[SHIBUMI]

Some folks may know this, but, for those who don't, try it out! Let's not dwell on the why, here is the how to.

Take a look in the cup, one of the edges will be scalped(frayed). The side of the cup not frayed is the side you must enter the hole on. So no matter how much break you read, the ball must always enter the hole on the opposite side of the scalped area.

When standing at your ball, if the scalp is left, enter the hole from the right.(right to left breaker)
If the scalp is on the right, enter the hole from the left. (left to right breaker)

Low and behold if the scalp is centered it means the putt is straight for the last foot and 1/2.

Gift it a try and you will make more putts. Amount of break is always a guessing game, this will help you guess better.

[ElDiabloJoe]

And here I was thinking Green Reading Tip meant a climate-friendly way to consume books. Thought OP was going to recommend a Kindle so as to save paper and logging issues, or conversely recommend paper books to save hard-to-decompose plastics, electronics, and toxic metals.

[jimhoward]

The raggedness around the cup, tells you the direction of the grain. But I don't see how it tells you the direction of the break without factoring in the slope. The grain pushes your putt so it is something to be taken into account, but if there is enough slope putts can break against the grain. Can they not?

I know the grain generally grows in the direction of the slope, so down grain is usually also downhill, but I am not sure that is 100%, I have read that it sometime just grows to the West.

For me speed beats read 90% of the time anyway, but I am curious about your theory. Is it just a general rule based on the idea that down grain is generally downhill.

[UpNorth]

Since pinsetters always try to set the flagpole perfectly vertical, Gary Player always looked inside the hole. If there was more dirt above the rim of the cup on one side, that was the high side. Easy way to see the break at the hole.

[collie1228]

The pros are using “aim point”, a ridiculously timely process where they use their feet to feel the break, and some us a club (and it’s shadow somehow) to give them the break. You guys are all grasping a straws.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by jimhoward

The raggedness around the cup, tells you the direction of the grain. But I don't see how it tells you the direction of the break without factoring in the slope. The grain pushes your putt so it is something to be taken into account, but if there is enough slope putts can break against the grain. Can they not?

I know the grain generally grows in the direction of the slope, so down grain is usually also downhill, but I am not sure that is 100%, I have read that it sometime just grows to the West.

For me speed beats read 90% of the time anyway, but I am curious about your theory. Is it just a general rule based on the idea that down grain is generally downhill.

You are 100% right. The ragged edge of a cup normal gives you indication of which way the grain is running at the cup ... not generally on the Green. The later in the day you're playing, the more prevalent or obvious it will be. (Early in the day, you can't depend on the "ragged" side indicating the direction of growth (grain). Such indication might be a result of using poor technique when cutting the cup.

The "ragged edge" can have at least 4 causes. Improperly cutting the cup. Bermuda grass doesn't grow vertically (you're looking mostly at "roots"). Water flows downhill and can push the grass in a direction. Putts move faster towards the down gradient edge of the cup, which causes more degradation (look at the down gradient edge of a cut, on a non-Bermuda Green .... you'll see the exact same ragged edge.

The only way to assess the grain as it relates to overall slope, is to watch for the "dark grass" vs the "shiny grass". The new grass The Villages is using on the Championship Greens they redo, is no where near as grainy as the old Bermuda.

You also seem to know, what most golfers never figure out. 95% of all putts are "speed" putts.

If there's anyone out there who doubts that, take a test on a practice green.

Make 10 putts from 10'-20', concentrating on getting the "right line".

Move to another hole and make 10 putts of the same length, concentrating on "distance only".

You "target putts" will likely miss the target by about double the distance of your "speed" putts.

Try it. Convince yourself.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by jimhoward

The raggedness around the cup, tells you the direction of the grain. But I don't see how it tells you the direction of the break without factoring in the slope. The grain pushes your putt so it is something to be taken into account, but if there is enough slope putts can break against the grain. Can they not.

Ah, grain on southern greens is an adventure. Playing bent grass greens up north my entire life, before buying a home in the Villages, grain was never a consideration. Over the last ten years, playing Villages greens, has been a learning experience. Here are my thoughts.

I always check the cup before putting and chipping to determine the grain direction. Once I identify the direction, I pick a landmark so I can identify the direction again when I get back to my ball.

Although grain always matters, it generally matters more during growing season than during the colder winter days when the grass is dormant.

During growing season the grain matters more later in the day than early in the morning right after the greens are mowed, especially during bright sunny days.

On a flat green, when putting directly across the grain, the put will definitely break with the grain direction, especially as the ball looses speed.

All else being equal, down grain puts are always faster than cross grain puts, and the opposite for puts into the grain. Down hill and down grain puts are extremely fast, and up hill puts into the grain need to be hit very firmly.

With diagonal grain puts, one needs to consider how grain affects both speed and break depending on the grain’s direction.

Puts going cross grain, with slope, requires an experienced guess as to how the two influences will either enhance the break or offset each other.

Learning how grain effects puts is essential to both minimize three puts and increase the probability of sinking mid range puts.

After about a year of playing in the Villages, I got paired up with an excellent golfer, who graciously taught me how to read the grain, and it immediately improved my scores. When I have guests visit from up north, I typically let them play a few holes and watch how frustrated they get putting, before I teach them about the grain. I have one frequent guest who is very competitive, to the point of being annoying, who I will never show how to read the grain. It’s not surprising that I generally fair better against him in the Villages than up north. Golf on : )

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

Take a look in the cup, one of the edges will be scalped(frayed).

Originally Posted by jimhoward

The raggedness around the cup, tells you the direction of the grain. But I don't see how it tells you the direction of the break without factoring in the slope. .

Padraig Harrington's opinion, just published this past Wednesay.

Just a moment...

[villagernewbie]

Spend most of your practice on speed. Most three putts are a matter of being way off on speed - not line.

Speed kills.

[Worldseries27]

///

[SHIBUMI]

don't make it more complicated, grain is rarely consistent, you can get patches over the length of the putt.

On higher grass greens the mower can create the fray

keep it simple, keep the ball dying on the opposite side of the fray

putting is determined on how good you guess. Guess how much break then guess on how hard to hit it, Yes as mentioned distance control is most important, BUT, if your read is better, some of those will go in more.

try to be most concerned with the how to as opposed to the why.

The pros get 3 feet of flat area around the cup, more putts will go in, here we get 1" of flat space around the cup, I call them Angus cups, Angus is the partially blind employee that sets the cups on mounds. He is usually hungover as well and one of the least paid workers. LOL

Give it a try, learn how to read the fray and you will make more putts, it will just help you guess better. And whatever way you feel distance control the best run with it or find a way.

Originally Posted by jimhoward

The raggedness around the cup, tells you the direction of the grain. But I don't see how it tells you the direction of the break without factoring in the slope. The grain pushes your putt so it is something to be taken into account, but if there is enough slope putts can break against the grain. Can they not?

I know the grain generally grows in the direction of the slope, so down grain is usually also downhill, but I am not sure that is 100%, I have read that it sometime just grows to the West.

For me speed beats read 90% of the time anyway, but I am curious about your theory. Is it just a general rule based on the idea that down grain is generally downhill.

[Whatnext]

There will be a slow play thread soon, about so many golfers spending 4-5 minutes reading greens, causing backing up, right back to starters shack!

[ElDiabloJoe]

Good Grief! Just take a look at the general layout of the green, maybe some shadows, ridges, valleys, etc. and then hit your ball. Then move on to the next hole.

We aren't playing for purses here.

Over-analysis is a real thing. Just go out and play and enjoy, don't overthink and get lost in minutiae. Play, enjoy, move on. Repeat.

[Plush]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

And here I was thinking Green Reading Tip meant a climate-friendly way to consume books. Thought OP was going to recommend a Kindle so as to save paper and logging issues, or conversely recommend paper books to save hard-to-decompose plastics, electronics, and toxic metals.

My thoughts exactly 🤔

[lawgolfer]

Originally Posted by UpNorth

Since pinsetters always try to set the flagpole perfectly vertical, Gary Player always looked inside the hole. If there was more dirt above the rim of the cup on one side, that was the high side. Easy way to see the break at the hole.

Your method of looking at the amount of dirt above the metal cup that is inserted in the hole and the many other methods of looking at the frayed/browned edges are all true. However, in The Villages, as others have noted, the employees who set the pins are often inexperienced, or careless, or both.

Time and again, when I look at a cup, I find that the worker started the plugger at an angle and not vertical. Sometimes, he will "correct" the angle of the plugger to vertical as it is being pushed into the green. If so, this leaves a cup which is round on the half away from the worker and oval on the half where he started the plugger.

If the worker doesn't correct angle, then the entire hole becomes an oval.

Lately, I have seen several instances where the worker pushes the plugger too hard into the green and leaves a depressed circle around the entire hole, making it look like a donut. Last week there were two occasions when one of the players in my foursome missed the cup by more than an inch yet the ball hit the outside edge of the depressed circle and turned into the hole. It was like watching water circle around the drain in the sink.

Bermuda greens are notoriously difficult for players who learned the game on and played on bent grass or a hybrid. I had a particularly difficult time as I use a "forward press" to initiate the putting stroke. In The Villages, I quickly realized that by using a forward press, I was driving the ball downward into the Bermuda with the result that I didn't know in which direction it would go. I tried to give up the forward press. Having used it for 60+ years, this proved impossible. Finally, I solved the problem with an angle grinder and a good file by adding a couple of degrees of extra loft to the face of the putter. This solved my problem and I am now putting a good "roll" on the ball. I may not make the putt, but, at least, the ball goes where I was aiming.

If anyone wants to try this, please don't start with your $400 Scotty Cameron. Also, don't make your first effort on a putter with a steel head. Buy a used putter with an aluminum or alloy head and mark the top of the putter and the bottom of the face so you will be able to tell where and how much material you are removing. Clamp the head in a vice with wood blocks on the top and bottom and go at it. With a good file, the job shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. My first effort was on an old Zebra with an aluminum head using a hand file. When I moved on to a steel head, I had to use an angle grinder and a belt sander. If I was doing a Scotty Cameron, I would probably seek the services of a machine shop.