Green Reading

Today I played the first round of my final Gateway tour event. I shot 74 at the Haig course at PGA National. I felt very good about my round, and had some struggles coming down the stretch with my putting. I was really pleased with the way I am hitting the ball, and feel that I am definitely ready to go low soon!
It was extremely windy today, and I struggled with my putting a bit. I learned a few things over again, that I felt I could share with you about reading greens. My friend Todd posted a comment in the last post, and said he struggled with his putting too. Maybe this will help us both, and thanks for the comment!
I am first reminded of what Lee Trevino said to someone who asked, "Lee, what do you do when it is really windy on the green?" He replied, "keep it low!"
The truth is, that wind can effect a putt. It depends on how strong the wind is, and how fast the greens are. So look out for that the next time you play in windy conditions.
The great tip in reading greens is to always look from the low side of the putt, and trust that read the most. What I mean by the low side is, if you have a downhill putt, you want to look up the hill to determine the slope of the green.
The reason this works, is because we can see more of the slope that is facing us, and less of a slope that is going away from us. This is a very simple tip, but the key to green reading is to be decisive. Then, you can be confident enough to just roll the putt to your target.
If you putt with indecision, you will rarely get it right!
So, go to the low side, and trust that read! Let me know how it goes, and check out the scores at the link below. Once you are on their website, go to Beach Series, and then Leaderboard.
Leaderboard
In the next few days, I am going to tell you how to get into the zone! I just have to figure it out myself first...