The Art and Science of Reading Greens and Computing Break
By H.A. Templeton
Bobby Jones said “Make putting your own.” Timeless words that I have built my putting philosophy on. Own your putting from the time you get to the green to how you pull the ball out of the hole. Putting should be simple never complicated. Anytime you make it complicated you lose your ability to be instinctive thus you lose your confidence and become indecisive.
Make putting your own. Own it, and more putts will see the bottom of the hole, more often.
— Mike Schy
Putting comes down to 3 simple factors knowing how the putt curves into the hole
(break) how the ball rolls into the hole ( Terminal Velocity) and a very simple stroke (how big to make the stroke). That is all your brain can comprehend and should not take more than 15 seconds or so to do. The putting stroke becomes complicated because you can’t aim where you think you are aiming and you are indecisive about how the putt curves into the hole. A fitted putter that is tested for aim and speed control can solve most of the aiming issue.
Learning Vector Putting, the most effective and simplest green reading method can help with the last issue. The key is make it simple and fast to make a decision and then just visualize how it is going to go in as much as possible. When it is your turn, just pull the trigger and watch it go in the hole, just as you visualized it going in.