How to Correctly Read Greens - Part 1 of 3 - Secrets to Sinking More Putts Per Round

Learning how to correctly read greens is a skill that can be learned easily and can be one of the single most important factors to shooting lower scores. Want to break 90, 80, or 70 for the first time? Then these 3 secrets to reading greens are vitally important.

Secret to Reading Greens #1) What is the Lay of the Land?

Whenever you go to a new course, the first thing you should be asking a caddy, an employee (assistant or head pro) is, where do most of the putts break on the course? Is there a secret to these greens? Is there a certain landmark that all putts will tend to roll to?

Locals love to give their knowledge of the course, and it's invaluable to us, especially on the greens!

I work on a course that has land that actually breaks towards the mountains. THAT is something no one expects when they show up to the course, and I'm shocked at how few people care to hear that knowledge.

A straight looking putt will most likely break towards the mountains. A putt that is uphill and towards the mountains will be especially slow. A putt that looks downhill and happens to be going towards the mountains- Look out! It's going to be FAST.

Secret to Reading Greens #2) Look from BOTH Sides of the Hole

This is such a basic move that can dramatically increase your chances of making a putt. Some people don't want to do this because they feel self-conscious about the time it takes to do it. But there is an art to doing it fast. If you are walking onto the green, take a look from the opposite side of the hole before you even mark your ball. Or maybe take a look if you have to wait for someone else to putt. If you are first to putt, who cares? Take that extra few seconds to glance from the other side of the hole.

Secret to Reading Greens #3) Watch the Roll Out Of Your Approach Shot

Often times we'll be so caught up in our disgust that we hit chipped the ball too far past the hole that we won't even watch the break as it is coming to rest. Being observant at all times is extremely important to getting all the necessary information.

Take these 3 secrets to reading greens to heart and you'll make more putts, leave yourself tap ins for saves, and drop your score by sometimes more than 5 to 10 shots per round.

Greg Hanson is a professional golfer and a content creator for an internet marketing firm. You can check out his latest project about all types of small coffee tables like slate and square coffee tables at http://CheapCoffeeTables.org.