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Green Reading
One of the best golf lessons I ever received, whether by happy accident or extremely good fortune, was in 1993, a year after I opened up the Classic Swing Golf School. I journeyed up to Pine Needles Resort in Pinehurst to receive a 2 hour lesson from my teacher at the time, Dr. Jim Suttie. Well, it just so happened that my lesson followed that of Loren Roberts, PGA Tour Player at the time, currently on the Champions Tour. He is often referred to by his nick name, "The Boss of the Moss!"
The moss, you probably guessed, is the putting surface, and Mr. Roberts is one of the all-time greats. Dr. Suttie had Loren walk me through his green reading procedure that I still use in all schools today and have highlighted on my DVD, From Putt to Drive.
The technique Loren taught me is called the Tri-fecta. He taught me to read a putt from 3 sides and explicitly what to look for while on each side. The Tri-fecta procedure is as follows:
Side 1> Stand directly behind the cup approximately 10 feet from the hole and draw an imaginary straight line from the ball through the cup and to your body. On side 1 you are looking for BREAK. The break reflects which way you observe the ball moving as it approaches the hole. The break is the movement of the ball to the right or the left NOT uphill or downhill. Whichever side you see the ball moving towards then becomes your low side. (Stand on Side 1 no more than 5 seconds.)
Side 2> The second side to observe the putt from is the low side. While standing on side 2 you should specifically stand at the midpoint or half way point of the putt and put your body a good 15 feet off the line of the putt. Example: On a 40 foot putt move a good 15 feet off the line and 20 feet from your ball. Side 2 is the most important side to green reading. The low side is the Money side because this is when you observe the SLOPE or the uphill/downhill nature of the putt. Side 2 is the SPEED side. (Stand here a good 15 seconds and reflect on SPEED.)
Side 3> From behind the ball determine your alignment procedure. You can use a line on the ball or pick a spot in front of the ball for your alignment aid-your choice. Side 3 is 10% aiming and 90% focus on distance control. As Mark Broadie put it in his book, Every Shot Counts, learn to lag putts from 20-40 feet and get every putt to the hole from 15 feet and in!
The Tri-fecta putting technique and how to control distance on greens are just two of the valuable skills demonstrated in great detail on my instructional DVD, From Putt to Drive. Makes a great stocking stuffer!
 Ted Frick
Owner/Director of Instruction
Classic Swing Golf School
2005 Carolinas PGA Section Teacher of the Year
TPI Level 1 Certified Golf Fitness Instructor
G.S.E.D., The Golfing Machine
tfrick@classicswing.com
For more of Ted's classic tips,
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