2008 at 8:10 am

  7. 7

    Nick Fogelson said:

    I’m a bit of a green reader. I can usually decide pretty quickly if its straight, but if there is much of a break I will take a bit of time with it, especially from below the hole. I think when putts are long its pretty important to figure out the line. I used to read them really quick, but occasionally would miss the read by several feet on long putts. Once I started taking my time with them I got better and lagging long breaking putts close, and even making on from time to time!

    Posted on August 11th, 2008 at 10:29 am

  8. 8

    TP Golf Online said:

    great quote

    Rarely do I look at a second angle. If I do it it’s during competive rounds when I try to have a sharper focus. When I do look at a second angle it is to confirm what I think the putt will do.

    Because I do not play as often as I like I try to walk off how far my first putt is to get a feel for speed. But as for reading the green I totally agree with the Bobby Jones quote.

    Posted on August 19th, 2008 at 5:32 pm

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