Facing a putt which breaks is one of the most common aspects of playing golf. When playing on courses with large, undulating greens you are sure to face many putts which break to either the left or the right.
However, sometimes you will look at a putt and see there is a double break and this can be very daunting. Reading the roll of one break can be tough but reading two can seem impossible. Today, we have some tips to help you hole a double breaking putt.
When playing a double breaking putt, there are two slopes the ball must travel along, before it reaches the hole. So, the best things to do is to assess them separately.
Walk behind the ball and think about how the first slope is going to affect the ball. It is vital you get the read correct on this first break because if you do not, whatever you have planned for the second break will not happen.
Now think about where the ball is going to arrive on the second break and what that is going to do to the line of your ball. Chances are, it is taking it a long way from the hole and if this is the case, you should look at playing the shot backwards in your mind.
Starting from the hole, work the ball back along the second break until you reach the point when it meets the first break. Think of this as a putt of its own. Where does the ball need to start on the second break to finish in the hole?
This is the point where you want your ball to be when it reaches the second break and this is likely to be different to where it was when you were attempting to read the putt from the starting point.
So, armed with the knowledge of where you want to the ball to be at the beginning of the second break, you can adjust the line of the first break to ensure the ball arrives in just the right position to continue towards the hole on the second break.
Now you know where you want the ball to be at the half-way point of the putt, you can start to think about the speed of the shot.
Take a few practice swings behind the ball and imagine the ball travelling along the first break and then the second break to the hole. What pace do you need to hit the ball, to carry it the whole length of the shot on the line required?
You may need to make a slight adjustment to the line of your putt to compensate for the speed required to reach the half-way point and have the desired pace on the ball to reach the hole across the second break.
You will not always have a lot of time to read these putts on the course, so try the routine on the practice greens. Double breaking putts are tough but if you can use the routine above to read the putt, you will have a better chance of holing the putt or at least getting the ball close.
Recent Comments