How To Read Greens: 4 Expert Drills From Top PGA Professionals

It can feel frustrating to leave shots out on the golf course, especially when you have played well from tee-to-green only to be let down by your performance with the putter - and often that comes down to not correctly understanding how to read greens on the golf course.

Even if you have spent valuable time the night before practicing distance control drills on a putting mat, or trying out the latest expert tips one of the best putting training aids in a bid to unlock your potential, the truth is that you also need the correct read to find the bottom of the cup when it counts.

In the video and article below, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coaches Alex Elliott and Ben Emerson share some expert green reading drills that you should definitely add to your putting practice repertoire...

What is green reading?

What does 'green reading' mean in golf?

Green reading is the skill of anticipating how your ball will move on its journey from the putter face to the hole. The movement of the ball will depend on the severity of the slopes and the speed of the greens, so players should factor this in when aiming and creating the start line for their putt.

What are the most common methods of green reading?

Many top professionals on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf use AimPoint to read putts on the green, which is a system that uses your feet to assess the slopes on the green. Other top players simply read the green by eye or use their experience of particular courses to memorise slopes and break habits.

There are other methods used on tour, including plumb bobbing, and amateurs are advised to try each to discover which is best suited to them.

How To Read Greens On A Golf Course

Alex Elliott's Green Reading Drill

Alex Elliott

Alex spent three years caddying on the European Tour before taking his PGA qualifications. Since then he has created a thriving social media platform on Instagram and YouTube, where he offers a whole host of tips and advice to help viewers shoot lower scores.

1. The Coin Drill

Reading a putt is one of the hardest skills in golf to master, and I often get asked for my best putting tips for this key area when coaching amateur golfers. I find that keeping it simple is the most effective way to drive improvement, so I devised a straightforward method that can help players of all abilities.

For a right-hander, left-to-right putts tend to prove really difficult. I know they strike fear into me sometimes. I used to find it really hard to start the ball where I wanted to, and even when I did, I'd have misread the break.

If this sounds like something that happens to you, take two coins with you next time you're going to practice putting green. Look at a putt from all angles until you feel like you've got a good idea of the line and then plot the journey using the two coins.

What that does is gives you two intermediate points you think the ball needs to track over in order to find the bottom of the cup and provides a great way of visualising how a putt breaks. Don't worry if you don't get it right first time. The idea is you learn from what you did and build this visualisation into your pre-shot routine.

If you can team this with a good pace putting drill, you should be able to avoid 3-putts and maybe even hole the odd tram-liner!

For me, this is the best way to read greens as it builds a strong picture of a putt when you're out on the course and will therefore improve your chances of starting the ball where you want to. All you've got to do then is match the pace and you're onto a winner.

Ben Emerson's Green Reading Drills

Ben Emerson

Ben Emerson is a Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach with a modern approach to the game. His methods have seen him become one of the most revered coaches in the country, and even has a few celebrity clients on his books. In his coaching career of more than 20 years, Ben has helped golfers of all ages and abilities to improve their performances and enjoy the game.

2. The 'Advanced' Ladder Drill

The word 'advanced' in the title of this drill doesn't mean it's not suitable for beginners, in fact golfers of all abilities should be trying this out on the practice green. The advanced element comes from adding slope into our drills, as you will rarely have a flat putt on the course.

A standard ladder drills requires you to putt into different zones on the ladder from a fixed starting point, working on your distance control. The purpose of adding slope is to marry your distance control with green reading ability, which is the recipe for better putting.

Set up a ladder using tees, as demonstrated in the image below. We used the alignment sticks to show visually how the ladder breaks with the slope, but these aren't essential for you to add into your practice.

Start with three balls, and aim to stop one in each of the three zones of the ladder. If you miss a zone, you have to start again. Try this out with different distances and slopes on the green, and you will notice your green reading and pace control improving on the course.

3. The Gate Drill

For this drill, I want you to completely take the hole out of your mind and focus instead on the start line. So many amateurs will aim straight at the hole every time and then wonder why they are missing the putt by six feet or more. If we can read the high point of the putt correctly, and identify the start line, a challenging putt will become a lot easier.

Identifying the high point of the putt is essentially understanding where the putt will reach it's highest point and start to break most. You can do this with your feet by walking along the line with your feet straddled and feeling where the slope is most severe.

Set up a gate around three foot from your ball, measured at around one putter head's width, which is aiming directly at that high point. In the image below, I have used white markers to visualise the break of the putt. If you don't have access to these, you could use a tee or a ball marker to highlight the high point of the putt.

The aim is to practice hitting the start line effectively, allowing the ball to travel on your intended line and complete it's journey by cosying up to the hole (or going in - of course).

Pick different slopes, with varying severity, and you will become a green reading master in no time.

4. Alignment Stick Drill

It's all well and good practicing breaking putts over a short distance, but for many amateurs their proximity to the hole will be far greater. This drill focuses on marrying line with pace from a longer distance, and requires three alignment sticks or a handful of tees.

Set up a gate along the slope you have selected, ensuring it incorporates the high point of the putt that I mentioned above.

Take six balls and aim to putt the ball through the alignment stick gate (or zone) as it wanders down towards the hole. The key here, however, is to ensure that the ball doesn't go past the alignment stick barrier placed two feet behind the hole.

This will allow you to focus on correctly reading the line, while also preventing that annoying error where the ball races another 10 foot past the hole - leaving another challenging putt.

Set up your own scoring system and see if you can beat your personal best. I would suggest saying one point if the ball passes through the gate, another point if it stops past the hole but before the stick and two points if it goes in.

Add some jeopardy by taking points away for putts that stop short of the hole, or those that race over the barrier. This will help to make your practice fun and will drastically improve your performances with the flat stick when you are next on the course.

FAQ

Q: Am I Allowed To Practice Putting On The Course?

A: So, you are heading out for 18-holes and want to know if you can practice putting on the course. Well, the answer to this depends on the situation. If you are due to play a stroke play competition, you are not allowed to practice on the course before your round but you can hit a couple of putts after completing each hole. So, if you have missed a three-footer and want another go to shake off that bad feeling, go ahead!

If you are playing a match play competition, you are allowed to practice on the course before or between rounds. It goes without saying that plenty of members will also choose to have a few practice putts when playing in a casual round alone or with friends, but be sure to check your club's policy on this.