Beginner and amateur golfers do not always get the chance to play on perfect golf courses every time. Your local golf club will always do its best to ensure you have a great playing surface but sometimes, for whatever reason, it is not possible.
Most amateur golfers have played a round of golf where the greens have been bad. There may have been bad weather the week before and despite the greenkeepers best efforts, the greens have been left in poor shape.
Putting on bad greens can be very frustrating and lead to dropped shots so what can you do to try and play well on poor putting surfaces?
The first thing is to try and keep a lid on the frustration should the ball bobble and lose direction or speed. Remember, in this instance you can blame the green and not yourself so do not beat yourself up because of something out of your control.
Instead, try hitting the putt firmer as slower, bumpy greens will see the ball travel slower and this means the break will not have as big an impact on the ball as it would on a fast green. Use the fact the green is in poor condition to play a firmer putt and think less about the potential break.
All you can do is focus on hitting a solid putt. Make sure your technique and delivery of the putter is good and know that is all you can do to influence the outcome. If you make a good strike, your ball will have a better chance of dropping in the hole than if you make a bad one, regardless of the quality of the green.
When playing on a course with bad greens, try and leave your ball below the hole. This will allow you to play a firm putt rather than having to leave the ball in the hands of the green when putting downhill. You can often eliminate some of the bumps and bad areas of the green by hitting a putt with pace and leaving an uphill putt will allow you to do that.
If you have been left with a short putt on bad green, try and hit the ball into the back of cup. Imagine there is a coin in the back of the hole and try and get your ball to hit that coin as it drops. Doing this will ensure you hit the ball with enough pace to reach the hole and you will not be feeling frustrated because you left what looked an easy putt short of the hole.
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