How to read a green
Reading GRAIN or NAP
Putting is the Most important part of the Game Of Golf.
The trick to putting well is to get the ball rolling ASAP. There are many putting techniques, but most importantly, the eyes are positioned over the ball at address.
When trying to figure out what the putt will do, there are a few considerations you MUST take into account.
Is the putt uphill or downhill, is the putt down grain, against the grain or is it cross grain (for most "Southern Courses")?
Playing Northern courses, slope of the green is all you have to read. On Southern courses, Grain or Nap must be factored into the putt as well. Southern courses have grasses that unlike Northern grasses follow the setting sun. At the end of the day, the grass is almost laying down, which will affect how much the putt will break. A cross grain putt will break much more at the end of the day than in the early morning, a down hill putt will be faster and an up hill putt will be slower, the grass continues growing all day becoming stronger as the day wears on.
When you have reached the putting surface, walk up to the hole and look at it. (Please don’t step in someone else’s line, unless they are your opponent “Ha”.) What you should see is 1/2 of the edge of the cup is rough and the other 1/2 is a clean cut, this is telling you which way the grass is growing. The Grain is growing towards the rough side of the cup and you will have to figure that information into reading the putt. For example, if the grain is growing from right to left and you are putting on top of a flat surface, no slope, the ball will move from right to left as well, following the grain/nap.
Grain normally follows slope if there is any, sometimes doubling how much the putt will break. When the putt is flat, early in the morning , the hole may have a clean cut all the way around, check to see where the sun sets to determine which way the grass is growing.
Sometimes you can take grain out of the putt by how firm you roll the ball, but when the ball slows down, the grain will take effect. After you have laid out all of the various factors that will likely impact your putt, it is time to get the ball rolling.
I have created a simple tool which you attach to the grip. This tool forces the player to use their coordinated side to deliver the club, by making a Natural Swing through the ball to the target, it is called the "Swing King".
