Tip From the Archives

Use a Level

Problem

You can find the small details on the green but the major breaks seem to elude you.

Cure

The best way to see the greatest knolls and valleys of the green is by looking at it from a distance. Pay close attention to the highest and lowest points of the green before you take your chip shot. It will help a lot in finding a safe place to land your ball. If you have a hard time doing this, take your club and hold it horizontally so you can see the shape of the green in comparison to your level club. Raise it and lower it by a few inches to see which areas disappear and reappear first.

Therapy

Without looking at your ball location on the green, look for the obvious locations of the break. Find the areas where the green will obviously break from left to right and right to left. Notice all of the points where the ball is likely to roll off the green. Now hold your putter parallel to the ground to see which points are the lowest. Sometimes this will work really well for you if you step off of the green and get down to eye level. This is why you may see some pros even laying on the green or near it.

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