Padraig Harrington makes a putt last Thursday at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
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Padraig Harrington says there are many tips, and he’s not being hyperbolic.
Need proof? Google is “the most important thing in green learning.” We will wait.
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[Makes dinner.] [Reads book.] [Comes back tomorrow.]
It’s a lot, isn’t it? A number of items appear to resemble blades of grass in a rack. Back to Harrington, though. You have it too. Should you believe him more than others? Fair point. But he is a big winner three times, and without a doubt i an expert who has best embraced the idea that in a participation-heavy game, gaming experts can do well by teaching.
In addition, his “most important thing in learning vegetables” took him only 13 seconds to explain. You can watch it in the video below, released Wednesday by the DP World Tour communications team, and below that, we’ll update.
Padraig Harrington’s top tip for learning green
Pay attention colors
Harrington’s most important thing? Pay attention to the colors.
“Anything pale goes down, and anything dark goes up,” Harrington said in the video. “Obviously you need strong sunlight, so that’s not good if you’re wintering in Ireland or Britain, I think. But colors, number one. “
Pay attention to the bottom side of the hole
He had other thoughts, too.
You also have to pay attention to the downside of the hole, he said.
“When you’re here, somewhere like here,” Harrington said at the DP World Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah, “the bottom side of the hole is always splashing and breaking, so always aim away from that.”
Focus on speed over the line
Harrington also said the focus is on speed over the line. “Learning vegetables,” he said, “if you have a good pace, you will be able to get information from everything that has happened. Whereas if you have bad speed and you hit it 6 feet in, 4 feet in, 10 feet there, you don’t learn how to read the greens.”
Increase the break when the putt feels uncomfortable
In the video, Harrington said he thought he wouldn’t hear this tip anywhere else.
“If you’re standing on a putt and you’re not comfortable, you need to putt,” he said in the video. “
Editor’s note: Let’s continue the green reading conversation. In 2022, this website published an article titled “10 ways to perfect your greens – and hit more putts,” and that article, written by GOLF Top 100 teacher Kellie Stenzel, can be found. by clicking hereor by scrolling quickly below.
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My students often ask me: How can I improve in green reading? Often they say they don’t see the lines. To which I say, yes, there is an art to this practice, but it is also a science. Try the following techniques to help improve your green reading and make more putts.
1. Know that vegetables are made of water
Course designers have many responsibilities besides creating works of art. The vegetables are designed to drain well so that when it rains the water does not pool. When you understand this, you can begin to see better that the green always has some degree of slope and side slope. You can learn a lot about the shape and movement of the green by watching how the water moves over it.
10 ways to make your practice green better – and make more putts
By:
Kellie Stenzel, Top 100 Teachers
2. Start reading before you get to the green
You can begin to read the bold tilt of the green as you approach it. You may see one side higher than the other, or you may see high points and low points. The green is usually slanted towards the fairway, curved from back to front. Finding many of these elements can be easy from a high position on the fairway.
3. Important No. 1: distance and speed
Controlling your distance should be a priority. If you manage the distance well, even if you are slightly off the line, you still have a chance to save strokes by limiting yourself to three putts. First, determine if your putt is going up, down or low. If you can’t see it with your eyes, practice passing the cup to your ball. Your feet can give you the feeling that you are in a high or low position.
4. Read the area around your line
Determining the side slope of the putt can be challenging if you are only looking at the line between the ball and the cup. I find it easier to read putts when I compare an area about 3 feet to the right of the fairway with an area 3 feet to the left. When you look at both sides, it’s easy to see which is superior. Obviously you will always want to aim for the higher side.
5. ‘Split’ long putts
For long putts, you may have more than one break. For example, one part can be right to left and the other from left to right. Divide long puts into two or three categories. If you use the same line reading process we laid out above for each “phase” of the putt, you can combine these together to get an accurate reading. If I had, say, two sections where the right side was high and one where the left side was high, I would be able to point slightly to the right.
6. Go in small circles
For short putts, it can help to go in a circular motion on the line behind your ball. This will help you feel whether you are going up or down. This will also help you feel subtle tilts that you might not see.
7. A wide stance directly behind the ball
For short putts, try and stand directly behind your ball and face the hole with a wide stance. Then gently rock back and forth. Your feet should tell you which side of the line is higher. Again, aim for the upper side of the cup.
8. Play more breaks on downhill putts
Adjust the amount of breaks you play depending on whether your putt is going up or down. Play more breaks on downhill putts, because your ball will be spinning less and thus gravity will have more of an effect. On the other hand, for uphill putts, play less break, because your ball spins faster and thus gravity will have less influence.
9. Dial your tilt-o-meter
When determining the steepness of the slope, keep it simple: Is the high side a little higher than the hole, a little higher or a lot higher? If the degree of tilt is large, you should play the break. Note that fast greens break more due to less friction between the ball and the grass.
10. Technology
When it comes to green learning, there’s no shame in relying on technology! One of the companies I consult with is GolfLogix (which is also a GOLF.com company). The GolfLogix app has Tour quality raw data. App users only need to place the ball and pin in the correct positions and the app reads the putt to you, providing both direction and distance. You can use this help for practice rounds only, but over time, you may find that the app sharpens your green learning curve.
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Nick Piastowski
Golf.com Editor
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for planning, writing and promoting news on the golf course. And when he’s not writing about how to hit the golf ball forward and straight, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his scores. You can contact him about any of these topics – his news, his game or his beer – at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
