A New Golf Putting Tip On Effective Green Reading

Summary: Try two innovative tips about golf putting. In this article you can find an explanation of �Marcel White’s technique for green reading�� more detailed than the one delivered in a previous article.


In one of my last articles I wrote about several gadgets and procedures that may (or may not) help in golf putting. In that article, among those procedures considered useful and in total accordance with the rules, I introduced �Marcel White’s technique for green reading�. I mentioned then that it had never been revealed before.

After the article went on line I received some comments and had some discussions about that technique and discovered that it had not been a good idea to introduce it in the middle of the article together with other subjects. Some readers suggested that I should write a more detailed article focused exclusively on that point. Here it is!

Situation NR 1. Let’s start with the easiest feature this technique can provide. When considering your next putt, discover if the hole’s level is below or above the ball’s level.

Perhaps you think this is a piece of cake but it isn’t. If you are on a sloping green evaluating your next putt, as you move from one point to another, your perspective changes giving you misleading perceptions and you find yourself not sure about it being uphill or downhill. Consequences can be devastating if you consider downhill a putt that actually is uphill, or vice-versa.

This is the approach I recommend to solve the problem.

a) Look for a spot that is roughly at the same distance from the hole and the ball and not very close to the ball-hole line and don’t care if you are on the higher or lower part of the green in relation to that line. Stand on that point. I always try that my distance to the ball-hole line beats the ball-hole distance. Standing on that point, you, the ball and the hole are forming a triangle, an isosceles triangle because two sides of it are equal. Remember that the spot was chosen to be at the same distance from the hole and the ball.

b) Align yourself in order to let your shoulders parallel to the ball-hole line. Use both your forefingers to handle your putter and raise your arms, keeping them straight, till the putter’s shaft is horizontal in front of you and parallel to your shoulders. Now, your eyes and the club shaft define a plane in which any straight line parallel to the club shaft is horizontal. So, just move slowly both arms, keeping the putter horizontal, till you see it touching the hole. Now, the image of the club shaft you see on the ground is a horizontal line that will tell you if the ball is above or bellow the hole and how much.

I agree this is not as accurate as an electronic meter but, so far, the choice is between this technique and nothing allowed by golf rules. Besides, we can take some steps to improve it.

First, do it while the pin is in the cup. It’s vertical and will help to see if the shaft is horizontal because both lines are perpendicular.

Second, you can train your eyes as much as you want because horizontal lines are everywhere to help you confirm your guesses. For instance, any house or building has horizontals on the top of doors, windows, walls, etc. Put yourself with your shoulders parallel to a wall, holding your putter the way mentioned before and move both arms at the same time in order to adjust the shaft image to the top of a door or window and calibrate your horizontals. You’ll discover that this technique is pretty accurate.

A final note on situation NR 1: It doesn’t matter if a putt starts, or finishes, uphill or downhill. If ball’s level at start is below hole’s level you face a uphill putt. If ball’s level at start is above hole’s level you face a downhill putt.

Situation NR 2. Now, an interesting question is perhaps crossing your minds: if you line up with the ball and the hole, will this technique work to reveal the lateral break? Yes, it will, but it is not that simple!

So, get down, in line with the ball and the hole, and find two spots you can remember, on the grass, at each side of the ball-hole line and at similar distances from it. The two spots must define a second line that is perpendicular to the ball-hole line. You and those two points are now forming the isosceles triangle needed to use this technique. As before, the next step will be to raise the horizontal putter to discover which one of the spots is at a lower or higher level and how much. That is the lateral break. If you suspect of a double break repeat the entire process close to the hole. Just take care to avoid slowing the game.

I recommend that you start using this technique in situations NR 2, only after you are in full control of it in situations NR 1. To practice, you can go to a sloping putting green and start using 2 tees and fixing them on the ground instead of looking for the two spots needed to define the triangle. After some practice you’ll find that you can do without the tees.

As far as I know, this is the best and most reliable technique to improve your green reading without breaking the golf rules. With it you get a clearer picture of your putting zone in every situation. But don’t forget that your objective is to sink the next putt, not to get a topographic image of the green. Provided you know how to use all the information you gathered, a nice putt is on the way. Otherwise, it will have been a waste of time. If this is the case, in the resource box you can find more suggestions that can help.

Marcel White