Hidden Enemy
by Jane Frost
LPGA Teaching Professional
Sandwich Hollow Golf Club
East Sandwich, MA
The Surface of the Green
If you are lucky enough to find a putting surface which appears to be perfectly flat, beware of the hidden enemy that is lying in wait to hijack your golf ball and deliver it far from your intended target. The grain of the grass affects the direction a putted ball takes, and, except in very rare instances, all golf greens have some grain.
Grain is formed by the direction in which the grass is growing, the way the blade tips point. If the tips lay to the right or left of the line of putt, the ball will roll toward them and you must allow for this. For instance, you have diagnosed that the grain is running to the right of your line. Your course of action therefore must be to aim to the LEFT and allow the ball to follow the blades of grass to the right. When the tips run in the direction of the putt, the ball will roll faster than if they were facing towards the ball. Should those tips be facing the ball, a little more speed will be required to overcome the resistance.
One way of finding the grain is to look at the grass from behind the ball. If it has a shiny look, you are going with the grain; if the grass appears dull then you are putting into the grain. Another system for reading the grain is to look for nearby lakes, ponds, or streams because grass generally grows towards a main source of water.
Also, grass usually grows away from the slope of a mountain, and toward the setting sun. Keep your eyes constantly sweeping the greens for this valuable information. Another hidden enemy to your putts is a very slight slope or break in the green that is undetectable by simply looking. In this instance you will be aided by "plumb bobbing" which establishes a true vertical line to the green and indicates how much break to allow for.
To effectively use your putter in plumb bobbing you must know which is your dominant eye, the eye which sees straight ahead. To determine this keep both eyes open, hold your thumb up arms length and sight along it to a target. Close one eye. If the target remains in line with your thumb then you have found your dominant eye.
To correctly plumb bob, you must first stand about 10 feet behind the ball in direct line with the hole. Hold the putter up at arms length using the arm that corresponds to your dominant eye (right eye uses right arm.) Looking with your dominant eye, line up the shaft of the putter with the ball. Now look at the hole. If the hole is lined up directly with the ball and the shaft of the putter, there is no break. If the hole appears to the left of the shaft then you must aim right to allow for the slope (and vice-versa). That’s all there is to it! Armed with this information you should be well prepared to do battle the next time those invisible enemies threaten your success.
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