Master Edition: Navigating Fast Greens

It’s Masters week. One of the first things that comes to mind when thinking about the Augusta National Golf Club is their beautifully manicured golf course. They spend millions of dollars every year to keep it looking great.

The most famous course element is the greens at Augusta. They are fast, undulating, and require a large imagination to navigate. Most of us will never play on greens that quick, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something to learn from watching the best in the world trying to solve their mystery.

There are a few tips when putting on faster greens.

• Play more break. The faster the greens the more every subtle slope becomes a factor.
• Putt to a “target” rather than the hole. Pick an imperfection on the green that is on your intended line and putt to that, it’ll help you focus.
• Focus on both speed and line – don’t become too obsessed with one or the other.
• Use your imagination. Use the slopes of the green to your advantage. Perhaps you need to aim sideways on a putt just to get it close – trust gravity.
• Be smart. Downhill putts will be fast, if you are afraid of the putt and leave it short, you will now face that same putt all over again.

Those are a few keys that will get you started when putting on greens you’re not familiar with. If you want to fine tune your stroke, let’s setup a putting lesson and make sure everything looks great for the coming season.