How to Correctly Read Greens - Part 2 - 3 Secrets to Making More 10 Footers

Learning how to correctly read greens will have you sinking more 10 footers. Sinking more of these length putts will give you more birdies and hard-fought pars per round, and dramatically lower your scores. Here are 3 secrets to take to heart if you want to break through your scoring barrier.

Putting Secret 1) Look From the Low Side

Have you ever missed a putt and thought, oh man, I didn't see that at all. Then when you walked off the green you could see a different angle and really saw the break? That's because you glanced at the line from the low side.

If you suspect the putt is breaking left, take a look at the putt from the left side to get a better gauge of exactly how much the putt will break. Of course, this means if you can't figure out which way the putt is going to break, you need to circle the entire hole to get a good look at what it will do.

Putting Secret 2) Pick a Spot In Between You and the Hole That is the High Point of the Break

Most of us communicate the break of a putt with a phrase like, "2 cups out on the right". That's all well and good for extremely flat putts, but for putts with slope, you want to pick a spot where that "2 cups" is.

For instance, if I have a severely downhill putt that breaks 2 cups to the right at the very beginning, then I will have to putt it at a sharper angle to the left than if I have a putt that breaks 2 cups at the very end! Pick a spot where the break will apex and you are giving it a better chance of going in or stopping right next to the hole.

In fact, forget about verbalizing the break of your putt altogether unless you need to.

Putting Secret 3) Think About the Line, Then Forget It

Get a precise line that you are going to putt the ball on, line it up, then completely forget it. Now take your practice strokes with only speed in mind. The line means nothing if the speed doesn't match what you read. You want to putt the ball, and read the putt, with a speed in mind that will be past the hole a few inches to a foot past the hole.

Use these 3 putting secrets and you'll learn to read greens better, drop your scores, and break that personal scoring barrier once and for all!

Greg Hanson is a professional golfer and content developer for an internet firm. You can check out his latest project about all sorts of cheap coffee tables like the acrylic coffee table at CheapCoffeeTables.com.