Most golfers know how important holing putts is to scoring. However, the importance of reading those putts correctly is often undervalued. Being accurate and confident in your ability to read greens can be a huge advantage.
In this video, Scott Cranfield talks you through how to properly read a putt and improve your ability to see and judge breaks.
Paralysis By Analysis
Often amateur golfers struggle when putting because they have so much going through their mind. Whether you're unsure of the break, just three-putted the last hole or perhaps you have an important putt and are battling nerves, often players over analyse an individual putt.
Trust Your Eyes
The key to effective green reading is keeping it simple, trusting your senses and being clear and confident over the ball. Standing behind your ball, with a relaxed, upright stance, and take a casual look at the putt you face. Allow your eyes to take in the information on slopes, speed and break. From there, trust your eyes. Walk into your putting stance, keeping a clear picture in your mind and go ahead and stroke the putt.
One-Look Routine
The longer you spend over a putt, the more time you have to allow negative thoughts to manifest themselves. Try walking into your stance, taking just one look at the hole and trusting your stroke. You will find this keeps things simpler and you may end up finding putt easier and less stressful.